I am running for Baldwin Park School Board because we need schools that make kids excited to learn. Success follows passion and our schools can ignite passion in our students by giving them real world, practical experience. If elected, I will work tirelessly to bring diverse, experiential learning opportunities to all students so that they can achieve the success they deserve.

What inspired me to work hard was not a love for integrating functions or an obsession with iambic pentameter – it was understanding the sacrifices my grandparents and mom made for me. I am the child of immigrants. My grandfather survived the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II. My mother fled Marcos’ martial law. They came to this country with nothing and their sacrifices drove me to spend long hours studying because my effort showed my gratitude.

I graduated from Sierra Vista High School in 2001. I got my Political Science degree from the University of Southern California in 2005. I got my Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2008. I was admitted to the Bar in December of that year and I have been a practicing attorney for over a decade.

As a parent, I often look back on my history to help guide my kids.

I participated in a Mock Trial program at USC. I competed with, matched, and exceeded other students in my arguments and preparation. This experience taught me that I belonged at top universities, despite my immigrant background, and that the gratefulness that drove me to work hard more than made up for my family’s lack of resources.

As a law student at UC Berkeley Law, my most impactful classes were clinical programs that allowed me to help real people. At the East Bay Community Law Center, I helped expunge certain criminal records for formerly incarcerated people to give them a second chance at life and help them overcome past mistakes. As a Street Law teacher, I was able to bring practical knowledge of the law to inner city high school students in Oakland. Seeing the real world, practical impact gave me a sense of purpose.

These are the types of experiences I desperately want for all of our children and I cannot do it alone. I know our kids are built for greatness and, together, we can build a school district that can help them achieve a future limited only by their willingness to work hard, their capacity to dream big.