00:00:00.000 - 00:00:12.220

Yeah, that's so amazing. Well, I'm glad and it's cool that you're also part of this is just like, collecting history. Yeah, it's, um, yeah, up until this point, I've just been like, editing and cleaning transcripts.

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And it's, yes. A little bit nervous, but also, like, exciting to actually do one of these myself. Yeah, that's cool. Is this your first one? That's gonna be great.

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Yeah, I mean, I am. Yeah, like, I ask questions for a living so— Right, I think. Yeah, I think Ann and Anne had that in mind when they– when they were

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figuring out like an interview. Yeah, yeah. Cool. So well, how's your day been? How's your day been? It's good.

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I just kicked off a series for channel 2, a series that really explores disparities in the community. And yeah, and– and so I got to tell some really good storytelling, which is good. And we got to

00:00:59.050 - 00:01:13.080

get into a community that is underserved and talk about all of the different ways that COVID is affecting them. It was really rewarding. All of the interviews were in Spanish because they didn’t speak English, so it was

00:01:13.080 - 00:01:23.690

good to access to those stories. Yeah. It’s been good. Yeah, I think that's actually one of my questions. So maybe like, later on, you'll be able to say, tell about that

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in a little bit more detail. . Yeah, so, I'm gonna start roughly chronologically in some broad biographical strokes.

00:01:35.380 - 00:01:51.520

When and where were you born? I was born in Park Ridge, Illinois, in 1991. Okay, and is that like near Chicago? Where in Illinois is that? Yeah, that's a good question.

00:01:51.860 - 00:02:07.640

It's by Evanston, which is right by Chicago. Yeah, it's um, yeah, that's right. It's maybe a 20-minute drive from Chicago proper. I see. And so you were born here.

00:02:07.640 - 00:02:20.710

Did your parents come to the United States or? Yeah, what— Yeah, what generation? Yeah. So I am the first generation to grow up and be born in America. My father came from the Philippines.

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And my mother came from the Philippines as well, but they met here. And then they got married here and then they had me and my sister. I see. I see. And so it's— is

00:02:34.670 - 00:02:44.770

that your only sibling, your sister? Is she older or younger? She's an older sister. She's about two years older than I am, and she's in Chicago.

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I moved here for a job. Right, right. Okay. So, uh, what was your, what was your childhood like? What was it like, yeah, growing

00:02:55.250 - 00:03:15.190

up? Um, like in terms of just in general? Um, yeah, like, I guess some maybe in terms of like, yeah, your home life and maybe what your relationships

00:03:16.210 - 00:03:29.780

with family were like and like things like that. Gotcha. Yeah, totally. Um, well, being, you know, a daughter of an immigrant has been a huge, you know, it

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has made a huge impact on my life because my father and mother always instilled in me values that really help them to survive. So hard work, are always remembering where you came from.

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Working hard for all of your accomplishments because nothing is going to come easy. You know? Knowing that you are different than the majority, and that is something that you should be proud of.

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And in while it may make things more difficult at times, because not everyone accepts what everybody looks like, that it's something that you should be proud of. And, you know, you should use to your advantage that it is, you know, that being

00:04:13.210 - 00:04:26.600

the daughter of immigrants is a different walk of life. And that it is something that has shaped me into uniquely who I have become. And so my father would be very strict and, you know, really

00:04:26.790 - 00:04:40.130

instill like a hard work ethic in me, because he had to do the same when he came to America. My mother was always about being a good person, and always about being empathetic with people, being very humble.

00:04:40.590 - 00:04:53.700

She always told me that you don't know what kind of struggles people are going through. So it's very important that you treat everyone with kindness and respect because life is very hard. So, you know, unless someone deserves to be treated less than,

00:04:54.360 - 00:05:08.830

but then you better be a good person. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. But my father would take me, my sister and I, to the Philippines quite often when we were younger, every, you know, two or four years because it's important

00:05:08.960 - 00:05:26.190

for him to remind us where we came from, the privilege that we have lived in America, and also to meet my family there. Right. So, you went to the Philippines pretty regularly as a kid and so I'm guessing you also like

00:05:27.410 - 00:05:37.840

sort of have a relationship with your extended family as well. And like, so how have they been important in your life growing up and now? Yeah, yeah.

00:05:38.030 - 00:05:51.250

And in Filipino culture, extended family is everything. I mean, I grew up in a very full household. It was my parents, my sister and I and then my grandfather, if I've always had that full house.

00:05:51.550 - 00:06:04.050

And then when my grandfather remarried because his wife had died, we had a really full house. So the Filipino culture is always about taking care of your extended family. And I know when my parents get older, I know either my

00:06:04.050 - 00:06:15.930

sister or me, we will— one of us between— one of us, we're going to be taken care of them. My extended family in the Philippines, I know them all. We're all connected on Facebook, you know, they met me, they seen me grow

00:06:15.930 - 00:06:28.870

up. I have seen them in a long time. But for the first time after 12 years, I got to see them last year or a couple of years ago, two years ago, and it was great. But yes, I do know my extended family, and I do have quite a bit of

00:06:28.870 - 00:06:43.990

roots in the Philippines. Yeah, that's cool. Um, and like, so did you grow up like speaking Tagalog with your family, is that something you grew up with? Well, I really think it's important to

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have, you know, that to understand that language, and also, I think, I think it's so important not let that language that you grew up that your parents grew up with, die. My father would talk to me only in Tagalog, for the most part, and my mother would

00:07:01.350 - 00:07:12.930

talk to me in English. So I was able to speak some basic Tagalog, which is now called Filipino. But, and I can understand most of it, but I really

00:07:13.640 - 00:07:26.380

want to learn to Tagalog formally so that I could pass it on to the next generation because I don't want the language to die with me. Yeah, I definitely feel that like, I can definitely um, you

00:07:26.380 - 00:07:40.840

know, from a combination of, you know, actually, knowing the language formally as well as like, just sort of growing up I can understand it pretty decently. I would like to be able to, Korean, I'm Korean American.

00:07:40.940 - 00:07:53.920

I would like to be able to, you know, know it well enough to pass on and yeah, to speak it with, better, with other Koreans. Oh my gosh, I agree. Because I think— It's like, does the language die with me? Because we're a very unique

00:07:54.010 - 00:08:06.690

generation. We're a generation where a parents came from another country. And we will be the only generation where that if you're in this specific generation, we will be the only generation to come from parents who did not,

00:08:07.180 - 00:08:21.410

were not born here. And that's a very unique place to be because we take for granted that they understand– and know the language and have, you know, pass that along to us. But what about the next generation?

00:08:21.410 - 00:08:36.670

Do we even understand our parents, you know, native language enough to be able to pass it on? It kind of scares me that the idea that this language could die with me because I've taken it for granted. But I know how unique this position is.

00:08:37.000 - 00:08:46.480

I will be the only generation where my parents were born in the Philippines, and I was born here and generations after that I was born here. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

00:08:47.770 - 00:09:03.910

So um, let's see… What was um, when you were growing up like, like, what was school like for you? How was it socially, academically, like, how was that, how was it like that, or um yeah?

00:09:05.020 - 00:09:19.040

Yeah, I was really lucky because I went to a school that was super diverse. So diverse that I went to a diverse college. But when I went to that college, I was a culture shock because my school is one of the most diverse high

00:09:19.040 - 00:09:33.290

schools, if not the most diverse high school in the country. I went to Maine East High School in Illinois, and my-I was so used to class or snapshots of Asian people, Latino people, you know, African American people, Middle

00:09:34.130 - 00:09:49.220

Eastern people, that was all a very regular snapshot of my classroom. And I grew up feeling just so comfortable with the idea that if I was a minority, because walking alongside so many different groups from so many different

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socioeconomic group- lev- groups, we were really mixed with everybody. So growing up, it was just a matter of doing well in school, enjoying all of my classmates, I did

00:10:05.130 - 00:10:16.550

so much stuff. It was important for my parents that I you know, get involved in band, I did try and, you know, music society.

00:10:16.890 - 00:10:34.930

I did, I did debate, I did softball, I did volleyball, and then a little bit of track one year, but really, I had so many opportunities and my- I challenged myself. I was I was like, if my parents are going to work so hard to give me a future,

00:10:35.120 - 00:10:45.660

I'm and you know, take care of me with school, I'm going to make sure that I do the best in everything. So I tried a lot of things. I was first

00:10:45.660 - 00:10:59.810

chair in alto saxophone in symphonic band, and also jazz band, and then the orchestra, you know, was taking a trip to Canada and I wanted to go. I played clarinet.

