Mrs. Erica Barcelo-Carillo is in her second year as principal at Hoover High School, but this will be her 25th year in education as a whole.

Her passion for becoming a principal came from her time at the University of California, Riverside, where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She became a social worker a year following her graduation and loved what she was doing. While working, she had realized that the families she was serving had a serious root cause of their situations, which was a quality education. Instead of putting a temporary fix on the problem, she decided to pursue a career in education in order to dig into the center of the people’s troubles.

Her most favorite part of the job is being able to connect and build relationships with the students here at Hoover. The interactions that she has with the students light up her day and makes her grateful to be in the position that she has. She wants the students to be engaged and be comfortable enough to dream big for their futures.

“I wish that you could see yourself the way I see you,” Ms.Carillo tells students.

Outside of her principal duties, she is a part of a book club with a small group of friends where they socialize and talk about the books they have chosen to read. Before she gets to work, weightlifting at the gym is an activity she does to stay fit and relieve any type of stress.

But more than anything Ms.Carillo is a family oriented person who loves to spend time with her loved ones and finds unmatched joy in those moments. She also expressed that what she does is purposeful, “To move your life in a direction that your kids will be thankful for.”