Pam Simon, Retired High School Teacher

Pam Simon, a retired high school English teacher and educational advocate, is Gabrielle Giffords’ supporter of the week. “I support Gabrielle because she shares many of the same values I share — primarily on education,” she said. “She has worked tirelessly to ensure a quality education for the children of Arizona. She understands that a strong America depends on high-quality public schools.”

Pam grew up in central Washington state, on a 60-acre dairy and sugar beet farm in the Yakima Indian Reservation. This is the region where the famous Yakima apples come from. “I grew up milking cows and riding horses,” Pam said. She was honored as the Yakima Sugar Beet Queen in 1966 after selling 2,000 tickets for the American Legion.

After she graduated from White Swan High School, Pam attended college at the University of Washington, where her future husband Bruce Simon was in graduate school. After they were married, Pam and Bruce continued their studies while working multiple jobs.

In 1972, after Pam and Bruce received their degrees, they moved to Tucson. Bruce became a professor of mechanical engineering at U. of A., and Pam became a teacher at Marana Junior High School. She taught a variety of subjects throughout her entire career (including art, home ec, reading, composition, and English Literature) — teaching at Tortolita Middle School for 16 years, and at Mountain View High School for two years.

Pam treasured her teaching career. “You can, and do, have an impact on lives,” Pam said. “It’s just fun. I laughed every day. I don’t think there was a day in my entire career in which I didn’t laugh.” About students, she said, “they are fun and funny.”

Pam also said that she never lost the thrill of educating people. “I loved the energy. When I was student teaching, one of the first times I was in front of class, I got this adrenaline rush, and I thought, ‘This is it,’” Pam said. “I had that same feeling the week I retired. I love watching that light bulb go on.

“I feel very fortunate,” she said. “I am very lucky I got to spend my life doing what I loved.” Pam and her family also had two overseas sabbaticals in Swansea, Wales, and Glasgow, Scotland.

Pam’s love for education is the main reason why she came to admire Gabrielle Giffords. As a member of the Arizona Education Association public policy team, she advocated for educational issues to the State Legislature. “I first met Gabby in the second or third day of her first session,” Pam said. “She was so excited. She has always been very welcoming.

“I support her because she shares many of the same values I share — primarily on education,” Pam said. “I’ve also come to know her and I have found her to be a person who will be direct, have integrity, follow through on commitments, and is willing to listen. More importantly, she genuinely cares. I have never found her to be self-serving.

“She has been a strong advocate for educational issues in both the House and the Senate,” she said. “She has worked tirelessly to ensure a quality education for the children of Arizona. She understands that a strong America depends on high-quality public schools.”

Pam and Bruce have two adult children, Fritz, 31, and Summer, 28.