We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Kristina Rios
Title: Assistant Professor
Department: Literacy, Early, Bilingual, and Special Education
Academic Degrees: Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
How long you have worked at Fresno State: This is my first academic school year at Fresno State.

Why did you choose the Special Education field for your career? My experience in education started 12 years ago when I was a teacher’s assistant in a class of students with severe disabilities in a rural community in Central California. One of the first students I worked with was a 7th grade student named Leo. Leo had autism and was non-verbal. The first thing that stood out to me from Leo was the large scar that went down the middle of his head. I had no idea what it was. I eventually built the courage to ask the special education teacher why Leo had that large scar on his head. She replied that Leo had the right hemisphere of his brain removed when he was an infant because he developed hydrocephalus. This left no option but to have half of his brain resected. Even though Leo was non-verbal, he effectively got his point across whenever he communicated. Despite his brain surgery, Leo’s intelligence shined through every assignment he completed. Fascinated by Leo’s abilities, I went on to pursue my teaching degree in special education.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important? My most notable accomplishment in my field was the conceptualization and implementation of a 12-hour advocacy program: Familias Incluidas en Recibiendo Mejor Educación Especial (FIRME), also known as Families Included in Receiving Better Special Education, an education program for Latinx families of children with disabilities. The purpose of this advocacy program is to help Latinx parents increase their special education knowledge, advocacy, empowerment, receipt of services, and decrease stress. To date, over 100 families completed the program and have gone off to advocate for their own children.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why? I am most passionate about educating families, including culturally and linguistically diverse families, of children with disabilities about their educational rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2004). I love seeing families learn about the various opportunities available for them to support their children with disabilities.

What is the most interesting or unusual job you've ever had? I worked for a catering service during high school, and I spilled a tray of drinks on a patron on my first day. Let’s just say that was my first and last day on the job!

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? For fun, I enjoy visiting Yosemite and all the other amazing national parks California has to offer!

Dr. Kristina Rios, with her husband, in Yosemite.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know? One of the most interesting things about me is that I have an amazing twin brother who also teaches Special Education back in our hometown of Delano, Ca. We even worked at the same school for our first few years of teaching.