Rita was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador, South America (SA). She came to the United States (U.S) as an American Field Service Exchange Student and spent her senior year living with the Mervin Hall family in Independence, Iowa. A year after returning to her homeland, she married her American sweetheart. She has been living in the U.S ever since. Rita obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education/Spanish from Central College, Pella, IA. Prior to becoming a Spanish teacher, Rita owned and operated "Rita's School of Dancing". In Iowa she taught high school beginning, intermediate and advanced Spanish. Furthermore, Rita was a KinderCare Teacher at Mis Amigos Spanish Immersion. Also, she was a first grade teacher at ISLA (2014-2015). At the present time, she is an Educational Language Assistant at ISLA.