00:11:00.490 - 00:11:10.220

And I learned the clarinet. And I tried out for the orchestra. And I got first chair for— Yeah, just-just because I wanted to go to Canada; but I got first chair. Yeah.

00:11:10.580 - 00:11:21.860

But I never do the string instruments. But yeah, you know, my, my growing up, I was so lucky that my high school was so diverse that I felt empowered to, to be a leader.

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I think about it in now as an adult, and I think if I went to a school that was a lot less diverse, maybe I wouldn't have had the confidence that I had, because I would always think that I'm different or, you know, that it would make me feel during those formative years,

00:11:37.470 - 00:11:49.060

lesser than I was. I don't know, but I know as an adult, I appreciate having a diverse high school because I felt confidence. So then I went to college and the time I was looking

00:11:49.470 - 00:12:05.330

for a family, and I was looking for a group to fit in with and one of my friends said, "Hey, join Philippine Student Association, you don't have a choice." I know. And I am so thankful for that friend but because of his guidance, I joined the

00:12:05.330 - 00:12:15.690

Philippine Student Association and that's when my journey as an Asian American, knowing my Asian American roots and appreciating that part of me began truly.

00:12:16.480 - 00:12:32.710

I think, that that the Philippine Student Association at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, had such a robust leadership group, a leadership structure that allowed, you know, those in college

00:12:32.830 - 00:12:48.590

to develop as leaders, to be a part of something bigger, to be part of these really robust programs to learn accountability, working with others, learning how to do emails, and from social chair when I first started to Vice

00:12:49.600 - 00:13:02.770

President External because they had built a leadership structure that was sustainable, got people excited, and because of how many years that had been there, it had such an established transition that we really didn’t have to

00:13:02.770 - 00:13:16.140

start over. We were just along for the ride and, and we continue to evolve the Philippine Student Association. So as Vice President External, you know, I improved the programs. And then after that I ran for a big life

00:13:16.170 - 00:13:28.720

changing position. It was the Filipino Americans Coming Together, FACT conference at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign through the Philippine Student Association.

00:13:29.320 - 00:13:40.750

That conference was the largest collegiate Filipino American leadership conference in Midwest, in the United States. I don't know of anything bigger,

00:13:41.000 - 00:13:58.880

because at the time it was 1300 delegates and counting, and I was I earned the spot of co-coordinating it. So I led a team of 180 some people, you know, volunteers, my media group, 36 facilitators from

00:13:59.040 - 00:14:08.860

all over the world. The event was three days long, I secured a budget of 20,000 something dollars for it. And all because of the Philippine

00:14:08.860 - 00:14:24.690

Student Organization, I got that opportunity. And that really taught me leadership and accountability and working with people and taking vision and turning it to reality in ways that my immediate education didn't.

00:14:24.940 - 00:14:36.810

This was all the things I learned outside of my formal college education because of opportunity at the University of Illinois. I'm sorry, I digress. I just so passionate about how—

00:14:36.960 - 00:14:46.130

That's good. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's good. It's definitely like, definitely, knocked some of the other questions that I had about that stuff out of the park.

00:14:46.130 - 00:14:57.000

So, that's great. Good. Yeah, we kill the birds with one stone. Right, right, we're gonna try to kill, you know, multiple birds with fewer stones today.

00:14:58.750 - 00:15:10.230

Let's see. Okay. So you got your degree in Broadcast Journalism at Urbana-Champaign. So at one point did you decide that like, that's what you wanted to do?

00:15:10.290 - 00:15:25.710

And when it came to that decision were you like, pretty confident about it early on, or did you just sort of come to that a bit more gradually? Yeah. So when I was in second grade, I wrote a book about the mouse catching the cheese. And

00:15:25.920 - 00:15:37.410

I just loved reading so much because my mom was a huge bookworm. And my dad would say that "It you're reading you know, it would help you, you know, in your writing and everything, and it would help you as a student," so I read a lot.

00:15:38.170 - 00:15:52.720

And after that, I told my mom, “I want to be an author,” and I didn’t know what that meant, I didn't know what that really meant, but I knew I liked writing and love my English classes. So eventually, you know, from second grade to “I want to be a journalist,” you know, cuz my mom would always

00:15:52.960 - 00:16:02.860

watch 20/20 on ABC and Barbara Walters. Yeah. And you. Yeah, you did debate in high school. So I'm assuming that like, current events

00:16:02.860 - 00:16:14.570

were definitely something that was up your alley? Yeah. Eventually in second grade. I mean, it was Right, not in second grade, you got there like, yeah, I mean, like, I don't know, like, in where I

00:16:14.570 - 00:16:29.120

live, there are some very erudite second graders. But like, yeah, obviously, eventually, yeah. Yeah. Oh my god, you're so funny. Yeah. So I wanted to be a journalist ever since the second grade, and then

00:16:29.120 - 00:16:42.490

eventually, you know, in high school, I, by that time, I knew that I really loved English. I really loved talking to people. I really loved current events, and I loved, you know, doing meaningful work. I feel from an early on that,

00:16:42.690 - 00:16:55.120

that being purposeful was really important to me. So what I did was I went in Undecided at the University of Illinois and I said if I and I took journalism classes and I went to work for the radio and I said, “If I like this,”

00:16:55.290 - 00:17:08.440

because I'm a really like tested-out person before you commit, like, know what you're trying to do. “If I like it, I'm going to apply.” So I applied for journalism, broadcast journalism. And then I got in, and it was it was, so it was a

00:17:08.440 - 00:17:25.700

diffi-, it was difficult. Going to school for journalism was difficult because you're not used to just like randomly talking to people, you know, eventually now it's like, “Okay, I will talk to anybody because I'm used to it.” you had to drive around campus to get interviews and

00:17:25.700 - 00:17:41.720

like, I just remember being like, I don't know how I'm going to do this and break a lot of comfort zones. But journalism was what I felt was very natural for me. And, you know, I was lucky that it worked out because it's something I had wanted to do

00:17:41.720 - 00:17:54.060

ever since a long time. And my parents were supportive. I mean, journalism wasn't typically a thing that you know, Asian parents in general like when you're, you know that you, they usually want you to be doctors or

00:17:54.060 - 00:18:03.930

lawyers, but my parents believed in me. And I was lucky that they believe that whatever I wanted to do, I can do it. And I appreciate that, to this day.

00:18:04.400 - 00:18:14.240

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's, um, I think support from like, those kinds of adult figures in your early life is just like, it's so important.

00:18:14.480 - 00:18:31.270

You know, like, regardless of yeah, regardless of what you're doing, and I feel like, um, I don't know, I think it's interesting with Asian parents— well like, my, my parents, the way that they sort of

00:18:32.500 - 00:18:46.580

balanced, how, you know, strict they were about like, academic aspirations and that kind of rigor, but also like, you know, wanting to support what I wanted to do, and it sounds like you know, your parents really support what you want to do.

00:18:46.580 - 00:19:02.460

And that's, you know, that's really great. Um… Are your parents supportive with what you want to do? Well, right now, that's something we're still negotiating, but In terms of like, I think it's the kind of thing where like, especially cause like, I've so recently kind

00:19:02.460 - 00:19:17.680

of set my mind on this like, it definitely there's this sort of time period, initially with the thing where I'm like, I gotta prove myself, I got to prove that, you know, once they, once they see, this has been the case, you know, like throughout my life,

00:19:17.680 - 00:19:28.160

like once my parents see that I like really do have a vested interest in something and I really can do something well, then they're like, "Okay, yeah, we'll, we'll support you, we'll help you." Oh, good. And I'll tell you one thing.

00:19:28.500 - 00:19:44.290

If you have a passion for something, that is what you should pursue because making, you know, choosing actions where it creates a life that is purposeful and something that you're interested in, it's such a much-a much better way to go than to force

00:19:44.290 - 00:19:56.980

yourself into something you're not because if you're passionate about it, you will impact your community with that passion. You know, and people who are not necessarily accepting of it at the beginning, once they see what amazing things you're able

00:19:56.980 - 00:20:09.210

to do, because you do love it so much, and you are going to go full force, full steam ahead, despite what anyone says. They will be like, "Hm. Well, that was a good idea," you know, like, you keep on your journey and people

00:20:09.210 - 00:20:24.380

would like, "Hm, I've never thought about that, but yeah, he's doing good." You know, I said, I think you're doing great. Keep going. Yeah, thank you. I'm so curious, what drew you to like,

00:20:26.110 - 00:20:36.490

like broadcast journalism, TV news, as opposed to something like, you know, radio, print, or like independent media that was other like forms of journalism? Yeah. No, that's a great question.

