Christy Wylie
The Herald-Zeitung
Published January 26, 2010

Susan Wetz, Director of Programs for At-Risk Youth, has just passed the fifteen year mark with Communities In Schools of South Central Texas (CIS). Wetz has been enjoying her job longer than many of her students have been alive. When she began work for CIS in 1994, she was no stranger to working with at-risk youth. With a degree in psychology from UTSA, she had worked at Laurel Ridge Residential Treatment Facility in the pre-adolescent and adolescent long term units, as well as begun and run an in-school suspension/behavioral modification program for New Braunfels ISD.

Wetz spent her first twelve years at CIS as a Project Director at Seele Elementary. “I loved working with the students and their families,” she recalls. “Everyday was different and brought a new set of challenges. There is nothing like seeing a child conquer a particular fear or situation that they thought they would never master. Their eyes light up like stars!” For the last three and a half years in her role as the Director of Programs, Wetz supports CIS campus staff members who she says are amazing to work with. Although she appreciates the importance of her current role, Wetz believes that developing relationships with the children and their families is the most rewarding part of her work. She reflects, “To be an advocate for these families—there is no greater privilege or joy.