“I knew I wanted to become a teacher in 8th grade when learning about social issues and how all of them could be improved if people were educated about them,” stated Mrs. Dara, who is a new English 9 and 10 teacher at Sahuaro High School, where she graduated in 2012 before attending The University of Arizona.

Even with the struggles she has in her classroom trying to find ways to help students understand that what they learn will help them in the real world, she states, “I am getting better with the help from former students who share how they’ve used what they learn.” With that being said, she also says, “It is always memorable as a teacher when students come back to visit you and tell you how your class helped them,” which many other teachers may agree with.

Although she spends most of her time teaching, she does have a life outside of school. Some of her favorite things to do in her free time are reading: “My favorite book is The Time Traveler’s Wife.” She also enjoys walking her dog Llica (Pronounced in Spanish YEE-cha)  and playing board games like word games such as Taboo or Scattergories or card games.

“I would tell my younger self that PDA in the halls is not cute and one day you will be embarrassed by it,” she says.  Kids nowadays may disagree right now but, who knows, their minds could change as well. If Mrs. Dara could be any Disney character, “I would choose Ariel,” she remarks. She would also pick chocolate milk over strawberry.

As for children, Mrs. Dara and her husband do not have any kids yet but want some in the future.  They do have a godson they hang out with, who is still young. At home, her husband and she only speak Spanish, his native language.

She used to work at Drachman Montessori and was a lead teacher for middle school; “which means I ran the middle school programs, 6-8 grade.”

Overall Mrs. Dara seems to be an amazing person; her teaching style is very chill, and her room is very organized – it seems like a clean space to be.  We hope you enjoy her class.