00:20:37.180 - 00:20:51.530

Honestly, when I was thinking about my career, I just wanted to make sure that it was something where I wouldn't have to work for the rest of my life, where it would be something that I truly enjoyed. So in- to- in choosing journalism I chose I was like okay, what are things I'm

00:20:51.530 - 00:21:04.330

naturally good at? What are things that make me feel purposeful? What are things that work to the skills that I have, that are unique to me, as unique as they can be? And I thought, “Okay, well, I really love people.

00:21:05.540 - 00:21:22.320

I love talking to people. I love listening to people, I love engaging with people.” And I thought, okay, I love also debate, you're able to you know, communicate things to people, being able to talk to people, relate

00:21:22.350 - 00:21:35.740

concepts to people, speaking clearly though, all of those things were something that I was more naturally good at and I thought okay, I can work with this. I loved writing, reading English so that's

00:21:35.980 - 00:21:50.720

naturally lends itself to something that a job that we're you needed to write and I loved the difficultness of staying on top of what's happening. of the reading and debate. I was long studies and– and it became good at dissecting what are the

00:21:50.720 - 00:21:59.420

important parts, what are what are the complications and how accurate is this. And I also love the truth. I love telling the truth.

00:21:59.420 - 00:22:10.030

I love finding the truth. I love telling the truth about what people are saying what problems exist and keeping people accountable. So all those things, it's

00:22:10.070 - 00:22:23.430

like, okay, well, journalism seems like the right field and it, it encompassed all those things. You write scripts, you keep up with current events, you-you-you hold people to their word, there's a service to the community that

00:22:23.550 - 00:22:33.160

was very important to me. And then also, I like to be able to relate and teach. One of the things I wanted to do was be a teacher, and be an author, be a teacher.

00:22:33.500 - 00:22:48.140

And this is one way I get to sort of teach people, me by having a very mini-lesson where I get to explain a concept to them, and that was really fulfilling to me, so I thought if I can do that then I will. Yeah,

00:22:50.000 - 00:23:02.990

let's see. So um, well as you mentioned, like, you worked with lots of um— while you were at Urbana Champaign worked with a lot of student run media as well as interned at like local news

00:23:02.990 - 00:23:17.890

stations and things like that. Yeah, you did your research. Yeah. How did those experiences prepare you for the work that you're doing today? Honestly, having internships is the biggest, you know, up to help

00:23:18.230 - 00:23:32.410

somebody who's trying to get into the world of journalism, because it's important to be able to see what your reality will look like. And I realized that after having my first internship, I thought this, these places where I'm working, the

00:23:32.410 - 00:23:41.450

smaller markets are what I'm going to have to do. So it's my opportunity to learn from the people who are doing the job that I want to do. So I

00:23:41.450 - 00:23:54.290

think it was great to really get your hands dirty, hands on experience, and be able to write scripts and in the smaller markets, you could do a lot more because, you know, I guess the stakes were lower and also that, you

00:23:54.290 - 00:24:08.150

know, they needed the help. In the I then got an internship in Chicago at NBC, where I learned so much about the business. It was, I wasn't able to, you know, necessarily do all the things I could do at a smaller station because

00:24:08.170 - 00:24:20.510

the stakes were a little bit higher. There was a lot of supervision. But my mentor was an Asian American reporter. And I really am so thankful to her, she is to this day, someone I look up to,

00:24:20.510 - 00:24:36.250

she's the health reporter for Channel Five NBC in Chicago, Nesita Kwan, and she took me under her wing, and she really showed me what was important in this business, which is what words— What are you saying, you know, what

00:24:36.250 - 00:24:49.890

are the concepts that you put on TV, get your look down, so that you can focus on what's important, which is the content because she, you know, she's like, just-just see what people are wearing and get that over with the last

00:24:49.920 - 00:25:00.890

thing you want, when people are trying, when you're trying to put together a meaningful story is someone to be like, well, you need to change your hair, you know. So she really, she really helped me and her

00:25:00.890 - 00:25:11.410

voicing, you know, with someone, she was someone that I looked up to in terms of her voicing, she taught me how to speak in a way that made sense before I had a more radio like voice.

00:25:11.800 - 00:25:26.170

And she said you have to be very conscious about the way you say things. Is it the way you would naturally talk? So anyway, those internships were so vital, to be able to get my feet wet in this business and see what it was like.

00:25:26.860 - 00:25:43.430

And I was able to visualize what it looked like to be where I wanted to go one day. Cool, cool. So what would you say is like, the most valuable part of your college experience that doesn't

00:25:43.430 - 00:26:01.350

show up on your resume, like, yeah? I would say I mean, it does show up on my resume to a degree, be joining the Philippine Student Association was by far the biggest one of the things that had the biggest impact on my life.

00:26:02.030 - 00:26:15.540

Getting to know my Asian American identity has been one of the biggest joys of my life. And it adds purpose to my life, and it helps me understand who I am and also help others now.

00:26:16.200 - 00:26:32.020

But joining the Philippine Student Association allowed me to be part of something much bigger than myself. And it taught me to understand the value of knowing who you are, who your parents are, where you came from, what does that mean,

00:26:32.310 - 00:26:45.210

in terms of the context of your life and your future, how that can be a part of your leadership and your storytelling and your job. And so I would say that the leadership skills that I learned and the awareness that

00:26:45.350 - 00:26:59.880

I was able to get in the programming of being in that club, was one of the most important things, if not the most important parts of my education. And it's funny because it comes outside of the formal education.

00:27:00.400 - 00:27:17.680

I learned about awareness of, of issues that impact minority communities, I learned about why it's important to stand with other groups that are being oppressed, you know, all of that leadership, I learned how to work with a group of 16 people on a board, how to

00:27:17.780 - 00:27:31.100

email back and forth. I learned how to plan events, you know, but I also learned more about myself and why, you know, being a Filipino American is something that is— that I should cherish and that is a huge part of who I am.

00:27:31.100 - 00:27:44.150

And to this day, I know when I do my work as a reporter that you know, that my I come from a slice of life that may be different from everyone else's, but that's another way that I can, you know, contribute to my storytelling is know that I come

00:27:44.460 - 00:28:01.620

from a certain lens, and you know, I can help others who are telling stories who are from different walks of life. Yeah. Cool. So, I guess moving on to after college, so you got

00:28:02.970 - 00:28:11.730

a job at WEEK/WHOI in Peoria, Right? Could you, could you tell me about that? Like, what did you enjoy? Well, what challenges did

00:28:11.730 - 00:28:25.250

you face? How's the transition from like, you know, college to being out there, doing journalism? Oh, man. Well, it was such a huge. I mean, it was difficult because you go from college, where you're kind of

00:28:25.590 - 00:28:36.970

sheltered. You have two weeks to do one story. You have the whole week to get interviews, and then another week to put it together. And, you know, you guys are in the working world, where it's like, "Okay, here's your

00:28:36.970 - 00:28:52.420

story this morning. We'll see you on TV at five or six." And I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, how am I going to do this like I never put together a story really this quick." So I remember just struggling to-to, I struggled to

00:28:52.420 - 00:29:05.590

go from student life to professional life, because it was just a big difference. Now what was great about the University of Illinois, they gave me the skills to succeed. I just didn't have the experience to be fast enough just

00:29:05.590 - 00:29:17.620

yet. And I was able to make it, and I made my deadline. But man, was it stressful. I also moved from my hometown to Peoria, which is three, two and a half or three hours away, three and a half

00:29:17.670 - 00:29:32.390

hours away from where I grew up, which was great because I was able to go and visit family, you know, pretty easily by just driving over back to my hometown. But it was a little bit difficult getting to get to

00:29:32.620 - 00:29:44.230

a whole another town. I mean, my job requires me to literally pick up everything, leave and just be the only person you know, in a town. And I remember not having any, where, thinking about where am I gonna go for

00:29:44.230 - 00:30:00.150

Christmas, you know, and how I was able to find a place to go to Christmas because I interviewed a Filipino neighbor because a typhoon had happened. And she said, "Oh, what are you doing for the holidays?" And she said, "I

00:30:00.150 - 00:30:11.670

know a woman at my church who welcomes everybody who, who's new." And so I passed on my email, and I didn't know that woman. But she emailed me saying, "Hey, my house is welcome, is open for you.

