MEET CHRISTINA STRAUSS!
Principal to Festival Foothills Elementary, wife of Pastor and city councilman Ray Strauss, and a mother of 3 boys… our neighbor, Christina Strauss, is someone who is dedicated and loves her community!
According to her husband, Christina grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from high school with a 4.32 gpa and received a valedictorian scholarship to college. She majored in Elementary Education at Oklahoma Baptist University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. It was at OBU when she met her husband and were married her Junior year in January of 1998.
After she graduated, Christina became an elementary school teacher. She considered going into Educational Law and took the LSAT at the University of Oklahoma (and did well!). Feeling lead towards School Administration, Christina later enrolled in a Masters program where she graduated from Grand Canyon University.
She is an avid learner and highly task oriented. One year, she was asked to run her church’s preschool program of about 150 kids and ended up saving the program so much money after one year that they begged her to spend more so they didn’t lose it for next year’s budget.
Christina has a love for family, children, community, and the adventure of life….
She is a certified scuba diver and turned down a piano for a three wheeler as kid. She loves Mexican food, Dr. Pepper, cheesecake, and her favorite color is green.
THE INTERVIEW:
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was little, I wanted to be an architect. I had notebooks of houses and buildings that I would draw plans for. My dad is an electrical contractor, and I loved looking at the plans of buildings that he always had.
When did you first become motivated in being a teacher/principal?
I was a pre-med major for the first year of college. I was good at it but I didn’t love it. I soon realized that it wasn’t the science that I loved but rather, helping people. I changed my major to “undecided” and took some time to figure out what would be a good fit for me. From some friends who were education majors, I became interested in an area that I had never considered before and fell in love with it. After the birth of my first son, I took a position as Director of Weekday Education at our church, and thrived in that position. This was my first venture into administration and I became aware of the impact I could have beyond just one classroom. I went on to teach several more years in Oklahoma and North Carolina at preschools and schools where my children attended. After the birth of my third son, I worked on my Master’s Degree one class at a time while staying home with my kids. I returned to teaching when I took a Kindergarten position at Festival Foothills Elementary.
What interests you most about your position?
Getting to help people, specifically kids, and solving problems, I seem to thrive off that for some strange reason. I know the impact educators can have on students, and I love supporting the teachers as they build up our kids. I enjoy the unexpected nature of the position. Every day, I walk in wondering what adventure I will encounter that day.
Where do you see yourself in five years from now? I am honored to be at Festival Foothills, so if I am here in 5 years that would be great.
Was there ever a time in your life where you were faced with a major obstacle and how did you overcome it?
Plenty, but I love that no matter what hardship we encounter, the Lord can turn it into something beautiful. There are many hard times that I would never want to face again, but I am grateful for what I learned going through them. I believe it is the difficult times in our life that shape who we are. After learning to say thank you to the Lord for everything that has happened and everything that will happen, good or bad, I have realized anything can be a teachable experience and that we can come out even stronger.
What are you most grateful for in life?
What Jesus has done for me. I came from a great family and had a great childhood but I know what I would be without Him. I am so grateful that He is a part of my life. Every good and perfect gift is from above, and my life today is evidence of that. Following Him is not always easy, but His blessings are unimaginable. I have an amazing husband, three of the cutest kids ever, and supportive friends and family.
How do you like to spend ’me time’?
Me time, what’s that? Haha. Me time is usually a trip to the grocery store by myself or a jog around the neighborhood. I don’t have a lot of free time but what free time I have, I love to spend with my husband and kids- they are the funnest people I know!
She enjoys reading; “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day,” The Bible, anything by John Grisham
For music, she says it changes regularly. Today, it would be “Save Your Life” by Newsboys or “Your Great Name” by Natalie Grant.
What have you learned thus far in life that you’d like to share with the younger generation you are leading?
A few quick pieces of advice would be- God is the only one who can tell you who you are. He loves you and has amazing plans for you if you are willing to trust Him. Don’t be afraid to do the right thing, your character and integrity will always protect you. Take the opportunity to learn from every experience and be grateful. People do not want to be impressed by you, they want you to be impressed by them.
As women, we feel we need to balance everything, multi-task, and appear to be able to do it all. We can’t, not well, anyway. You have strengths and talents that make you the best at being you. Live out of your strengths, don’t try to be someone else, and celebrate who God made you to be. One of the most freeing things to me was to realize I do not have to keep up with others, I just have to be the best me I can. I used to spend so much time trying to be good at things I am not. I can now admit- I am not a Martha Stewart, and that is okay, haha.
(What do you love about them, what makes them apart from the rest?)
Festival Foothills Elementary and Festival Ranch are amazing! The teachers truly want each student to succeed and be their best, and they work tirelessly to accomplish this. They support each other and help each other. The typical problematic workplace issues aren’t issues with our staff, and I am so grateful for that. The students and families are wonderful. We have many families who want to be involved in their child’s education, be it volunteering during the day, helping with special events, joining the PTA who hugely supports our school, or just staying involved and helping their kids at home to support what they learning at school. This student body is one of the most caring that I have seen. I watch how they reach out when new students come to our school. When someone is hurting or left out, they want to help them. They value doing their best, and it shows in the success of our school. And then we have a fabulous community. Sun City Festival and the active adults in the community do so much to support our school from volunteering at the school to helping us financially. The Motorcycle Club helped us buy medals last year, the Lady Putters bought us new gym equipment, Caring neighbors helps with library books, school supplies, and now band equipment, and the Softball Club helps to support our kids in sports. Many others support us through the Cool Cash program at Fry’s Grocery stores, Box Tops for Education, and through the state’s Tax Credit program. I have heard this neighborhood described as “Mayberry” and I truly believe it is. It is a community that seeks to take care of each other. I could go on and on- from the food drive at the school to the donation of presents every Christmas. Daily, I am grateful for this special community and school, and I am happy that my kids to get to grow up here surround by such wonderful families and friends.
