RRHS has been happy to welcome back 13 alumni to work in various positions. Their graduating classes range from the class of 1998, a class of just 98 students, to the graduating class of 2020, a class of close to 300 students. Their paths have been different, but many of the reasons they returned are similar.
Karla Sosa, who has worked for the district 15 years and currently serves as Receptionist, was in the first graduating class of 1998.
She loved attending the close knit school. When people would see Sosa with her sisters, they would say, “Here come the Medina girls!”
She “loves working for the district” where she has had “former teachers as bosses” and has been happy to raise her four children in the same community she grew up in.
Two alumni graduated in 1999.
Dagoberto Lopez currently serves as an Assistant Principal.
He completed his student teaching here, became a geography teacher and then an AP Spanish Language and Literature teacher, inspired by his AP Spanish Language teacher, Maritza Marmolejo.
He has also worked as the Instructional Coach and the director of Cima Vista.
He loves the “community atmosphere” and the bonds people form “early and quickly.”
Alexis Bermudez has worked for the school district for 18 years, currently as the 10th Grade Case Manager.
She said, “High school was the best” and that if she could she would “do it all over again.”
She said, “I was super excited about transferring to RRHS. . . I love what I do.”
Two alumni graduated in 2003
Alexandra Hix came back to Rio Rico from Prescott in 2010 and accepted the position as Sports Medicine teacher in 2018.
Her best memories of being at RRHS are of being on the running teams because they “laughed all of the time.”
By coming back to RRHS as a teacher, she says she has “found a piece of her heart” and is happy to raise her children here.
Yemille Peiro currently works as the Structured English Immersion teacher.
She believes it is important to “be a positive role model” and show that people from small towns can do “great things.”
She said, “I love being part of the history here and soaking up all of what RRHS is all about.”
Three alumni graduated in 2009
Erika Renee Islas has worked as a Special Education Paraprofessional since 2019.
Her most memorable moment was her graduation ceremony.
She said, “Looking back and seeing everything I had accomplished to get to that day was worth it.”
She loves working at RRHS because the “faculty and students are amazing” which makes it “so much better to come to work everyday.”
Monique Quiroz worked as a math teacher and is currently a counselor.
Her history with the district goes way back because both her parents have worked for the district-Julietta Quiroz for 21 years and Rico Quiroz, who just retired in May, for 20 years. Each of her brothers have worked here as well.
When she attended as a student, she loved the “involvement” and the way students are encouraged to “join something.”
She said, “My teachers here in Rio Rico made a huge impact on me.”
Claudia Bojorquez works as a Special Education Aide.
She has wonderful memories, especially of her graduation, and wishes she “could go back to high school.”
She said, “I love working for RRHS because since day one everyone has welcomed me so warmly.”
Yahira Duran, who currently works as Attendance Clerk and coach of Color Guard, graduated in 2014.
She said she doesn't want to be anywhere else because “there is nothing like the sense of community” at RRHS.
Justin Ibarra, who was hired this year as an English teacher, graduated in 2015.
He is glad to be back to his “home and values.”
When he was at the University of Arizona, he developed a passion for English. He hopes to “inspire students” and “help them with their English skills.”
Two alumni graduated in 2016.
Ally Alvarez currently works as a counselor and is the GEAR UP Success Coach.
She is so glad to be back home with her family after graduating from Williams College in Massachusetts in 2020.
She said that when she attended RRHS, it made a difference that her teachers were “really interested” and were always willing to offer “both personal and academic help.”
She enjoys “seeing the kids and building relationships” and finds it “fulfilling to make a difference.”
Liana Carrrasco was hired this year as the Director of the RRHS Hawks Theater Company.
She has wonderful memories of being a student here because the teachers were “wonderful” and she “loves the community.”
She briefly worked at San Cayetano when she graduated from the University of Arizona, but is so happy to be using her Theater Production in Design and Technology degree.
Paola Palafox, who currently works as a biology teacher, graduated in 2020.
She wants to give back to the community that helped her achieve her goals.
All of them commented on positive changes that have happened since they attended as students--the variety of new academic, athletic, and other extracurricular programs; the remodeling, including the new Performing Arts Center; the vast variety of clubs; the CTE program.
While all the changes are exciting, Hix said she loves that “the heart” of RRHS “hasn’t changed.”
In the ways that matter most, RRHS is still the same.