00:30:11.970 - 00:30:25.570

And we're coming up to our Christmas party." And I remember thinking, "Oh my gosh, how nice is this woman," Or her name is Olive, and I call her Tita Olive. Because in the Filipino culture there you like everyone's your Tita.

00:30:26.110 - 00:30:39.720

Tita Olive and Erick, Enriquez. They weren't angels and they helped me survive because they became my family in Peoria, and I showed up on Christmas and they introduced me to a whole group of people who became really my

00:30:39.720 - 00:30:54.010

lifelines there and how I was able to, you know, survive by myself in another city and feel comfortable. But it was difficult. I was not paid a lot. Because all journalists when they first start are not paid a lot at all.

00:30:54.770 - 00:31:07.820

So I lived in an apartment that I didn't feel as safe, I had a broken window for a long time. I swear I felt like my— the lock on my door like was it was broken, and so I'm I was

00:31:07.820 - 00:31:18.290

wondering if someone had come in in the middle of the night I had pots and pans outside my bedroom door in case someone tried to open it. And then I put like a little chain lock on my bedroom door.

00:31:19.100 - 00:31:38.070

Yeah, because I you know, I you can only afford where you could afford to live. But it was difficult. Yes. But the team Peoria TV station were so amazing. They saw right away that I had this energy and that and that I you know that

00:31:38.500 - 00:31:50.310

they said that I was the nicest bulldog. And soon enough after a couple months of working, you know, I was getting a lot of the lead stories. You know, I lead coverage of huge events that affected the community, the tornadoes in

00:31:50.310 - 00:32:03.650

Washington, Illinois, where I learned the value of going into the community and truly getting to know the people there, and, and they trusted me. You know, I told a really memorable story where I just got a letter from a

00:32:03.940 - 00:32:13.530

prisoner on my desk and my news director was like, "Aragon, take a look at this." I was like, “Wow, we need to tell this man story.” So we traveled four hours to a prison.

00:32:13.920 - 00:32:23.490

And I am doing a two part series on a man who, who believed he was wrongfully in prison and had been there for more than a decade. So that was memorable.

00:32:23.920 - 00:32:37.370

I mean, wow. You know, the storytelling I did in Peoria, you know, may growth was like “woosh”, you know. Who knew couldn't get like it was really really worried to by the end of it a year and a half later, you know, I was on the

00:32:37.400 - 00:32:47.220

ground and I you know, I did a lot of the lead stories and, you know, the community there trusted me which was totally an honor. And I also someone anchoring as

00:32:50.130 - 00:33:08.640

well. Cool. So after that, after Peoria, you went to WCPO in Cincinnati and um how was that, was that also, like, different from what you knew before? Like, how was that, I guess like, you know, how was a

00:33:09.110 - 00:33:23.150

Cincinnati like this city different from your work in this, a like relatively smaller town in Peoria? It was definitely a huge market jump. Generally in TV, you know, there's just over 200 markets and you

00:33:23.150 - 00:33:37.100

generally move up the markets, and student generally start you know, 150 and below. Well, I started in Peoria, which is market 116 at the time, and then they pulled me up to Cincinnati, Ohio, which is market 34, which was at

00:33:37.100 - 00:33:50.490

the Time. So that was a huge jump. There was a bit there was a something in the local paper about me making that jump and how they Yeah, I live in the DC area.

00:33:50.490 - 00:34:00.150

So like, Yeah. So whenever a major protest happens in the Capitol, it's kind of on my doorstep, and I've gone to a few, yeah. Oh, my gosh, that's amazing.

00:34:00.150 - 00:34:15.610

Yeah, I was there. Yeah, I mean, yeah, like what so like, definitely when I was watching that segment, when you were, you know, you know, there shooting and like interviewing the people at the protest. It was like definitely, um, brought

00:34:15.880 - 00:34:29.530

some stuff back because it just like, you can really, I mean with good reporting, good coverage, you just like either people behind the cause, you know, it's like — That was, that was great. Um, yeah.

00:34:29.780 - 00:34:46.250

Okay. So yeah, now some broader— Oh, there's one thing I did want to mention this because I think it would be relevant to just Asian American Studies in general. So KPRC also asked me to, you

00:34:46.630 - 00:35:02.880

know, kick off the storytelling for a franchise that they started in July, which is now. July 30, was the first day and today was the day that I did the first story of Stronger Houston that's dedicated to looking at

00:35:03.740 - 00:35:19.520

issues that have to do with socio economic disparities, um, especially when it comes to COVID. So, you know, this was an exciting thing for me, not because the topic you know, like it's very, it's terrible that there are people who, you know, really truly worry

00:35:19.720 - 00:35:32.560

about, you know, how they're going to survive. But I think it's important that that storytelling is very important. So, for me, it was really important to show real people, people getting their groceries, people looking at

00:35:32.600 - 00:35:46.450

the local panaderia, people, we talked to someone who, who around his soda cart, and you know, they love their community. They love the work they do. But because of COVID, they're worried about,

00:35:47.710 - 00:36:00.110

you know, surviving, they don't have health insurance, a lot of the people I spoke with, and so it was good to be able to share those voices. Language was a barrier, but we made it not a barrier because a lot of them spoke Spanish.

00:36:01.110 - 00:36:14.930

You know, I tried to work with a photographer who spoke Spanish so we can really tell the stories that's going on in the community. And not only that, the, the story focused on offering solutions, what resources are out there for people who need

00:36:14.930 - 00:36:32.420

help. The story was specifically about the disparity between Gulfton, which is, you know, an area that's typically, you know, 95% of, you know, that dist- er that-that area rents, you know, so that really enclosed .

00:36:32.530 - 00:36:48.320

And, you know, they, a lot of them don't have access to health care, you know, people in that community, so- some of them are undocumented, they're afraid to come out. Just thousands of people according to a neighborhood leader, versus Bellaire, which is physically just a five minute

00:36:48.320 - 00:37:05.280

drive to neighboring zip codes right next to each other, totally different, you know, bodies of life. So we were able to explain this, you know, that, why the disparities has to do with socioeconomic status, access to health care, the

00:37:05.280 - 00:37:15.720

ability to be able to be spread out, quality of housing, education. And those are important stories to tell. And I was really honored to be able to kick

00:37:15.780 - 00:37:27.380

that off for KPRC, and I was happy to have this piece done today. And I love that I'm talking to you right after it aired for the very first time. So that was such a honor. Yeah, yeah.

00:37:27.810 - 00:37:46.010

I mean, yeah, just the way that sort of the-the pandemic has really exacerbated a lot of existing inequity and disparity is like, yeah, just really stark. Yeah, I think especially, you know, it's

00:37:46.490 - 00:37:58.140

important that attention is given to that. Yeah. Okay, so I think I'm gonna go with some broader questions, but I think it's still gonna relate to journalism.

00:37:58.920 - 00:38:14.680

Great. You're doing a great job, too. Thank you. Thank you. Um, so you said that like, well, you were mentioning that like a lot, the work you did and do is like, you know, you're, you're producing it, like you're editing, you're

00:38:14.740 - 00:38:31.410

writing it, shooting it, doing the interviews, etc. And so, when you're doing, you know, all like all this work yourself, I guess, when you're doing all this work yourself, do you feel like you're able to

00:38:31.970 - 00:38:44.480

tell a story in a way that a team wouldn't? Like you mentioned in the Lone Star Awards that, you know, like, the top prize was like, I don't know, five different people. And it was but– but the prize you won, it was just all credited to you.

00:38:44.550 - 00:38:53.650

So you feel like you're able to when it's you doing all the work? Do you feel like you're able to tell a story that, um, you know, not that it's fair, but like, in a way that a team couldn't?

