Growing up, I've always found myself constantly inquiring and exploring for something new. Whether it’d be finding food in the fridge or trying out different things like baseball or tennis, I was always looking for something. But the one thing that I’ve always found hard to find was representation as a Filipino American. Through different TV Shows, music artists, and movies I would be the kid to find some type of Filipino American or Asian American who would look like me to feel some type of validation. I didn’t understand what type of validation that was until I came to college.
Joining my collegiate organization at Stony Brook University and meeting community leaders around the NYC/NJ area lead me to discover that the validation I’ve been looking for was our people’s work being noticed. Though TV shows and movies are on a much bigger scale, it wasn’t about being on the big screen - it was about creating the bigger picture itself. Coming into UniPro has given me the opportunity to work with so many people of different backgrounds and work skills. It has shown me that building the community around us will lead to the brighter future we deserve.
I am currently the Director of Community Building of UniPro NY, previously Content Manager when I joined in August 2017. Back when I was in college, I was the President of Stony Brook University’s Philippine United Student Organization (2016-2017), FIND, Inc’s District III National Director (2015-2017), FIND, Inc’s National Public Relations Officer (2015-2016), and FIND, Inc.’s District III Public Relations Officer (2014-2015).
And finally, my 9-to-5 is an Assistant Negotiator at Zenith New York!