Johann Rios

Meet Johann

Pronouns: He/Him

Major: Liberal Studies (Hutchins School

Hometown: Logansport, IN

What is your favorite memory or experience at SSU?

My favorite memory at SSU so far has been the first day when all of my residents moved in. As a Residential Advisor training was grueling and filled with a lot of challenging moments. There were definitely parts where I questioned my resilience to get through the challenges they had set out for us. But at the end of training the day when the First Year Residents moved in I remember feeling the anticipation under my skin. It felt electric. The amount of questions that bounded back and forth in my head like: I wonder how this year will go? Do I have the spirit for such an important job? Who are my residents going to be? The nerves were ecstatic and then the first person walked into my courtyard. I felt a sort of happiness that made me tear up a little bit. All that worry turned into pure joy because I knew that that day was the beginning of supporting the new generation of students here at Sonoma State.

What made you choose SSU?

I had many reasons to come to SSU and they all range from the beautiful campus that I feel like I could just continually explore and lose myself in the ranging sceneries that you can find. Another reason I picked SSU is because this school has excellent options when it comes to someone who is so interested in working in education or with children, which is me. I have known since early high school that teaching was going to be my passion. One of the more important reasons that I chose SSU was because it was far enough from home. My home life at the time was rather rough and I know some can relate to seeing college as an escape from home. Another reason was that I was lost identity wise after the covid pandemic. My cultural identity has always been obscured as being a Latino half Salvadoreo half Mexicano with Native Roots born in Logansport, Indiana. That lack of community hindered me in a lot of ways and I knew Sonoma, while small, did have serviceable programs that could help me explore that. I was going to take the community college route but the idea of taking a dive and rediscovering myself in Sonoma was the odds I bet on.

What has been the most challenging part of your college experience and what did you learn from it?

The most challenging part of my college experience was my first year. The fight I had between working enough to hit the monthly payments for housing was always a race that I was behind in. I am very lucky that all I had to take was one subsidized loan, besides luck I worked hard as a Supervisor in the Dining Hall's Dish Pit. It is a rough job but even with all of the adversity that I faced in my first year it taught me about how achievable anything really is. I wanted to go to a four year college and I fought for my place on this campus. I wanted it, so I put in the time, effort, dedication that being a full time college student working as many hours as I could while trying to navigate the ocean that was being a first year. I think that's why I love my job so much as a first year RA because being able to support students who have their strife on top of being new to the college experience I could not see a better job.

What have you been involved with at SSU?

Residential Advisor and Village Council Liaison and M.E.Ch.A