I met with Ms. Sandoval in her office, which is covered with flags of colleges. There weren’t too many kids in there when I went to interview her that day, and her office is very organized. I wanted to interview Ms. Kio because during the month of may she was helping a lot of kids commit to a college and because I wanted to learn more about her.
So what do you like best about yourself?
I think that I’m very resourceful. I definitely try to exhaust all my options when I’m trying to solve a problem before anything.
Tell me a story that says something important about who you are.
I think about this year, something recently that happened, or an ongoing story that happens all the time is working with college applications a lot of the time I do have to do stuff outside of working hours. I know a lot of people usually don’t pick up the phone after a certain time or whatever. But I definitely try to text back and answer phone calls as soon as I can to make sure that all the college stuff is ready. Last night, it was 6: 00 PM, and a student called me to help them upload a document, and I picked up the phone and I helped them. That’s just, I guess, the person I am.
Do you believe this is a good school? Why or why not?
I do. I think comparing back to the school I used to work at, I used to work at a charter school. Charter schools are managed very, very differently than public schools. I think one of the biggest differences I see here that makes it a good place to be and to work is that the adults here really care about the students a lot. That helps me do my job better, but it also helps students do their student things better as well.
Why do you choose to be a college counselor instead of a teacher or a dean?
The reason I’m a college counselor is because college changed my life. Being a person that is from the same neighborhoods that a lot of students here are from, I think it’s important to get low-income people of color educated. We need to get more degrees. There’s not enough people out here that have degrees. 95% of the reason that a lot of people around here don’t go to college is because there’s no help with the college application process. I think that that’s why I’m a college counselor. It’s my way of giving back to my community.
What is your favorite part of your job? You just started this year. How do you like AMS?
Honestly, I know it’s only been a couple of months, but I do love it here so far. My favorite part of the job has been building relationships with you guys, with the students. I’ve been here for a couple of months, but I feel like we all built a very good relationship with each other in a short amount of time. I think the results for where people are committing for colleges show the depth of the relationship that I’ve built with you. That’s definitely my favorite part.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Making sure kids go to class.
Are there any words or wisdom you would like to tell?
Now that we’re wrapping up the college process, I would say to all students, keep an open mind, but also put yourself out there at whatever thing you end up doing after college, because outside in the real world, it’s really not about what you know, it’s about who you know.
How do you want your students to remember you?
Hopefully, as someone supportive, who supported their dreams, who helped them do whatever XYZ thing it is that they wanted to do in the future.
