Finance necessities are definitely different this year. We don’t have lockers, parking permits, PE clothes for sale, we aren’t processing in- person transactions, and we have moved towards the online payment portal as a way for families to make payments or contributions.

Lori Emrich is the returning financial advisor at Sahuaro for students,.  She left for a different position at the end of the 2018-2019 school year, and everyone at Sahuaro is incredibly happy to have her back. Ms. Emrich has offered to start a Student Club to teach students about finance and being financially smart. She says, “I would enjoy teaching students about finances and budgeting and how to be financially successful. I would be happy to sponsor a student club if students would be interested in forming a club where we could meet via zoom to review items of interest and then meet in person when we are allowed to do so. Students that are interested could reach me at my school email, [email protected].”  So what does she do?

Well, Mrs. Emrich has a lot on her plate, regardless of not having students on campus. She currently is working with students to help them take AP exams this year. The students make their payments online through the online payment portal. Because of limited contact on campus this year, however, they are using the portal for taxpayers who would donate to Extracurriculars instead. “In the near future,” she says, “We will also be opening up the portal for those students that would like to purchase a yearbook for the 2020-2021 school year.”

Exchanges of money are being paid and processed online for the time being, as to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. Once COVID-19 dies down, monetary exchanges may be combined with in person and physical exchanges, but that has not been made clear as of now.

Ms. Emrich has found in quarantine that she enjoys growing plants and looking after them as they develop. She has grown a lemon tree and a few birds of paradise plants. She says the extra time has allowed her to enjoy being outside instead of having the “gotta go do something” attitude she had before quarantine.

She enjoys financial advisory as, in her words, “Numbers to me ‘make sense’, finding the solutions to problems is very rewarding.”

Ms. Emrich’s personality and aura resemble a glimpse inside a computational thinker’s mind!