00:38:54.350 - 00:39:08.120

Well, yeah, I mean, when you– when you write, shoot and edit yourself, you become very aware of everything. I— when I shoot, I know, you know, that I'm going to have to put this together. So and also, you

00:39:08.120 - 00:39:23.820

know, you start to see stories in ways that are not just words you see stories through sounds, visuals, graphics, and you become an expert at how do I utilize all of those different elements to put together an efficient story that truly

00:39:23.820 - 00:39:37.580

captures the essence of what's going on in this community. And so yes, as a one-woman band, when I put things together by myself, it was great, because it was so much easier to put together all of the different sounds like if I

00:39:37.580 - 00:39:49.510

want sounds of, you know, a car swishing by or if I wanted sounds of like someone who was drumming or, you know, I could incorporate all of those very seamlessly. And I think there's something very empowering to being

00:39:49.510 - 00:40:03.340

able to do everything because you're part of that process from beginning to end. So yeah, I do think, and doing it all yourself, you know, there's value in that. Now when I work with a photographer, then it's about partnership, are we going to talk

00:40:03.340 - 00:40:14.700

through these ideas? What are the best shots that he took, so I can write to it? It's a different workflow. I do think both are very good and both have their pros and cons.

00:40:15.100 - 00:40:27.690

And when I work by myself and I'm a one-woman band, I mean, I'm thinking of everything from sound to the creativeness of the shot, to you know how much you know of, you know, this person do I use? Like, what kinds of questions do I need?

00:40:27.690 - 00:40:36.830

What kind of setup shots do I need? Is my battery, you know, do I have extra batteries? You know, how can I, I when I put my , how can I really creatively

00:40:36.830 - 00:40:54.040

put this together and I get to make all the edits myself, so I don't have to relay it to anybody. Yeah, that's it . Yeah. Um, so if I did my research, more or less correctly, So it

00:40:55.680 - 00:41:09.410

seems like you-you were starting like, especially since you had like a wonky live truck in Peoria initially, you know— The team was so great, top notch.

00:41:10.040 - 00:41:17.500

The technology sometimes was not as top notch. And it was none the fault. It was not the team's fault. That's secondary. The people are important.

00:41:17.590 - 00:41:33.810

The people are important. Yeah, the people there were excellent top quality journalists. Learn from them. Yeah, this is this is, this is, yeah. Not a diss on anyone. But like, so you're doing like more like, pre-recorded stuff in packages initially, and then later on, you know, got more life

00:41:33.810 - 00:41:44.830

experience and things like that. So, like, what's you're I'm like, what's your mindset, sort of, in front of versus-versus like, behind the camera? And are you more at home with one or the other?

00:41:45.090 - 00:41:59.700

Or did it take time to, you know, get used to the live aspect? Yeah, just how would you feel- How do you feel in front of versus behind? Yeah, I mean, I mean, we're just, we're just people. You know, like I-we journalists in my eyes, really should

00:41:59.700 - 00:42:11.310

not think of themselves and I hope they don't as celebrities. You know, because we are served, we serve. We are there for the community. We tell stories to help inform our communities so that they can make informed

00:42:11.310 - 00:42:27.700

decisions. We are not celebrities, we are not, you know, above anybody, like, we are just storytellers. And we are- we should be about service in my eyes, journalism is all about being a servant to, you know, be of service to the

00:42:27.700 - 00:42:43.470

community. So being in front of the camera, you know, I tried to just be little as much as possible, as natural as possible and that's still a journey I'm working on today. I'm still working on my on camera presence,

00:42:43.470 - 00:43:02.520

you know, press on my, the way that I say something. I'm, you know, everyday is a-is the goal to be more natural. Just-just be myself, you know, so I took some classes, not classes— Um I met with, like talent coaches,

00:43:02.930 - 00:43:17.310

and, you know, they told me to look at the sentence structure and just talk like how you would talk. Because before, if you look at my earlier stuff, you know, it was a little more like what thought as a student sounded better when I

00:43:17.310 - 00:43:28.680

realized it’s just better to sound like yourself and that's something I'm continuously working on. But yeah, you know, when I just think, you know, when I'm in front of the camera is just me presenting the information in a way

00:43:28.680 - 00:43:42.910

that is, you know, palatable like most that people when they listen to it, it's easily understood. That's what I'm working on. behind the camera, you know, I am a journalist, and I work the camera, I could do behind the camera,

00:43:43.480 - 00:43:55.840

you know, I could do, you know, produce my stuff and, and put it in what shots I want where and you know what I want this to look like, but always being on behind being in front of the camera, being behind the camera, really

00:43:55.840 - 00:44:08.850

it’s all a journey and it's constantly evolving. Yeah. Yeah, cool. Okay. So I think I'm now gonna shift gears to some questions about identity and community.

00:44:09.490 - 00:44:27.040

Sure. So… what about you, do you feel is like you've touched on this question definitely in the past hour or so, but what about, do you feel distinctly Filipino American, whether concrete or

00:44:27.040 - 00:44:41.400

abstract, you know, anything from food to attitudes, or yeah? It cut off a little bit, what is— Yeah, so what about you do feel as distinctly Filipino American and that can be concrete or

00:44:41.400 - 00:44:57.230

abstract anything from food to attitudes? Um, well, when I think about being Filipino American, I think I have the visual of, you know, my hard working family in the Philippines.

00:44:57.380 - 00:45:13.400

You know, my grandfather showed me his farm before when, you know, we went to visit and, you know, I look at these really, you know, ingenious, you know, people who, you know, were on the beaches of the Philippines, and they offered to make me a ring.

00:45:13.400 - 00:45:25.000

And, you know, they were so ingenious with, you know, punching out a part of the coin money. And then like hammering it into a ring and with just these tools like a piece of wood, a flip flop.

00:45:25.650 - 00:45:39.530

And I just think about, you know, work ethic. So I think about my father's work ethic. And so when I think about what makes me uniquely Filipino American, I think of work ethic, attitude,

00:45:39.900 - 00:45:57.910

gratefulness, all of the values that were instilled in me by both my father, my mother, my grandfather, generations of people who have given me the same message of, you know, whatever you want to do.

00:45:58.650 - 00:46:09.280

Work hard at trying to achieve it. Be a good person and understand that everyone comes from a different walk of life. Be grateful for everything, take nothing for granted.

00:46:13.170 - 00:46:30.810

Um, and has a, how should I say this? Has sort of figuring out your, you know, Filipino American or Asian American identity, has that ever been like, has that, has that like been a

00:46:31.180 - 00:46:43.430

struggle for you? Or is it more of just like a gradual kind of thing or somewhere in between? I think it was gradual, gradual growth. It was something that I didn't know that I was interested in high

00:46:43.430 - 00:46:57.830

school because, you know, I was really busy doing all this other stuff, but and I was in a diverse community, which at the time I took for granted, it didn’t hit me until I noticed exactly how different I was when I went to college. It is a diverse college.

00:46:57.920 - 00:47:16.150

It is but not as diverse as the high school I came from where I realized, wow, there, I look different from a lot of people, and I joined the Philippine Student Association because my friend told me to and I realized that you in that afterward is that we learned what

00:47:16.440 - 00:47:33.010

it meant to be this big generation. We learned the value of knowing where you came from, and where your parents came from. So I would say it was a gradual journey, but it grew exponentially because after college, it was so

00:47:33.010 - 00:47:44.590

important to me, and I was so impacted by the Philippine Student Association, that I didn't want to stop my community work. And, you know, I went on to be a

00:47:44.590 - 00:48:01.050

keynote speaker at one of the earliest UniPro summits in New York. They asked me to, you know, address the conference, and then eventually they asked a guy named Lakhi to start a chapter in Chicago and then they asked

00:48:01.050 - 00:48:13.380

me. And so me and Lahki then work to to start you know, UniPro Chicago, which is a-a Filipino American leadership group, and then I eventually was like, "Okay, well, I'm going to recruit some of the leaders that helped

00:48:13.380 - 00:48:28.510

create things in the college network." And so I asked Ryne, to be a part of the founding group. And I started, you know, saying, okay, in order to start, you know, this organization, I need to have

00:48:28.510 - 00:48:39.790

conversations in the community about what this could be and what they think about it. And then I didn't want to stop after that after I left the Midwest, and I came here to Houston, you know,

00:48:39.790 - 00:48:52.580

eventually, I was able to use my event planning skills to help this group, you know, in helping to organize some of the logistics of their launch, and I even came up with the theme idea. I said, we should call it “Ignite.” So

00:48:52.610 - 00:49:03.440

UniPro Texas, launched for the very first time and the theme was Ignite. And I thought about that, and then I think it's funny that years later, I would become the space reporter. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah.

