Mrs. Medina was born and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was brought up by very devout Catholic parents. Immediately after graduating from high school, she moved to Denver, Colorado to work for a friend.  The Colorado winters were harsh, which prompted her to move to Tallahassee, Florida to continue her work and begin her college studies.  Hurricane season quickly made her realize that there was no place like home and the calm and enchanting New Mexico weather.  She began her studies at the University of New Mexico focusing on business and psychology.  While working on her BBA in International Management, she was also in discernment with the Servants of The Blessed Sacrament at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church.  Mrs. Medina also danced semi-professionally in Alma Flamenca until she suffered a knee injury.  God had other plans for her.  Shortly before moving to Waterville, Maine to enter the convent, Mrs. Medina met her future husband.  While working on her MBAs in Human Resources and Organizational Behavior, Mrs. Medina was married, started the first of two successful businesses with her husband and gave birth to her first of three children.  Self-employment allowed Mrs. Medina to stay home with her children and manage the family business.  Once the children were enrolled into Our Lady of The Annunciation Catholic School, Mrs. Medina decided to pursue her dream of teaching.  Mrs. Medina was a substitute teacher for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for nearly 4 years and taught full-time for ASF for the last 5 years.  In her free time, Mrs. Medina enjoys spending time with her family, attending theatre shows at Popejoy and going to her family’s ranch in the Pecos Wilderness.  Mrs. Medina places a great importance on family values and recognizes that a strong partnership between home and school is essential for a child’s overall development. She believes that every child is a unique gift from God, and is committed to fostering their intellectual, social, emotional, and spiritual growth. As an experienced teacher and devoted mother, wife and member of the Catholic community, she is honored to have the opportunity to guide your child’s early educational journey in a faith-filled environment. 

Mrs. Jessica Medina is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, holding a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She also holds a Child Development Certificate from Central New Mexico Community College. Mrs. Medina taught in the Los Lunas Public schools for for four years, teaching Kindergarten, first and third grades. She was the lead teacher for 3- and 4-year-olds preschoolers at St. Luke’s, and taught Kindergarten at Albuquerque Christian School. Mrs. Medina looks forward to learning what helps your children learn the best, as well as developing relationships with her students and their families. 

Ms. Angela Alonen was born and raised in the beautiful Espanola Valley. She has three sisters and is the third in line. She has fond memories of growing up in a Catholic household. She spent her weekends as a little girl helping her grandmother pass out doughnuts after mass and attending mass each Sunday with her family. Her grandparents were a big influence on her as they helped to teach her prayers and the importance of having God in her life.

 Teaching runs in Ms. Angela’s family.  Her grandmother was a middle school science teacher, and her mother was a kindergarten teacher. While in high school Ms. Angela enjoyed working with young children and volunteering in her mother’s classroom. Upon graduating from Espanola Valley High School in 2003, Ms. Angela attended Eastern New Mexico University. Here she pursued a degree in early childhood and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education in 2008. Ms. Angela believes early childhood education includes not just working with young children, but with the whole family. She believes that children learn through experiences and family is a big part of a child’s success in learning. She began her teaching experience at a day care center and then taught for Los Lunas Public Schools from 2009 through 2016 while living in Albuquerque.  Her primary work with Los Lunas Public Schools included working with preschool children who had developmental delays.  She created lesson plans which focused on meeting developmental levels and reaching the goals set for each student in her classroom. 

 In 2015, Ms. Angela and her husband were blessed with their first daughter. As a new mother, she prayed about working so far away from her baby which led her to find a new position as a kindergarten teacher with Albuquerque Public Schools in 2016. Ms. Angela taught for APS until 2018 when her youngest daughter was born. It was then she felt God calling her to devote her time to motherhood and she chose to become a stay-at-home mom. 

  During her spare time, Ms. Angela enjoys being with her family, watching her girls play sports, attending Lobo basketball games, and watching movies together. She and her husband are parishioners at St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. 

Ms. Heather Carriedo was born on the east coast where she attended college and met her husband. After graduating, she moved to California where she earned a medical degree at the University of California at Los Angeles, School of Medicine. Following a pediatric residency

and neonatal-perinatal fellowship, she practiced as a neonatologist for twenty years. During that time she was blessed with four children and five dogs. She and her family moved to New Mexico in 2015, where she continued her career as a onatologist. A few years following her move, Ms.

Carriedo realized that God had other plans for her that still involved her love of working with children, so she earned her teaching license from CNM. Following that, she was blessed with the opportunity to teach fourth grade at St. Therese Catholic School. She is so excited to join the Risen Savior Preschool Family.