Ms. Moreno is the new and only AVID teacher here at Sahuaro, and her story is another one to chalk up on the Sahuaro hallway.

She was born and raised in the south side of Tucson and she doesn’t “necessarily love it, but it’s home.” She’s the only girl in her family, with five older brothers, and says it’s been a journey in a big family. Growing up she took her education very seriously but didn’t hold herself back from having fun either.

From her freshman year all the way to her senior year of high school, she took part in an AVID club at Sunnyside. “I was involved very heavily with it. AVID is the reason I went to college – I had the plan to go to college – but AVID just really made it a reality for me. Especially being from the southside and going to Sunnyside, it wasn’t something that was really a reality for a lot of the people I went to school with and for me. Like my brothers went to college, but it was hard to get there, so AVID made it easier for me,” she said.

When she was in college at the U of A she needed a job so she became an AVID tutor. “That’s when I realized that I really like being a teacher, so I switched my major and graduated with a major in history and a minor in adolescents, community, and education. AVID is a big part of my life and the way it changed my life. I hope it does the same for at least one kid.”

AVID teaches a lot of skills like note-taking, tutorials, and other things that will help you later on in school and work. She says she still applies them to her life, like muscle memory. “I didn’t really realize it until my age now but a lot of the skills I hated doing in class like the note taking and the tutorials helped me in college prepare…for the load and I still use a lot of AVID skills now. But it’s more automatic now,” she shared.

Her favorite part about being a teacher is close to the heart. “The relationship with the kids, yes the teaching aspect of it, and seeing you guys learn new things. But just watching you guys grow into the individuals you guys are going to be is really cool. Getting to know you guys and…when we have things in common it’s really fun.” Even though being a teacher is hard and stressful, she loves watching her students grow into themselves. “Teaching is hard but the kids definitely make it worth it. I’m really enjoying the high school vibe.”