Mrs. Speder was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. Sick of playing soccer on cold, wet, rainy fields, she chose to attend college in New Mexico’s warmer climate. She attended the University of New Mexico and played soccer at the collegiate level. Mrs. Speder was the vice president of her Pi Beta Phi sorority and graduated with a degree in Political Science with plans to attend law school. After college, Mrs. Speder began coaching soccer at Grand Canyon University and eventually FC Tucson Women. She also went on to coach multiple semi-professional teams in Tucson, as well as various high school and club teams.
Mrs. Speder has been working in admissions for the past 10 years. She has worked in different private schools as a director of admissions, but was ready for a change and decided to make the switch to Grand Canyon University. Once working on admissions at the collegiate level, she realized she loved forming deep relationships with students. Grand Canyon has a large territory with lots of students to cover; once she saw that this job was open at Sahuaro, a much smaller school, she knew it would help fulfill what she wanted out of her career. She sees herself being here for the foreseeable future, sharing, “I used to have tons of goals, and now I’m just seeing what life brings me. So, life with my hands open and seeing what’s next, but I’ve really enjoyed this. And, it’s kind of a different direction than I thought my, you know, my career would go.”
As for her family, Mrs. Speder has 5 kids, 2 of those being “bonus” kids. Her oldest daughter is a UofA graduate, working in ministry and also closely with special needs children. Her middle daughter is graduating from Ole Miss this spring, and her youngest son is a sophomore playing soccer at Colorado Christian. As for her bonus kids, her bonus daughter is a junior cheerleader at Pusch Ridge Christian Academy, who just won the state championships. Her bonus son, Matthew, is in seventh grade and has Down Syndrome; he is just “Magical,” according to Mrs. Speder. She also thinks her husband is pretty amazing, too!
Her goal at Sahuaro is to help students find and navigate what they want to do after graduation by giving them the tools and access to explore options, including careers, colleges, trades, and the workforce. She would advise, “Go to class, do your work, and your teachers are here because they want to teach you. So, find a way to get to know your teachers, and they’re here for you. And so keep your grades up. A 3.0 opens up a whole bunch of doors. The difference between a C and a B is a really big deal in college. So, do the extra credit, do the extra work, and come and chat with me if you need some motivation or guidance.”
As for students who might be nervous to visit her, she’s nervous too! She’s ready to navigate everything with you. This is Mrs. Speder’s passion, she shares, “I want to help students walk together through what they’re interested in doing. So I like learning. Sitting here and looking at different programs. The other day, we called a cosmetology school and sat and chatted with one of the reps there, and just learned a little bit more about that, or a massage school, or the trades, electrical learning, and just different options that are out there for kids. I like learning, and so I’m here learning with you guys. I think that’s what I’m really excited about because I really do enjoy learning, and I don’t want to go back to school now. I just get to learn about different programs.”
So far, Mrs. Speder is loving Sahuaro; her favorite thing is, “…the people here. The staff, the teachers, and the administration have been fantastic. It’s been really fun to get to know people. I love the students.” She’d like to end this article with, “…go Cougars!”
