Things You Didn’t Know About Dr.Suarez

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Dr. Suarez and her dual enrollment law studies students. (center with santa hat)

By Angelynn Sanchez, Staff Writer

Dr. Suarez is an English and law studies teacher known for her bright sense of humor and personality, but also for being an amazing instructor. 

 Life as a lawyer 

Dr. Suarez grew up to inspire, but she was inspired by a book in 7th grade, To Kill a Mockingbird. What caught her attention was one of the characters, civil rights attorney Atticus Finch. She believed the best way to help all types of people was by becoming an attorney and being able to make sure everyone’s voices got heard.  

 As a public service attorney, her cases were representing tenants, specifically representing HOAs and mobile homeowners against developers. Her cases often dealt with people with low income who were about to get evicted. In these cases, developers would try to build big-rise condos on top of land where these people had been living in their trailer homes. Dr. Suarez would sue these developers, making the case that her clients had lived their whole life on that land and would need more time to relocate. And she was successful. 

 Teaching, Leaving, Coming back 

Dr. Suarez had always intended to practice law, but she ended up spending some time teaching while also attending law school at night. After completing law school, she returned to Miami High and resumed her full-time teaching career. She never took an education course in undergrad, but she has always had a passion for English. 

The interaction she has with the students is one of the reasons Ms. Suarez enjoys teaching, and she especially enjoys it at the high school she attended. All her previous teachers are now her co-workers. Her objective is for the students to advance, to be better readers and writers, and to realize that even if they detest the class, they learned what they needed to learn.  

For five years, she has taught public speaking at the University of Miami in the evening while simultaneously working as a full-time attorney and helped individuals practice giving speeches so they would feel confident speaking in front of others.  

Her choice to return to full-time teaching was motivated by the time off and the ability to spend more time with family. She didn’t have any free time when she worked as a tenant rights attorney. People could lose their homes at any time of day; therefore, she had to remain on call day and night. 

 MHS Alumna 

She had a fantastic time as a student at Miami High School, where she was involved in clubs such as BETA and MIAHI. She never ran for school officer, but she was always willing to help. She was an excellent student in general. 

Dr. Suarez had the good fortune as a student to have English teachers who required her to read a lot of literature. She believes that students nowadays should also read more. 

She recognizes that for today’s Miami High students, it can be difficult to balance eight classes. On a positive note, she says that one of Miami High’s strengths is that it offers a variety of vocational programs such as mechanics, cosmetology, etc., giving students numerous possibilities to choose from.  

 Where she is from 

Raised in Miami, Florida, Dr. Suarez has parents who were born in Cuba but have spent most of their entire lives in Miami. Her favorite part of Cuban culture is the music, but she has never traveled to Cuba. Dr. Suarez’s favorite Cuban meal is on Noche Buena.  

Dr. Suarez has always been a very sociable individual who enjoys attending concerts and hearing live music. She enjoys pop culture, reading magazines, watching entertainment news, using social media, and going to the beach. She also loves reading books. 

Can you unscramble these words to find important words or phrases from the news article?  

  1. EIBLMO SMEOH __________ 
  2. NANNET TSHIGR ___________ 
  3. REWYLA __________ 
  4. YNERTTAO ___________