Rita Contreras, Santa Fe High’s new librarian, was born in Albuquerque. She graduated from St. Mary’s School in 1967.

Ms. Contreras has had a number of jobs and pursuits. She moved to San Francisco, Calif., at 17, where she lived for the majority of her life. She lived in Japan from 2002 to 2004, teaching English to several age groups. She has also volunteered with the schools and been an educational assistant. “Each job I’ve had provides me something new to learn,” she said, adding that SFHS is teaching her new and different things every day.

“It’s important for children to have an education, and I like to help out,” she said. She became inspired to work with young people after homeschooling her own daughter. She said she chose to work at Santa Fe High because she likes “working with the kids.”

Ms. Contreras earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Development at Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, Calif., in 2007.

In her free time, Ms. Contreras likes to crochet, read, do yoga, cook, and travel. She has one daughter—Padmananda Rama Contreras—whose name means “lotus flower” in the Far East. Ms. Contreras is proud of her daughter, a journalist who has worked for both CNN and FOX News and now works as a video producer for Associated Press.