00:49:04.140 - 00:49:20.860

I got it. Yeah, I mean, yeah I saw that you have been like, yeah, worked with UniPro like for a really long time now and— Oh, yeah, with UniPro, I did want to mention.

00:49:22.200 - 00:49:32.670

So my love for event planning, fact, right? And then, you know, I was helping with these launches. So I plan the launch for Chicago as well. And then when I came here, I helped with the logistics of the UniPro Texas launch.

00:49:33.330 - 00:49:49.610

Well, one thing that, I think is a huge part of my life and a big, just, it's something that I'm grateful for every day, and it just wows me is that, you know, I saw that when we were in Houston, that in Houston, we have a huge diverse population,

00:49:50.000 - 00:50:01.590

and we have a lot of storytelling that isn't necessarily, you know, out to the mainstream public. And I, I was thinking of ways that, you know, UniPro Texas could also, you know, sustain itself through funds.

00:50:02.370 - 00:50:15.660

And so I thought we need to, you know, tell these stories and, you know, maybe we can make it a fundraiser as well. Like we need to focus on the diversity that we have, highlight the diversity, highlight the artists and storytellers because we so many

00:50:15.990 - 00:50:28.240

rich— Houston is rich in, you know, storytellers and people who are talented and– and they, you know, come from all walks of life. So I was like we need to create an event where we showcase these storytellers.

00:50:28.620 - 00:50:37.550

And you know, it'll be artists, it'll be performing artists, and we just put them all together so they can share their story. We give them a platform using our Was this the Lumikhâ?

00:50:37.630 - 00:50:46.590

Yeah, Lumikhâ. I was gonna ask you about that. That was my follow up. Yeah. Lumikhâ means, you know, to create, and we were

00:50:46.970 - 00:50:59.030

like, let's see. So I said, "Guys, I think we can do this. I think we could do an event like this. And then we can also, you know, you know, charge for tickets. And also we can sustain our organization as well.

00:50:59.410 - 00:51:12.870

And the artists, you know, it would be free because we're a volunteer organization, they don’t pay to be a part of this showcase, but we get to showcase them, they tell their story. And you know, we're able to be a part of this community, and I'm a storyteller." So

00:51:12.870 - 00:51:26.050

this is something that was very natural to me. And so, in that, I created a team, I created a leadership structure. I said, "Okay, you know, we need to have someone who's in charge of the artists, we need to have someone who's in

00:51:26.050 - 00:51:37.700

charge of the performing artists." And the experience from planning that conference really helped me create a leadership structure that made sense. So I was the director, and under me was the artist director who

00:51:37.740 - 00:51:46.600

managed, you know, the artists who had paintings, drawings and things like that. And then I wanted performances. So I put up position for a

00:51:46.600 - 00:52:00.060

performance, a performing art director. So they handled the show elements of that day, which are also artists. Then I had, you know, a volunteer coordinator because I knew we needed hands to do this. And then also, you

00:52:00.060 - 00:52:12.980

know, marketing and stuff. So I realized like, my role as a director is to do a lot of really hard work, is reaching out, making initial contact with all of these artists, you know, drawing up the contracts,

00:52:13.300 - 00:52:26.320

you know, working with the president and treasurer to allocate funding for this, create a month to month timeline. Oh, mine was intense. Month to month, we had every single things of the major things that you need to do in

00:52:26.320 - 00:52:37.460

order to accomplish events. So I was, well, first we got to know where we're going. And I learned this for fact. You need to have a venue and you need to have a date. So I went to out team, “How long do we think we need to create

00:52:37.460 - 00:52:46.700

this?” They said, "We can do this in eight months if we-if we have to." And they're like, "No, no, no, we can't do this." I had to spend so much time convincing them. We can do this.

00:52:46.960 - 00:52:59.870

You know, we just need to have a plan. So we ended up deciding on on January 18 or I'm sorry, January 12, 2019.

00:53:00.660 - 00:53:14.720

Was… Hold on, I have it. I have it on, January 12. I have a poster, January 12, 2019, the very first Lumikhâ Art Showcase, the theme was "We Are Here." with a period.

00:53:15.360 - 00:53:28.520

And this theme was supposed to show that, you know, minority artists, Filipino American, Filipino artists exist in this community. Here are our stories. This is our work.

00:53:28.700 - 00:53:41.840

Meet us. So I secured the MATCH, it's the-the arts theater, the MATCH. I've been there for free performances. It's a great organization too.

00:53:41.890 - 00:53:54.710

Yeah. Yeah, I secured a nonprofit rate with them. And you know, and I thought, okay, now we need to have a plan. I invited some popular headliners, who really everyone who was part of the showcase, you know, I invited

00:53:55.570 - 00:54:11.440

because the team decided they meet our mission and vision. And that is to, you know, share these artists’ story. Let people learn about the Filipino concept of “Kapwa” which is, you know, that– that of just camaraderie, you

00:54:11.440 - 00:54:24.750

know, being a community together, seeing ourselves in each other. And then also, you know, provide that platform for storytelling. And in turn, we were able to also raise funds for

00:54:24.750 - 00:54:40.020

UniPro, as the main fundraiser for UniPro so that we could put on programs like leadership retreats, and other free workshops, mentorship workshops. So it was really an important thing that happened.

00:54:40.240 - 00:54:53.210

And so, you know, I tried to create also a sustainable leadership transition, where the person who was, you know, under the director position then moves up so Ria, who was the artist director, became the director.

00:54:53.490 - 00:55:07.330

For a while we were co-directors, and then she became the director. And then the, the sustainability of that leadership structure, you know, is really fluid because not I think the most successful event that you put on is one that succeeds the year after too.

00:55:07.890 - 00:55:19.020

And the year after that, so 300 people came to the very first Lumikhâ art showcase January 12, 2018. And it was a hit.

00:55:19.020 - 00:55:34.730

And after that, I remember one of the artists that we, you know, inspired, said, you know that he was inspired to create a Filipino Artists of Houston. And that group is going strong now.

00:55:35.310 - 00:55:43.670

And a lot of the people in that group were in the very first Lumikhâ showcase. Yeah, and that was all just an idea. It was amazing to see this idea

00:55:43.670 - 00:55:53.780

turned into reality. And the vision of the UniPro Texas team is such a visionary team. You know, I was a very logistical person. And I was like, it's going to look like this.

00:55:53.980 - 00:56:06.440

We're going to have artists set up all of there, you know, all around the venue. And during times, we’re going to have performances and in between that we're going to get to know the artists with cute panels, and we're going to have a program that

00:56:06.440 - 00:56:14.650

shows everybody stories so that people can read about them. And we're going to, you know, speakers, and we're going to have vendors so people can also sell their work.

00:56:14.830 - 00:56:28.630

And this is gonna be a living, breathing arts experience that highlight Filipino American and minority artists, and we're going to introduce them to our community for the first time, and continue to do so every year. So, it was so great that it was a success.

00:56:29.160 - 00:56:39.500

Oh, it was so great. And I thought it was important that every single person on that team know that they were important, from the top of the leadership to, to the volunteers to the

00:56:39.500 - 00:56:51.240

people who you know, were part of the venue. They knew what our mission was. Because we are not brick, like I always think of it as this kind of like we're building a cathedral.

00:56:51.560 - 00:57:02.880

You go across a guy who's laying brick, and there are different kinds of you ask them what they're doing. And one guy says, "I'm laying brick. I'm a bricklayer." And then you ask another guy who's doing the exact same job what

00:57:02.880 - 00:57:17.610

they're doing, and he goes, "I'm building a cathedral." That is the kind of mentality that we had. We all have our individual parts that we contributed. We weren't doing our individual individual parts.

00:57:18.200 - 00:57:28.080

We were contributing something greater. We were all cathedral builders. You can see because I'm so passionate about this event, because it's the first time and

00:57:28.900 - 00:57:43.230

we didn't think, that they didn't think could happen. Yeah, yeah, so it's like, so has it been happening, like, every year since or…? Yes, so we had one.

00:57:43.490 - 00:58:00.000

Rea, you know, was the director, Rea Sampilo was the director of the second Lumikhâ. And in Lumikhâ 2019, the theme was "We Have Begun," and now we are also starting on the third Lumikhâ ever. Yeah, yeah, let's great.

