Susan Swift

Susan developed an interest in real estate as a child when her parents renovated their home in the early seventies. They had all the walls removed in the double living room and dining area of their two-story, traditional home in the small town of Benton, WI. This open concept, mostly unheard of at the time, made her think of houses in a completely different manner. Susan began to understand how space makes a difference in the way a person feels in a home. When she left her small hometown, she was on her way to UW-Madison, a campus whose population was fifty times the size of her little burg.

She loved it. In the Mad City, Susan studied theatre and earned her secondary education degree in theatre and English. After college, she came to Dubuque and began her thirty-five-year English teaching career. Here, she bought her first house, one of the oldest in Dubuque on W 11th St. She was thrilled to own her own home, and ever since, she has been actively checking real estate. Back then, it was just the newspaper as a resource, and Susan would comb the columns of home and sometimes even go to open houses simply out of curiosity. As her family grew, they moved to what was formerly known as the O'Brien house on the corner of University and Centerplace, and what a wonderful place it was to raise children. During those years, she taught at Senior High School and received her master’s degree in American Literature at Loras College.

Susan furthered her teaching career when working at Jefferson Junior High and achieving National Board Certification. After she later transferred to Hempstead High School as the English department chair and educator, she soon took up residence in Forest Hills in Asbury, which was a convenient drive to work. Susan now resides in the Stone Ridge Community Townhouses who’s quiet, park-like environment suits her just fine. Each phase of her adult life has been accompanied by a shift in where she calls home. The variety of living spaces she has experienced help her understand that people desire different types of homes for their changing needs.

When the pandemic hit and she was retired from teaching, Susan decided to make her longstanding dream of being a real estate agent a reality. She took classes, studied, passed the exams, and landed upon the threshold of Ruhl&Ruhl Dubuque. Susan has enjoyed the support of many experts in this office to help her learn the many facets of this business. All those enjoyable and satisfying years of teaching have served her well in this position. like education, the most meaningful real estate encounters have to do with building trusting relationships and putting the needs of those she serves, first.