Kuwahzee hopah <3 I am Kadyatz (Moonlight). My clan is Hapanee (Oak). My English name is Albenita Arquero. I am a mother, grandmother, aunt and sister to many in our extended family and community. I live in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico. I recently retired as an educator from Santa Fe Indian School (SFIS). My career as a teacher and administrator for 40 years were spent in schools where the majority were indigenous students.
My inspiration to become a teacher were my parents (Aurelia and Leo Coriz), children, and a boss (Jim Moffit) that believed in me. We have a family of teachers in our families. I have three children whose names are Trisha, Julianna and Hayes. My oldest daughter, Trisha, is a teacher and my youngest daughter, Julianna is an educational assistant at SFIS. As an educator, I have always supported teaching as a career to my students. I have worked as a mentor teacher for teacher training programs at the University of New Mexico and University of Idaho (IKEEP).
I became a school teacher for my Indigenous Ancestors, Children and Communities. Our teachers in our Indigenous communities were parents, grandparents, elders, uncles and aunties through Oral Traditions. Our teachings were the original instructions and traditional knowledge. The education institution lacked many Indigenous teachers, it is the reason I became a teacher. I wanted our Indigenous children to see one of their own in the classroom.
