Women to Watch March 27: Suzie Swenson

The Lancer Spirit is celebrating the women of Londonderry during the month of March in honor of Women’s History Month. For each day of the month, LSO will be highlighting an inspiring woman within the Londonderry community who has demonstrated strong leadership and influential behavior.

Today’s “Woman to Watch” is Human Resources Director Suzie Swenson for her dedication to the community and her constant enthusiasm.

Between raising two sons, running a business, working in the school district office, and telling everyone to ‘walk like a penguin’ when it snows, Human Resources Director Suzie Swenson has been shining her positivity in the Lancer community for over three decades now.

Before she worked for the school, Swenson helped out the Londonderry community by owning a store called Total Sports in town.

“I know for a fact that she pretty regularly gave discounts to families in challenging financial situations back then, and that kind of generosity and caring is typical of Suzie,” ISS monitor Chris Pantazis said.

After the store closed, she volunteered in the district office, before eventually getting a job there.

“I had two boys that graduated from here, and they both played sports, so I was very involved and did a lot of team mom stuff,” Swenson said. “Every time I went to the school, everyone was so nice, and they always looked like they were having a good time.”

After spending some time in the district office, Swenson knew that human resources was the place for her.

“Being the director, you’re always dealing with people, people are my inventory, and I just love working with people,” Swenson said. “I stand by if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. I feel sorry for anyone that doesn’t like their job, because I wake up every morning and can’t wait to come to work.”

How much she loves her job can be seen in every interaction she has with her coworkers.

“Anyone who knows Suzie will tell you that she operates on a different energy scale from anybody else they’ve ever known,” Pantazis said. “I’ve long been convinced that Suzie has a sixth, seventh, eighth, and probably a NINTH energy gear, and as for her evidently unquenchable bubbliness and positivity, fuhget about it! Of the thousands of people I’ve known, nobody else is on the SS Scale! Suzie Swenson is a force of nature, plain and simple.”

For her, being optimistic is one of the most important things in life.

“Positivity is the best thing in the world,” Swenson said. “Don’t just look at the down part of life, because there’s always something good in it. Not being positive is just sad. Being positive is fun, and it makes you feel better. It all starts inside of you. If everybody else is happy, I’m happy, and even though you can’t always make everyone happy, you can at least try.”

She can attribute her positive outlook on life to her childhood with her father, who taught her to see the upside of things.

“My dad was the most positive person you could ever imagine,” Swenson said. “He’d always just say ‘Suzie, boy, you look great today’, even if I didn’t. It just always made me leave the house with a smile and thinking that I looked good.”

Though her father brought the happy side, her mother also taught her some important life lessons.

“My mom was more serious and dedicated, so I knew that I needed to have that part too,” Swenson said. “She taught me to be organized and a good worker and to earn respect, because it’s never just given.”

She took the lessons her parents taught her and passed them on to her two sons, Scott and Todd Swenson.

“Todd and I could not have asked for a better mother,” Scott Swenson said. “So much of the man I am today is because of her.”

Her life experience has also taught her a lot, as she’s lived all over the country, including Kansas, Colorado, Texas, and now New Hampshire.

“I’ve had such a great life, and I’ve really gotten to know all the different ways of life in a bunch of different places,” Swenson said. “It was a good education, to learn all of those new things, but the goal overall was always just to be happy. 

Now that she’s learned a lot, she’s ready to pass on her advice to other young women in the Londonderry community.

“Just go for it,” Swenson said. “If there’s something you want to do, but you’re not sure if you can, try it. You never know until you try, and even if you fail, you’ll feel good about it, because at least you made an effort and tried.”

For Swenson, working and raising her children in the Londonderry School District has been a great experience.

“My boys have gone to school here, and I really love the district,” Swenson said. “Everyone here is amazing, and I couldn’t have asked for a better place to work.”