00:58:00.000 - 00:58:14.180

Yeah. I mean, it's really um, yeah, it truly is great that you're, you know, creating visibility and venues for representation for Filipino American artists. I mean, just especially I think I don’t know

00:58:14.180 - 00:58:31.250

this obviously differs, depending on the, you know, depending on which people from which Asian diaspora you talk to, but I feel like just, you know, the more we like our that we really do

00:58:31.250 - 00:58:44.600

just need more visibility for Asian American art in general, because like, yeah, just whenever, whenever, like, I hear about that or see that it's just, it's great. Yeah. Yeah, that's true.

00:58:44.860 - 00:58:58.900

Storytelling is important. And I'm lucky that I'm a reporter because I get to tell stories that matter, and help share it with other people and show them why these stories matter. And, you know, part of that is

00:58:58.960 - 00:59:13.860

bringing, you know, the stories of the Asian American community, to the newsroom table and saying, “Hey, we should care about this.” So, for example, there was a, you know, the Chinese Consulate here in Houston was

00:59:13.860 - 00:59:28.090

closing. And I pitched ideas to our newsroom about, you know, we should talk to the community and talk with leaders in the Chinese, Chinese American community about what this means to them. Because they use the

00:59:29.360 - 00:59:46.320

consulate in Houston for services, and they are impacted by this. So instead of just talking to experts, you know, I would love to do a story where we talk with community members in the Chinese and Chinese American communities, and they said, "Yeah, we definitely should." And, you

00:59:46.320 - 01:00:01.880

know, I'm just glad that they're supportive of those kinds of stories, and then I'm glad that I was pitching it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's great. Um, so I um when I

01:00:01.880 - 01:00:16.880

was like reading and doing some research, I've found, like different, um, you know, demonyms for Americans on the Philippines, like, whether that's, you know, Filipino, Filipina or Pilipine with like a Ph- or Pilipino,

01:00:17.710 - 01:00:32.110

Pilipina? Yeah. I just seen the variations and how do you think, how do you think this demonymic diversity kind of reflects the, you know, diversity in the Filipino American

01:00:32.210 - 01:00:47.280

communities like or how Filipino Americans see themselves? Yeah, I mean, well, everything in context, right. So the history of the Philippines is, you know, the Philippines was colonized by Spain for a long time.

01:00:47.910 - 01:01:02.470

So, you know, everything Filipino culture, I mean, a lot of it, we still have same words, as you know, Spanish zapatos, la mesa, cuchara, all those things. So there's a huge, you

01:01:02.470 - 01:01:21.930

know, Spanish influence in Filipino culture And you know, even with you know, Ph versus F, I mean, I use, you know, the Philippines is spelled P-H-I-L-I-P-P-I-N-E-S, right? But then Filipinos with an F, right?

01:01:22.630 - 01:01:41.300

You have Filipina, you know, which is like female, -pina, and then you have Filipino, which could be and then you have FilipinX, which also is involved in the conversations. So, yeah, there is a lot of ways, you know, that is used in

01:01:41.300 - 01:01:58.750

conversation, and I think it's all about context. How do you think um, how do you think Filipino Americans relate to other Asian American communities and culture is like, and like how do you engage with way to other Asian

01:01:58.750 - 01:02:13.370

Americans? I feel like Filipinos you know, what if they're known, you know, to be anything, it's welcoming and warm, and that they are. We are a cultural group that just loves people, loves connecting with

01:02:13.390 - 01:02:25.520

people, loves to sing and dance, you know. I feel like Filipinos are just so open to collaborating, I mean, you see the YouTube artists are

01:02:25.520 - 01:02:38.450

always collaborating with each other. And, you know, I feel like Filipinos are very welcoming to all kinds of people and are the first to, you know, give you a really good meal and a warm smile. And so I think, you know,

01:02:38.450 - 01:03:04.120

Filipinos do a really good job about of, you know, connecting with others. Yeah, okay. Sorry for the- That’s okay, take your time.

01:03:04.520 - 01:03:12.770

Yeah, the blank pause. I'm just sort of— You have some good questions. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I've really enjoyed talking. Yeah, I've been to talking with you, too.

01:03:14.030 - 01:03:28.860

Yeah. Okay, I think something I definitely, something I definitely want to talk about is COVID. Is what? COVID. Okay, yeah,

01:03:28.860 - 01:03:41.270

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, yeah. In the past several months, like how has COVID impacted your life? What's, you know, what's changed for you? And how are you coping?

01:03:41.420 - 01:03:59.070

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think COVID is just, I mean, it's, it's history making because it's unprecedented, and it really affected so many people. And, you know, I'm very lucky that I know I have a roof over my head, that I'm

01:03:59.070 - 01:04:12.380

working , that I get to tell stories that help inform the community. Now more than ever, it's so important to be a reporter because the community needs information and need to be informed in order to make good decisions,

01:04:12.700 - 01:04:26.820

informed decisions, whatever that may be. Me personally, you know, it has really made time for just to pause everything. It has given me a lot of time to reflect.

01:04:28.480 - 01:04:42.160

It has highlighted how important it is to have good health and to take care of yourself. It has inspired me to check on people and to reach out to my neighbors and my friends

01:04:42.160 - 01:04:57.290

and my co-workers. It also made me think really deeply about how everybody is doing, and especially communities in need. I can tell you every single day I'm, I'm talking with, you know, people who

01:04:57.320 - 01:05:12.270

are in you know, questionable circumstances. Like today, you know, talking to people who they really cannot get COVID, so they have to take every precaution because if they get sick, they can't afford the bills, or

01:05:12.630 - 01:05:25.770

they have an elderly person with underlying conditions, and really a dire situation if they do get COVID. So I really think a lot about, you know, the people in communities of need.

01:05:25.770 - 01:05:41.710

It has also forced me to be less busy in terms of like, going places. And so I used to have to emceed, you know, a lot of different events. And in fact, before COVID happened, I was set to

01:05:41.710 - 01:05:57.900

emcee a couple others, but when it started, all of the events were canceled. So I had more time in a way to focus on, you know, on myself, and I thought it was like almost, you know, the silver lining of this terrible situation is.

01:05:58.140 - 01:06:12.780

It sort of forced people to have some pause and think about what they need, what their needs are, and, you know, their community's needs. So in that way, the silver lining of COVID is that there was more

01:06:13.800 - 01:06:23.720

time to pause and to spend time at home. In a way, I was able to read a lot you know, if we're talking about the silver linings of

01:06:23.720 - 01:06:39.890

COVID. I was able to read a lot more than I would be able to because I had more time than if I’d been at events or doing these events or meeting with people in person or going to this or that. I've read so far… I've read several

01:06:39.890 - 01:06:55.810

books and it's in that has been— Yeah, reading is definitely something I've caught up on this summer. It's, that’s a silver lining definitely. Yeah. And do you feel like your relationships with family and

01:06:55.810 - 01:07:10.960

friends have changed, you know, because of the current situation, the pandemic? Um, I think those who are— you're really close with, you've become closer to because you check up on each

01:07:10.960 - 01:07:27.610

other and you realize that those relationships are really important and you— It's been tough because I want to visit my family in Chicago. My grandfather is 99 turning 100 in September

01:07:28.720 - 01:07:42.120

2020. September 9, 2020. He— September 8, 2020, Constancio Umayam is going to turn 100. And I would love to visit him and see how he's doing.

01:07:42.560 - 01:07:54.830

But you know, he's being very protected because he can't get COVID. My sister is a nurse. So she's on the front lines in Chicago, she can't get COVID of it because she can give it to out parents you know, she

01:07:54.830 - 01:08:01.310

has two kids, Kylie and Cole. They're young. They can't get COVID. I don't want them to get COVID and my mom is also a nurse.

01:08:01.690 - 01:08:12.630

And so everyone's taking care of my grandfather, but at the same time, they couldn't be exposed to COVID. So in that way, it has made it difficult to visit physically my loved

01:08:12.630 - 01:08:22.620

ones in Chicago, so it that has been a . Yeah. Yeah, Especially um, I mean, you just sort of telling me about your relatives. They've sort of encapsulates that.

01:08:22.620 - 01:08:33.330

But like, I mean, a lot of Filipino Americans came here as like health care workers and, you know, during the pandemic, they’re on the front lines a lot of the time and that's a, you know, one of the many sort

01:08:33.330 - 01:08:48.730

of disproportionate risks and impacts. Yeah. Let’s see. So, um, how do you think, how do you think Filipino American communities that you're a part of like have responded to COVID?

