It is fair to say that Chris Rios had looked all over before he found the Graduate School at Baylor. "I moved around as a kid for my mom's job," Chris explains. "She was a television executive." He graduated high school in Minnesota, and keeping a promise to his mother, Chris earned a music degree from Bethel University in St. Paul. After graduation, Chris moved on to Colorado where he met his wife, and the couple decided to settle down in Houston where Chris took a job as a teacher.

Chris taught for six years in public and private schools before he decided to go back to school. "I didn't know what I wanted to do eventually, except that I wanted to teach college," Chris says. So, Chris and his wife sold their home in Houston, bought an RV, and headed out to Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

At the same time, Chris was learning something about himself. "I figured out that what I thought I wanted to do I didn't want to do anymore," Chris says. "I thought I wanted to be a philosopher, and I discovered I wanted to be a historian."

Chris began to look for institutions that would complement what he had already studied but allow him the opportunity to explore his interests. "I came to Baylor because of a series of fortunate accidents," Chris says. "A lot of people that had my background would go on to seminary. I knew I wanted to be in a university." Chris contacted Bill Pitts in Baylor's Department of Religion, and Dr. Pitts gave Chris a list of books to read, telling Chris to call back if they interested him. "I really loved this stuff," Chris remembers. "This is answering the questions I have."

Chris earned his doctorate will working first as a Teacher of Record at Baylor and later as a high school history teacher at Rapoport Academy. Chris worked an additional year at Rapoport after graduation before Baylor came calling again. In June 2011, Chris became the Assistant Dean for Graduate Life. "I knew working at a university would have many academic opportunities," Chris says. "I didn't expect to work in something like the Graduate School."

Reflecting on his time at as a student at Baylor, Chris recognizes the opportunity the Graduate School provided. "Baylor stands in a unique place in the academic world as a research university that has maintained a robust Christian identity," Chris says. "I think the ability to study religion in a university setting where you are not sequestered with a bunch of other seminarians is an incredibly enriching experience. There are other places that do it well, but Baylor does it in a way that is particularly rich."