Suzi Thien: Making a Difference for Children Throughout Her Career and into Retirement
Suzi with her sons: Greg, Eric, and Matthew
I think it’s important to capture the stories of the work women have done throughout their lifetimes. Today, I’m featuring Suzi Thien, a family friend, mother of three, and grandmother of 8. Suzi is one of those people who always lights up the room and she makes you feel like you can tell her anything. This is likely why she spent the majority of her career as a school counselor and has found her way back to the profession, even after retiring.
Getting Started in Education
Suzi grew up in a suburb of Chicago and attended the University of Illinois where she majored in elementary education and minored in early childhood education.
“My mom and my aunt were teachers forever and then my sister went into it. I tried everything I could not to do it, because that was just me, but I loved it.”
Her first job out of college was in a suburb in Illinois. Then she got married and moved to Wisconsin.
“I did some substitute teaching. I worked at a clothing store. I got my real estate license and sold real estate for a little bit. Not my thing. And actually went back to school at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and started taking some business classes.”
After that her husband’s job took them to Atlanta, Georgia and that’s when she got back into teaching. She had her first son, Greg, and worked part-time at a kindergarten at a daycare. Then her second son, Eric, was born and she took a few months off before landing her next job.
“I went to a neighborhood Tupperware party and a gal there worked at this little country school in Atlanta and said, ‘we need a teacher.’ So I got a job there, teaching first grade in this teeny tiny rural school.”
The next year the school district she was working for moved from individual schools to a district-wide middle school and Suzi ended up teaching eighth grade.
“I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And what I found though was what I really enjoyed was talking with the kids as opposed to having to teach them what I needed to teach them. One of the students was having a lot of trouble at home, and we just started talking during my planning time. And at the same time I had to go back and get some hours to renew my license, so I decided to go into counseling.”
Suzi pursued her master’s degree in counseling from Georgia State University and graduated when she was pregnant with her third son, Matthew.
School Counselor - Round 1
Suzi’s sons: Eric, Matthew, and Greg
Suzi’s first counseling job was at an affluent middle school in Georgia where they would bring in minority students from outside the school district as part of a “minority to majority” program. It was very different from where she had taught previously and a big learning experience for her.
After that she ended up working for a new middle school that was close to her home and her son Greg was a student there.
“It wasn't our home district, but he came with me. So, I was the only counselor there for a few years and I'd be there early in the morning and late at night and he had to stick around there. It was a brand new school so not all of the offices were filled, so he felt like he had his own office. It was fun.”
After 12 years in Atlanta, Suzi’s family moved to Wichita, Kansas for her husband’s job and she landed back in a rural community at a K-8 school in Towanda, Kansas. She was there for 6 years and then moved to an elementary school in Andover, Kansas.
Eventually, in 2007, Suzi got frustrated with the additional tasks outside of counseling that she was required to do in her role and decided it was time to move on from counseling.
Executive Director for Sunlight Children’s Advocacy & Rights Foundation
Suzi and her family at the Sunlight Children’s Advocacy & Rights Foundation Open House
Through her work as a counselor, Suzi had worked with the Andover Police Department on sex abuse cases and she learned about a new organization called Sunlight Children’s Advocacy & Rights Foundation (SCARF). They had an opening for the executive director position and Suzi was a natural fit.
“This was truly my dream job. We started out with a small office and it was amazing what the staff was able to do. We had a coordinator and an administrative assistant. But we were partners with law enforcement, Child Protective Services, mental health, and the county attorney's office. It was pretty amazing.”
“They had a very supportive board that was very involved with the community. And on my first day I was told ‘you will need to build a children’s home.’ and I thought, ‘no problem.’ That was the most incredible learning experience.”
The Sunlight Children’s Home is for emergency placement of children who law enforcement deems that it is unsafe for them to return home.
“We had to do a capital campaign. That was way out of my comfort zone, having to ask people for money. We raised 2.5 million dollars in a little over two years and it was fun.”
Once the funds were raised, it was time to start building, which was also new to Suzi and took about 9 months.
“We had a fabulous open house. There were hundreds of people. It was on TV and the whole thing was just a thrill.”
Suzi stayed with the organization for 10 years until she was ready to retire at age 65.
Retirement?
Suzi and her family on vacation
To put it simply, Suzi took a quick break, spent some time with her grandchildren, and went back to work pretty quickly. She worked at a number of different places. Here are the highlights.
Mental Health Advocacy for Children
Suzi worked with a professor at KU Med to create a group that focused on mental health for children. They put together a focus group of 50 people that included professors, therapists, teachers, and community organizers to determine the needs and gaps in mental health for children in the community.
“It was so exciting! We accomplished a lot of things. One of the big things we accomplished was putting together a directory of good mental health people in the area.”
Sedgwick County Child Advocacy Center
When Suzi worked for SCARF she met the woman who ran the Sedgwick County Child Advocacy Center. They were peers and remained friends after Suzi retired. The woman ended up having health issues and asked if Suzi would cover for her while she was out of the office for what ended up being 7 months.
“I shared it with another retired person who I knew, which was great. I worked three days a week and the other gal worked two days a week. And honestly, I would say it was just about the hardest job I have had.”
Andover School District Therapy Program
Even with her other work, Suzi was still looking for something more, so she applied to be a substitute teacher in the Andover School District, the last place she taught before retiring. She didn’t get hired as a teacher because they wanted her to help develop a school-based health clinic. Suzi was excited about the project, but it ultimately never came to fruition and she was very disappointed. However, she was able to start a therapy program for kids in the district.
“We started last January being able to offer, on a very limited basis, therapy for some students in school. We did that and we're continuing this collaboration with the community mental health center. Plus, we now have an intern from Friends University from their marriage and family therapy program and she's been seeing clients. It's the most fabulous collaboration. The scale is amazing. She's going to be able to provide tons of service.”
School Counselor - Round 2
With the groundwork laid for the therapy program, her previous school knew Suzi would have more time on her hands, so they asked her to do part-time school counseling. And of course, she said, “yes.” Two of her granddaughters attend the school, which is an added bonus.
“I am working part-time and it's amazing because I'm sharing the position with another retired counselor. She loves doing small groups, so she's doing all of them for the whole school. I focus on classroom guidance. Sometimes what we talk about in the classroom will spur a student to ask to see me individually, so that works out well.”
Advice for Working Mothers
“You have to be organized. You have to plan like crazy and keep a calendar color coded. And it helps so much if you have a supportive and involved spouse. It makes a huge difference. And you have to be okay with leaving your kids. And sometimes that’s not easy. You have to be okay with other mothers thinking, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ ‘How can you leave your kids?’ And it depends on your mindset. I know people who would be terrible at working when their kids were especially little, and that’s best for them to stay at home. So know yourself.”
It was so much fun learning more about Suzi’s career and the amazing work she continues to do. She is a treasure and I feel lucky to have her in my life.
