Building the Perfect Triangle
T
o say that Norma Sanchez believes in Adventist education is a gross understatement, yet that’s the clearest way to express how deeply invested she is in it. Born and raised in Sonora, Mexico, to missionary
parents, Sanchez, a K-2 teacher at Saguaro Hills Adventist School in Tucson, Arizona, comes from a long line of teachers. On both her mother and father’s side there were many teachers in the family and, though not formally a teacher himself, her father was also a great teacher in that he was really good at explaining things and very patient in doing so. Until about the seventh grade Sanchez attended public schools, but for high school she attended Colegio del Pacifico, an Adventist academy in Mexico, and eventually Montemorelos University. Given the way the educational system is structured in Mexico, Sanchez graduated from Montemorelos as an elementary school teacher at the age of 19. Given the strong influence of her father and teacher aunties in her life, Sanchez also chose teaching as a career, even though her mother had encouraged her to study to become a secretary. “I always enjoyed teaching little ones,” Sanchez said. “It is so satisfying when students April 2022 21
