Curriculum and Instruction administrative assistant, Ms. Sarah Genung, has been a vital and strong part of Sahuaro’s staff for over 20 years. She is beloved by the staff in the office and all the students who go in to make appointments with her. While she will be missed greatly, she is retiring and will spend more time with her family and relax, which she deserves.

Ms. Genung was born and raised in Ann Harbor, Michigan. After marrying her husband and moving to Arizona, she worked as a bank teller for 16 years. She began her career with TUSD because she wanted to pursue a position helping kids. First, she worked at Henry Elementary School; later she transferred to Gridley Middle School. Ms. Genung started working at Sahuaro in 2004 as a ParaPro, then became the assistant to the JTED co-ordinator, and then worked in the Activities office for eight years helping the athletic directors throughout the years. Athletic Director Steve Botkin says, “Sarah has been   amazing to work with at Sahuaro High School. I had a wonderful time coaching her daughter Amanda, and Sarah was my booster club president. She prepared each home game snack bar and also traveled with the team to Phoenix and San Diego numerous times. Sarah was our Activities Assistant during my first couple of years as Athletic Director and helped in so many ways. I will miss her smiling face and helpful attitude. Thank you, Sarah, for all of the years that you have given to Sahuaro and I hope that you enjoy your family time during your much-deserved retirement.”

For the past five years, Ms. Genung has been assisting in the Counseling and Curriculum department. Collen Bradley, whom Ms. Genung has known for a long time, said, “While I am so excited for Sarah and her next adventure in being able to spend time with her beautiful family, her retirement will be a great loss to our department.” Through her kindness and hard work, Ms. Genung has proven herself an amazing member of the Sahuaro staff and made great connections with others in the department.  Counselor, Mrs. Boice, who grew very fond of Ms. Genung, said, “Sarah is a bright and friendly presence in our office; she always greets you with a ‘Good morning, how are you?’”

Though Ms. Genung and her husband are no longer together, they still work cohesively as a group for their children and grandkids. She has always enjoyed working at Sahuaro because her two kids attended and graduated from here. Now, she’s excited to spend even more time with her kids, especially helping with her grandkids because they are very young. Her 91-year-old mother is visiting from Michigan, so she is, “…very excited…because I’ve missed her very much.”

It will be sad to see her go, but Ms. Genung explained she might return to help. If she does come back, she will be welcomed with open arms because WE LOVE MS. GENUNG!