This week’s Face of Northeast is Cristina Marquez, a social worker with Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS) since April 2017.

Marquez was raised in Northeast and attended Holy Cross School before leaving Kansas City for college. After earning her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Kansas University, Marquez came back to her roots in Northeast.
Stationed at Northeast Middle School, Marquez said that living in the same neighborhood where she works has helped her create a deeper connection with students.

“I ran into another family at the library that I had helped,” Marquez said. “You get a better sense of what’s going on in your students’ lives and you are a product of the community, but also still residing in the community.”
Marquez said that family and the history in Northeast is something she admires.

“My family has been here for so long,” Marquez said. “My grandmas’ houses are both here. I live in my grandma’s house, so it’s just keeping things within the family and I think family is very important to a lot of the people that live here in Northeast.”