Ronnie Rios

Preferred pronouns: she-her-ella

Year: 5th year PhD Candidate

Program/focus: Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education; Role of Ethnic-Racial Identity in College Choice

Hometown: Chicago, IL

What do you do for CSS? I am a member of the Crafting Democratic Futures (CDF) team focusing on projects related to assessment, communications, outreach, and engagement. I also work closely on administrative collaborations with nine CDF institutional partners across the country.

 

What got you interested in social justice work? I became interested in and started doing social justice related work at a young age, before I really understood what it was. As a college student activist at Northwestern University, I found my passion for actively conspiring for racial and social equity and working with students. This led to my career as a higher education administrator focused on supporting minoritized students who are members of global majority communities, specifically at selective, predominantly white institutions. My personal experiences inform my professional philosophy in supporting students and my scholarship as a doctoral student. I believe education (from pre-K to post-secondary) requires a complete reconstruction to achieve real parity across all communities and I am committed to this lifelong work.