Maria Rios

Background

About Maria Rios

My work experience has been a journey that has directed me to pursue the education field. It all began in Tacoma at Youth for Christ as a tutor, an afterschool program intended to assist at-risk youth both academically and interpersonally. While working for Youth for Christ, I developed strong communication skills due to the nature of the position and understanding of the teenagers who would attend. I continued to build on my attention to detail during my time with Olive Crest as a Visit Monitor. I documented and oversaw all interactions between non-custodial parents and their child(ren) during visits. I realized social work was not the career field I wanted to pursue. As a visit monitor, I attended the University of Washington and the education field began to spark my attention. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I had the honor to work with children as a child care development associate teaching between kindergarten -3rd-grade math, and phonics. Then, I became a paraeducator at Tukwila Elementary where I supported the teacher with all class activities ensuring a safe and wholesome environment that promotes fun education. Currently, as a learning facilitator, I work with scholars who are credit deficient. The goal is to encourage each scholar to graduate by completing the courses needed. As I've been advancing in the this field my interest to fight for equity and inclusion in education has grown.