Purposeful, Playful, Passionate
/My time in high school
Attended high school in the
1980s
Overall high school experience
6/10. Was sociable. Enjoyed my classes. Participated only in a few extracurricular activities each year that I wanted to take based on my personal interest or for pleasure. Had a part-time job so had extra spending money and met people outside of school and family. Got to drive family car to school when I got my license.
Grades in high school
A's and B's. Did better in math, some sciences, arts, and Spanish than Social Studies or English.
Favorite subjects
Foreign Language, Math, Science, Visual Arts
Struggled with...
English, Social Studies, and Geometry. I grew up in a household where is English was not the primary language spoken. I didn't do well with memorization of detailed historical facts with timelines. I was terrible with proofs in geometry for the same reasons.
Favorite extracurricular
Community Service / Social Activism
Life since high school
“As a young person/adult, I thought success was measured by achievements and milestones...Life taught me it’s not about the what that made my life fulfilling, but the who and why”
Attended college / university at
Santa Clara University. I started as an Electrical Engineer major. However, during my Junior Year I switched my degree to Combined Sciences with a Social Science emphasis. This required me to take a few quarters off to take general education classes at Foothill and DeAnza so can transfer. I took me an additional 2 quarters to graduate.
Post-graduate education or training
I have a Master's in Public Health focusing on community health education and Master's in Business Administration
Places lived in US
California, District of Columbia (Washington D.C.)
Current occupations / past occupations
I dedicated my career to addressing the health and social priorities of vulnerable communities as a nonprofit senior manager, public service volunteer, educator, and freelance consultant. Primarily in nonprofit and public health sectors, my occupations focused on community health education and promotion, research, health communication, policy, advocacy, training, and administration.
Industries I've worked in
- Administrative and Support Services
- Educational Services
- Health Care and Social Assistance
- Public Administration (e.g. Government, Police, Judicial, etc.)
- Nonprofit
Did your education prepare you for your career or occupation?
Yes
Has your education or career/occupation trajectory ever changed? How?
Yes. I previously mentioned how my education path changed.
A little introspection...
To me, being successful means...
never giving up on oneself and learning lessons from failures as much or more than accomplishments
My definition of success has changed over time.
As a young person/adult, I thought success was measured by achievements and milestones (eg. getting a degree, securing a job, owning property, getting married, and having children). Life taught me it's not about the what that made my life fulfilling, but the who and why. The relationships and personal connections (fleeting as well as enduring) that I made helped shaped the way I viewed as well as moved in the world. Learning to savor and value the experience of my journey than impatiently focused on reaching my destination.
My greatest accomplishment to date and what I’ve learned from it
I believe my greatest accomplishment is my ability to face life's challenges with tenacity, humor, ingenuity, optimism, and humor.
My biggest mistake or regret so far and what I’ve learned from it
I don't believe in mistakes and try not to have regrets. I believe that every action or inaction, every missed or taken opportunity, and every failed relationship brought me closer to where I am suppose to be, doing the work that I am doing now, and married to my life partner. I believe in moving forward shaping my own story because there is only one me.
An unexpected event that significantly changed my life and how it impacted me
This is a hard question to answer. For personal events, I always sensed it was a matter of when rather than if. This included deaths of loved ones, marriage proposals, failing a college course, securing a dream job, etc.. However, when I woke up to the news radio announcing the attacks on the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001, I knew life politically, socially, and globally would not be the same. To not be able to travel freely, especially to regions of our world with rich history. To witness the increased divisiveness in race and religious relations.
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My favorite spot in or around Palo Alto
Palo Alto Baylands
