“I love that everyday is completely different than the day before,” said Sara Lotz, an OHS Spanish teacher.
Lotz is one of the new teachers this year at the school after previously teaching for five years. She spent three years at Chandler High School, took a year off for grad school, and returned to pass one year at NAU teaching college students Spanish 101 and 102.
She quotes, “I think teachings pretty awesome,”she smiles “the students are really funny.”
When applying for her positions, Lotz said she says she chose SDOHS because, “I was really impressed by the administration. They seemed really friendly and welcoming to me, and in the other interviews they didn’t give me a tour of the school or anything. Here they were like, ‘oh, get to know the school, make sure it’s a good fit!’ It felt really welcoming and really nice.”
Things she likes about the school besides the staff and students are the smart boards, and air conditioning.
“At NAU, the classrooms don’t have AC. The first two months, you are in your classroom and your teaching, and you are just like ‘please, nobody talk to me’!”
She says she first developed her love of Spanish and teaching in high school. “I had a really awesome Spanish teacher when I was in high school,” adding, “She was just kind of one of those people who kept pushing me.”
She says “I love Mexico, I love Spanish, and I love it all; I can’t get enough of it!” Her next experience with the culture came later when she traveled abroad to Mexico, which enabled her to combine her dream of teaching with learning Spanish.
Having been the first to go to college among them, her family supports her in this endeavor. “My family thinks that it’s really cool I’m a teacher.My mom helped me set up my classroom; like a little mother daughter day. She came and helped me set up and that was kind of fun, so I think she is really excited that I’m here.”
She explains her own ideas about the people at OHS, saying “Everyone just seems super friendly,” also stating “It’s just a really good fit.”
