 During college, Romero worked in the department of sociology part-time as an administrative assistant.Taking advice from faculty members there, many of whom were completing their PhD's at the University of Colorado, Boulder, she applied to their PhD program and was admitted.During graduate school, Romero worked as an English as a Second Language (ESL) and adult general education teacher for the St. Vrain Valley School District, and also ran a youth employment program in Lafayette, Colorado.