Her Story
About Rita
My journey in education began when I was in high school in El Salvador. I started thinking about becoming a teacher during middle school and high school, and by high school, we needed to complete volunteer hours. My school assigned me to a crystal class at an orphanage for kids, and I spent 2 years there on Saturdays. I fell in love with the kids and what they could bring at the end of the year, seeing all the learning they had and how they showed everything they learned. That's why I wanted to be a teacher. My BA is in preschool teaching, that's my specialty, and I really loved the younger ages. From year 7 in my career, I began going to primary, lower school grades, and I enjoyed it a lot too. The only grades I haven't taught are middle school and high school, and I'm still not interested in those ages yet. With preschool, it's instant satisfaction when you teach something and you can see the results right away. In lower school, you see it at the end, maybe, and it's so satisfying. Education is a lot of work, yes, but the satisfaction is as rewarding as all the work you put in. I've been a teacher for a long time, and while I miss being in the classroom, I enjoy when teachers do it by themselves finally, when they click on it and understand. I enjoy that part too.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Rita
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my mom has been a huge influence on my success. She's a chemist and a pharmacist, and she pushed me to study English from a short age. I was against it, of course, but now it serves me well, and I appreciate that. I also attribute my success to my family now, my husband and my daughter. They've been my motivation throughout my career in education.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received was to focus on one thing and specialize in that. This advice has helped me develop deep expertise in my area rather than spreading myself too thin across multiple areas.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering education would be to be patient and to believe in people. It's important to savor small victories along the way. Education is a journey where you won't always see immediate results, but those small wins matter and they add up over time. Trust in the process and trust in the people you're working with.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
AI is becoming one of the biggest challenges and opportunities in education right now. It's sort of a two-edged sword. It's becoming as helpful as it is a hindrance. It's 50-50, like it helps and it pulls. It has some negative impact. It's tricky because it's hard to navigate right now, but maybe in the future it's going to be easier. The challenge is finding the right balance between leveraging AI as a tool while ensuring students are still learning and thinking for themselves rather than relying on technology to do the thinking for them.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The values most important to me in my work and personal life are honesty, empathy, and being passionate about whatever you care about. I believe in really caring, truly caring about what you do and the people you work with. Being passionate about your work makes all the difference in the impact you can have.
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