As a first generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am incredibly lucky to have been exposed to Ethnic Studies and social justice work that is rooted in the community. Through volunteering as a translator for elderly manongs and manangs as they share their stories in Tagalog at Bayanihan Equity Center in San Francisco, and showing younger Filipino American students that higher education is attainable by being a mentor at the Galing Bata after school program, the stories these younger and elderly Filipinos shared the same sentiments and dreams that my parents had, to give back to our family and back to our community. I learned that I could make a difference through volunteerism and advocacy, growing my passion for leadership through public service. Through public service I recognized that I could intersect service to my identity. Being able to pay homage to the servant leaders who came before me in my work, such as Larry Itliong, has allowed me to be part of something greater than myself. Itliong, a Filipino American labor movement leader in the Delano grape strikes, proved that making noise and centering leadership around the people ensures that community remains in the hands of the community. Inspired by the movements towards intergenerational healing and solidarity work, my non profit work and working in public service spaces have inspired me to bring change through public service. The government structure was not made for individuals who look like me, and have even worked to try and remove our existence from history books and from taking space; however, I find that it is my responsibility to take space in public service and be able to use the public service for good, especially for my community. My commitment to leadership and passion for Ethnic Studies ignited in 2020 when I assumed the role of Student Trustee for the South San Francisco Unified School District, a position I held for two consecutive years. During my tenure, I actively participated in policy decisions with a focus on community impact. I provided valuable input on initiatives addressing critical issues like policing, sexual violence, and harassment reform, and worked towards creating enhanced opportunities for students of color to access higher education. Inspired by this experience, I sought to extend my service at the University of California, Berkeley, where I joined the Associated Students. Initially serving as an intern in the Office of the President within the Academic and Professional Opportunities Department, I continued on to serve as External Chief of Staff to ASUC Senator Lanah Duque, the Pilipinx Community-endorsed senator. Inspired by the leaders around me, I am now an ASUC Senator-Elect at UC Berkeley, representing the Pilipinx and Southeast Asian community for the 2024-2025 academic year. I ran a campaign for over 4 months with a team of 30 student leaders, and secured the #3 seat out of #37 candidates. With these leadership experiences, I hope to continue to lift as I climb and continue to share all that I have learned to the next generation of leaders. My greatest form of advocacy is through education, as I have been molded by the stories of my ancestors, and leaders who came before me. I aim to be the first in my family to obtain a Bachelor’s degree, hoping to exemplify Filipina excellence through leading with love in all spaces I occupy.

As a first generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am incredibly lucky to have been exposed to Ethnic Studies and social justice work that is rooted in the community. Through volunteering as a translator for elderly manongs and manangs as they share their stories in Tagalog at Bayanihan Equity Center in San Francisco, and showing younger Filipino American students that higher education is attainable by being a mentor at the Galing Bata after school program, the stories these younger and elderly Filipinos shared the same sentiments and dreams that my parents had, to give back to our family and back to our community. I learned that I could make a difference through volunteerism and advocacy, growing my passion for public service. Through public service I recognized that I could intersect service to my identity. Being able to pay homage to the servant leaders who came before me in my work, such as Larry Itliong, has allowed me to be part of something greater than myself. Itliong, a Filipino American labor movement leader in the Delano grape strikes, proved that making noise and centering leadership around the people ensures that community remains in the hands of the community. Inspired by the movements towards intergenerational healing and solidarity work, my non profit work and working in public service spaces have inspired me to bring change through public service. The government structure was not made for individuals who look like me, and have even worked to try and remove our existence from history books and from taking space; however, I find that it is my responsibility to take space in public service and be able to use the public service for good, especially for my community. My commitment to public service and passion for Ethnic Studies ignited in 2020 when I assumed the role of Student Trustee for the South San Francisco Unified School District, a position I held for two consecutive years. During my tenure, I actively participated in policy decisions with a focus on community impact. I provided valuable input on initiatives addressing critical issues like policing, sexual violence, and harassment reform, and worked towards creating enhanced opportunities for students of color to access higher education. Inspired by this experience, I sought to extend my service at the University of California, Berkeley, where I joined the Associated Students. Initially serving as an intern in the Office of the President within the Academic and Professional Opportunities Department, I continued on to serve as External Chief of Staff to ASUC Senator Lanah Duque, the Pilipinx Community-endorsed senator. Inspired by the leaders around me, I am now an ASUC Senator-Elect at UC Berkeley, representing the Pilipinx and Southeast Asian community for the 2024-2025 academic year. I ran a campaign for over 4 months with a team of 30 student leaders, and secured the #3 seat out of #37 candidates. My education is incredibly invaluable, as I would be the first in my family to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. With this responsibility to not only persevere to fulfill my parents dreams, but also achieve my own, I hope to continue to lift as I climb and continue to share all that I have learned to the next generation of leaders. My greatest form of advocacy is through education, as I have been molded by the stories of my ancestors, and leaders who came before me. With this, I am currently serving as Intern under the first Filipina Mayor of Daly City, Juslyn Manalo, and Civic Engagement Intern at Asian Law Alliance.

‘Daly City is basically Manilatown’- words that my white classmates said in the school hallways. I looked down in shame, but as I stared out the window and saw Carl the fog rolling in, I remembered the anecdote my parents shared with me that ‘the fog is all the Filipinos cooking rice’. I no longer felt shame in being surrounded by a community that looked like me. As a first generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am incredibly lucky to have been exposed to Ethnic Studies and social justice work that is rooted in the community. Through volunteering as a translator for elderly manongs and manangs as they share their stories in Tagalog at Bayanihan Equity Center in San Francisco, and showing younger Filipino American students that higher education is attainable by being a mentor at the Galing Bata after school program, the stories these younger and elderly Filipinos shared the same sentiments and dreams that my parents had, to give back to our family, back to our kapwa, and back to our community; all upon the driving purpose of love. Filipinos are resilient, and I choose to be resilient by leading with love. Being able to pay homage to the servant leaders who came before me in my work, such as Larry Itliong, has allowed me to be part of something greater than myself. Itliong, a Filipino American labor movement leader in the Delano grape strikes, proved that making noise and centering leadership around the people ensures that community remains in the hands of the community. Inspired by the movements towards intergenerational healing and solidarity work, my non profit work and working in public service spaces have inspired me to bring change through the law. The government structure was not made for individuals who look like me, and have even worked to try and remove our existence from history books and from taking space; however, I find that it is my responsibility to take space in the law and be able to use the law for good, especially for my community. In any capacity, I lead with love; because of my love for my family, my love for Ethnic Studies, my love for my community, and my love for my Filipino identity.