Dr. Victor Rios

Love isn't proven in the easy times. It's proven when you choose each other in the hard ones. Grateful for the 26 years of marriage with the love of my life. At times we were broke, broken, and in pain but during the tough times we committed to have each others back, to heal together, and to build the strongest relationship. Stay committed, reassure each other, heal together, and never stop building.

Ms. Russ, The teacher who saved my life has passed away.
I’ve spent my career studying what helps young people transform their lives, and the research keeps confirming what I lived: one caring adult can change everything.
I was that kid, the one written off, the one people crossed the street to avoid. Ms. Russ saw something different. Not a statistic. A scholar.
To every teacher: the impact you make compounds across a lifetime.
I am a caring teacher’s legacy.
Thank you Ms. Russ. Rest in Peace.


https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/07/23/remembering-flora-russ-a-pillar-of-support-to-berkeley-students-and-staff-for-50-years

So proud of this young man, Dr. Demontae Thompson!
I’ve known Demontae since his undergraduate days at Cal State. He always told me he dreamed of becoming a doctor. He came from the struggle, a foster kid who grew up in Compton, California.
Well, today that dream became reality.
He earned his PhD from UCLA, and he honored me by asking me to hood him at his graduation ceremony.
This is what perseverance looks like.

Check out the podcast episode we recorded together on Real with Rios:“Sueños to Success”, where Demontae shares his incredible life journey and his powerful philosophy on life.

PhD UCLA UCSB

The storm formed a heart shape over Santa Barbara and Oxnard today. Stay safe fam!