Joining the East High School Golden Eagle Hall of Fame for Service to East are Pueblo natives, Eastsiders, and 1981 graduates of East are a dynamic duo, Annette and Aaron Suazo. Annette started her education at Parkview Elementary while Aaron attended Franklin. Their paths intersected in the 7th grade at Heaton Middle School and, according to Aaron, they started dating in the 8th grade broke up a million times during their years before marrying in 1986.
During their four years at East, they were both involved in numerous sports and activities. Both Suazos were members of the National Honor Society, Key Club, Letterman’s Club, and were student Rotarians. Annette was active in student government where she served as 9th, 10th, and 11th grade class president and she was student body president her senior year. She played basketball and volleyball, and was a member of the “Aquilas” pom-pom team. Aaron wrestled, played football and baseball, and was the Eagle of the Year in his senior year. Of interest to Puebloans, Aaron played for several years on the Pueblo Crusaders semi-professional football team.
The Suazos saw a temporary physical separation after their graduation from East in 1981. Annette moved to Ft. Collins where she attended Colorado State University (CSU) and majored in Business and Marketing. While at CSU, Annette was vice-president of the CSU Student Association. Aaron remained in Pueblo attending the University of Southern Colorado (USC) and, following graduation, joined Sperry Corporation at its newly established manufacturing facility in Pueblo as an Industrial Engineer. During his time at Sperry, Aaron spent additional time in the classroom obtaining a Masters in Systems Engineering through USC. After university graduation, Annette worked at the Colorado National Bank in Denver for a short time before returning to Pueblo, marrying Aaron, and starting work at Sperry.
Sperry went through a series of name changes and buy-outs and, later as Loral, a corporate decision closed the Pueblo facility. Annette and Aaron were quick to move on. Annette went back to college, completed a teaching certificate at USC and later a Masters in Education through the University of Northern Colorado with a media emphasis. After obtaining her teaching certificate, Annette taught at Heaton Middle School for three years and then transferred to Franklin Elementary where she was the media specialist for twenty years before retiring in 2020. Travelling to Colorado Springs, Aaron spent a short time with Apple and then ten years at Atmel where he was an equipment manufacturing engineer. In 2006, Aaron went to work for Air Products (now Entegris) in the Pueblo Industrial Park as a maintenance engineering manager. The company provides specialized chemicals for the semiconductor industry. In 2021, he was promoted to operations manager and oversees the work of more than 150 employees.
As a tag team, the Suazos have supported East in numerous ways. Long term members of the Alumni Foundation, Aaron has been Treasurer for six years and Annette accepted the position as Secretary in 2022. They helped organize Parents Promoting Music at East during the six years their two children attended school at East. Both helped with successful passage of the District 60 4A bond which resulted in the construction of the “new” East. As part of the 4A bond project, Aaron sat on the district’s Design Advisory Group and was a member of the Community Bond Oversight Committee. The Suazos were instrumental in efforts to organize a community graduation for 2020 high school seniors who saw their in-person graduation cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
