Lou Barrios 

Mr. Lou Barrios was born at West Covina Queen of the Valley Hospital. For the first five years of existence he spent his time being shuttled from Diamond Bar to Baldwin Park where his grandmother cared for him, his sister and his cousins. There he learned to catch lizards, swim, speak Spanish and throw pillows at his younger family members. You can't always positively contain a young boy's energy.

He was very fortunate to have the care of his grandmother and hardworking parents. He took those wonderful memories to Neil Armstrong Elementary. In his first year at school Barrios felt right at home and over the next nine months he would become an After School Playground Legend. His speed and ability to cut on a dime while playing touch football with the older boys, would earn him the nickname "Little Emmitt." 

Although, Mr. Barrios never lived up to being nicknamed after Emmitt Smith, he now sees that his mother's decision to keep him away from tackle football was in his best interest. Through his elementary and middle school years his energy remained constant at recess and in the classroom. His high energy, combined with lack of skills pushed him to pursue long distance running. So he joined his local squad the Canyon Hills Road Runners.

After spending his pre-teen years in Los Angeles, he moved to Ramona, California. As a proud Ramona Bulldog, Mr. Barrios was glad to be a part of his high schools' soccer, golf, track and cross country teams. Mr. Barrios would leave Ramona and take his talents to the University of San Diego where he continued running track and cross country. He would go to receive his BA and BS in Mechanical Engineering. 

After college Mr. Barrios struggled with deciding between becoming an engineer or going into teaching. The idea of pursuing his tru passion was too much to pass up when Mr. Barrios was accepted into Teach for America. Once in the program he taught high school Math and Science for Aspire Public Schools.

Currently, Mr. Barrios is an eighth grade Math and Science teacher at High Tech Middle Media Arts. Prior to joining the HTMMA staff, Mr. Barrios taught Algebra 2 and Physics at the Phoenix Academy, served in an HIV/AIDS hospital in Gulu, Uganda, worked as a design engineer at Solar Turbines and as a continuous improvement engineer for Kraft Global.

When Mr. Barrios' isn't at Media Arts, he enjoys playing team sports (Soccer, Kickball, Football, Basketball, Ultimate Frisbee), likes to dance (Salsa), go to the ocean (Surfing) and do several other activities (Rock climbing, Cycling). Mr. Barrios also enjoys traveling, he has also been to the Ecuador, Peru, Uganda, Mexico, Costa Rica, England, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland and Italy.