Hi, my name is Angela Rios-Zuluaga. I’m a bilingual kindergarten teacher based in Houston, Texas, originally from Medellín, Colombia. I am currently pursuing my Master’s in Applied Digital Learning at Lamar University. I have a passion for photography, enjoy crafting, and love spending quality time with my family.

This ePortfolio showcases my journey as an educator, learner, and innovator in early childhood education.

• Bilingual Kindergarten Teacher – Alief ISD
• Passionate about early education, educational equity, and technology integration
• Background in early childhood education and digital learning.
• Favorite quote: “Every child is a different kind of flower, and all together make this world a beautiful garden.” Author unknown

How and Why, I Became a Kindergarten Teacher

Becoming a teacher was never part of my original life plan.

I didn’t grow up dreaming of it, nor was it a personal goal I had set for myself. But life has a special way of leading us down unexpected paths, and it was inside a Pre-K classroom as an Assistant where I discovered a vocation I didn’t even know lived within me.

In Colombia (my home country), I worked at a banking institution while also attending university at night after work. I graduated with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Economics. I liked what I was doing, but it didn’t make me truly happy. I even had a boss who once told me, “I don’t think you’re meant to work in banking,” after I refused to sell a credit card to a retired man because I thought it was unfair. He said, “Remember, in life, business has no feelings. I see you working with children or with people but in a different way.”

As I mentioned earlier, life took me in a new direction, and I ended up volunteering at a school where my husband was already working as a teacher. I never imagined that starting out as a Pre-K assistant would completely change my life.

A few years later, I began to reflect on my path and realized I wanted to grow I wanted to become the lead teacher of my own classroom, with the firm belief that anyone who enters my class should leave feeling happy and inspired, knowing that if you put in the effort, anything is possible.

That’s one of the reasons why I use an astronaut as a symbol on my page: you can be whatever you want in life as long as you work hard for it.

Now I know that being a teacher is part of who I am, and I’m proud to say I’m still growing. Teaching brings me daily purpose, joy, and personal growth. Every day with my students is a chance to inspire, to learn, and to make a meaningful difference in the lives of young children. Being a Kindergarten teacher motivates me to keep growing, stay curious, and bring my heart into everything I do.

Even though I didn’t plan this journey from the beginning, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Teaching found me and I’m grateful every single day that it did.