Daniel Rios is a new history teacher at Oakmont High School. He is currently a long-term substitute teacher for history teacher Thomas Smith. He also teaches IB U.S. History and co-teaches with history teacher Natalie Martinez.
This is his first year at Oakmont and his second year teaching. Last year, he taught at Antelope High School and previously did his student teaching at Granite Bay High School.
Interestingly, Mr. Rios had not always wanted to be a teacher. In high school, he was a student athlete at Roseville High School, where he played basketball.
After high school, he went to Yuba College, also playing basketball there for two years, then going to California State University Sacramento, where he got his bachelor’s degree in teaching.
He also coached basketball, and mentioned that he had worked with several Sacramento Kings players. Currently, he is Junior Varsity basketball coach for Granite Bay High School, where he has coached for the last eight years.
His inspiration for becoming a teacher came from a history class he took in college.
“I was a student athlete for most of my life,” Rios said. “In college, I took a history class that changed my whole perspective of learning about history. [This] helped inspire me to become a history teacher.”
Currently, Mr. Rios is pursuing his master’s degree in education, which he hopes to obtain by this year.
In his personal life, Mr. Rios plays Call of Duty. He is also working on building a dog shed, as he is planning to have a dog this year.
For his time at Oakmont, Mr. Rios is excited to be a part of the Oakmont culture and looks forward to participating in school traditions.
“Oakmont has a strong school culture,” Rios said. “I remember when I was in high school, the O-Zone at games was so loud and intimidating. I would like to continue that.”
Mr. Rios also hopes that his students can also be active and participate.
“A goal I have this year is for my students to participate and be involved in Oakmont,” Rios said. “Going to football games, volleyball games, dances, et cetera.”
