Blog #3: Zio Perez

The person I chose, that related to the chapter was Zio Perez. Growing up Zio went to schools that were among the worst in the nation. Zio was raised by a single mother who immigrated from Guatemala and didn't speak much English, and spent her teenage years doing things she shouldn't have been doing, and getting away with them because her mother worked full-time. When Zio finally decided to start getting involved and joined as many clubs as she could, one of which was the Future Teachers. One of the club advisors saw something in her, introduced her to the Golden Apple Foundation and became one of their Scholars, started on her path to teaching. Zio says that although she has a master's degrees and multiple awards, as a preschool teacher, she still has issues being taken seriously. Zio is currently Co-founder of SwaziKids International, which provides school supplies to students in Swaziland.


Chapter four in the book Outliers applies the same concept because as Chris Langan, Zio Perez had a rough childhood. There stories may be different, but similar at the same time. Chris grew up very poor, his father was an alcoholic and for the most part absent. He was a highly gifted student, and ended up going on full scholarship to Reed University. Until his mother messed up on his financial aid, and had to dropout. Zio had a similar childhood, she grew up without a dad, her mother worked full-time, and did whatever she wanted. Zio did bad in school, until one day she decided to join a club, that changed her life. The concept was almost identical, but with a twist. Just like Chris, Zio did not "discover" her capabilities until later in life.