Rita Santamaria, an icon in the Houston, Texas real estate community, has been actively involved in every aspect of the real estate business since getting her license 30 years ago.  Working as a real estate broker in the early eighties, she realized there were not enough quality real estate educational courses or places to go for real estate agents to take these courses and advance their career.  So she set about changing how real estate agents view real estate courses and in 1983 opened up her very first real estate school in Houston, Texas. And so Champions School of Real Estate was born.

"I opened Champions School of Real Estate in 1983 to bring the 'total learning experience' to new licensees. The total experience means, current information on what is happening in the real estate market today, qualified instructors who love to teach, and a learning environment that says ‘Welcome and thank you for choosing our school.’ Our goal is to help you achieve excellence through our quality education," shares Rita Santamaria, President of the company.

Currently celebrating her 29th year in business as founder and owner of Champions School of Real Estate, Rita has seen her school grow from a small two-classroom facility in Houston, Texas to a statewide school with 7 campus locations in Texas. Champions currently has offices in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin and Fort Worth (opened in 2012). The school's success started and can be attributed to the dedication of Rita Santamaria.

Rita Santamaria's dedication and hard work in the real estate community has been recognized over the years with countless awards and accolades. It is no surprise that 3-years in a row, they have been recognized nationally with the RealtyU “National Pinnacle Award” for being the school that provides the highest performance and lasting contribution to real estate education. In 2008, Rita Santamaria was recognized as the Texas WCR Business Woman of the Year. In 2011, she was named one of "Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2010" by Houston Woman Magazine.