01:08:50.240 - 01:09:07.160

Like, and is the way that they're responding to COVID, do you think particularly different in any way? Um, well, I know that UniPro Texas has been very, you know, communicative about different opportunities

01:09:07.160 - 01:09:19.730

to volunteer to be a part of the community different opportunities to help communities in need. I know that one Filipino American leader has been

01:09:20.040 - 01:09:34.520

very vocal about storytelling. We did a story together about, you know, this business that you know, was really suffering during COVID. He has put together, you know, drives to help people

01:09:34.640 - 01:09:50.470

and he has also been a very land owner and, you know, let people have more flexible time period that they could pay their rent. Overall, I think you know, the Filipino community is trying to be a

01:09:50.470 - 01:10:03.300

community that listens and tries to share information and partner with other groups and helps, and helps to respond and help others with COVID. A lot of the Filipino community are nurses, and a lot of the

01:10:03.300 - 01:10:16.990

nurses are on the frontlines of this pandemic, like my sister and my mother and my aunt and so many other people. So, it’s for Filipinos it’s like you know, this is— this really hits home, because they are on the

01:10:16.990 - 01:10:30.790

frontlines, fighting this invisible enemy every single day, and we also have family too. So I'm proud of my sister and my mom for the work that they do. And so the Filipino community is really,

01:10:31.020 - 01:10:46.590

you know, in this fight. Yeah, yeah. Okay. I think I'm going to— it's getting a little bit long,

01:10:47.360 - 01:11:05.430

but I do want to talk about like a couple other things to sort of, sort of wrap up. So, uh, are you spiritual or religious anyway? I am. I believe in God and I’m a believer that

01:11:05.750 - 01:11:24.270

there's something greater out there that, you know, gave us all a purpose and you know that, that we each have a calling and I truly believe that my calling is to be a storyteller. Because I can't imagine myself doing anything else.

01:11:25.020 - 01:11:36.310

And I know that the skills that I have, that come naturally to me and that I've developed, are ways that I can affect my community in a positive way. And I really believe that this is my purpose in life.

01:11:36.400 - 01:11:50.570

And when things get really hard, I believe God, you know, a bliss me. And I feel like He puts people in my life that helps me grow. And I'm working on my relationship with God trying to, you know,

01:11:50.940 - 01:12:08.570

Him, you know, talk to Him and listen, and He is a huge reason as to why I am where I'm at today. I do, there is a God and that God is looking out for me and God talks to me through people. My life, I feel like life is so fulfilling

01:12:09.090 - 01:12:21.670

when you live it with purpose, and good. And do you think— I'm Catholic, but my parents are— Yeah, yeah. My parents are Catholic. Yeah.

01:12:21.930 - 01:12:34.840

Yeah. But, um, so I was actually gonna ask also, do you feel like you're spiritual or religious ? You know, does it differ from your families or your parents in any major ways? Or is it not so

01:12:34.840 - 01:12:53.650

much? Well, I mean Filipinos are, a lot of them are Catholic. Catholic. I'm not exactly sure if Catholicism is the religion that I necessarily believe all in. I do believe in God, and Catholicism is the way

01:12:53.650 - 01:13:06.850

I've learned to worship. I believe in God, and I, you know, have a devotional book that really inspires me every day, and it is inspired by parts of the Bible.

01:13:08.150 - 01:13:17.050

Is Catholicism the perfect religion for me? I don't know. I'm still exploring. Yeah, that's really interesting.

01:13:18.350 - 01:13:34.490

Um, do you um, do you notice any divides between your generation and your parents? Or, you know, between maybe even between your generation and younger Filipino

01:13:34.490 - 01:13:49.490

Americans? But yeah, basically for you, are there any generational divides that you feel are salient? Yeah, um, I feel like our parents, and when I say our, I’m talking about, you know, those who grew up here

01:13:49.490 - 01:14:00.850

are born here, and then their parents were born in another country. I feel like they're that generation was really focused on survival. And, you know, doing what it takes in order to make sure that your family has food to

01:14:00.940 - 01:14:14.320

eat, that they're successful in their future. And in a lot of ways, you know, my parents remind me that, in a way, they had to give up everything in order to give me, you know, a chance at having my dream, and I do believe that they

01:14:14.320 - 01:14:28.170

gave up their dreams in order to give me a chance at having mine and that's something I'm forever grateful for. And that's why I am determined to do something good with my life because in a way, I feel like I do owe it to

01:14:28.250 - 01:14:46.280

them. They work so hard to give me a good life. And that is something that I will never take for granted. So in a way, I think, you know, they had the focus on surviving and making sure their kids were going to be okay.

01:14:46.600 - 01:15:02.520

When I think our generation has a bit of a luxury to think about all the things that we want to do to have conversations that are beyond just survival purposes. Because we are in better positions because of the generation before us.

01:15:03.630 - 01:15:22.650

Yeah. Okay. So, going back to COVID, so, over the past few months a lot of you know misinformation about

01:15:23.140 - 01:15:34.590

coronavirus, COVID and pandemic has you know circulated you know on social media as well as some like mainstream platforms. And as a journalist like

01:15:36.750 - 01:15:55.770

have you— has observing that like giving you any, like… wondering how shall I say this… Like as a journalist, how have you been through information, misinformation?

01:15:57.620 - 01:16:11.770

Know as well as combating the ladder and like, you know, how do you think people should be doing that? Yeah, I think now more than ever, during this pandemic, it's important to know what are credible sources when it comes to news.

01:16:12.210 - 01:16:25.520

And it’s good for people to build a skill to determine what is a credible news source. Misinformation is very damaging to the public, especially if they don't know that what they're reading is not true.

01:16:26.520 - 01:16:42.870

And as the local journalists, it's our responsibility to make sure we are vetting the information and knowing that what we are saying is true from credible sources. And think we’re in the era of fake

01:16:43.040 - 01:16:56.480

news, that’s something that said all the time. It challenges local media because we were getting information that is good that comes from credible but the challenges you know, you have

01:16:57.670 - 01:17:10.730

this, this hashtag #fakenews thing and you know, distrust for local media sources. I know that the information that I gather is good, and that I know why I'm doing my job.

01:17:10.730 - 01:17:23.140

And I know the message that I'm trying to portray is always truthful to the essence of the people that I'm talking with. I thinks it's so important for people to know where their news is coming from.

01:17:23.820 - 01:17:37.730

And so some things to look out for is who is your source; is your source of news coming from some obscure website where you know, what what news sources are coming; who's saying what?

01:17:37.730 - 01:17:53.660

Do they have invest, vested interest or stake in it or are they neutral; who's paying for the news source? All of these are questions that can help people determine whether with reading is real good quality, truthful news, or fake

01:17:53.700 - 01:18:05.290

news because now you have all kinds of sites, you know, that are popping up. People can find anything on the internet and people can mistake it for credible, good news. Yeah.

01:18:12.480 - 01:18:25.450

So I also want to touch on the, like Black Lives Matter and George Floyd protests that have been happening for the past two months.

01:18:27.440 - 01:18:43.580

You know, various media have, you know, made different narratives out of these protests and, you know, especially with respect to how people are protesting and all that. You know, how do you think Asian Americans are relating to and or getting

01:18:43.580 - 01:18:57.690

involved with the protests themselves as well as like narratives of protest? You know, it's like, like, what's the relationship that, you know, Asian Americans have with

01:18:57.690 - 01:19:11.620

you know, what, like, what, what, what's going on? What have you observed? Yeah. Well, as a reporter, I know, our, you know, our priority when we were recovering those protests voices,

01:19:12.070 - 01:19:28.060

and to make sure we are showing what's going on the community, you know, sharing productive voices and, you know, inspiring discussion and talking about, you know, the pain and issues the protests, you

01:19:28.060 - 01:19:48.070

know, had these conversations had been rooted in. And we as journalists, really prioritize making sure to shift voices and all kinds of perspectives when it comes to, you know, these really painful stories.

01:19:48.660 - 01:20:04.840

You know, as the community leader, I think it's really about listening and listening to the voices that exists in the public sphere. Understanding that we will never walk, you know,

01:20:05.550 - 01:20:18.890

we will never know what it's like to be an African American, because we are not African Americans. We are minorities. We are not African Americans; we cannot claim to know exactly what it feels like.

01:20:19.270 - 01:20:29.950

But I think it's important to be a listener and to know that, you know, let communities know that their stories are being heard. Yeah, yeah.

01:20:35.230 - 01:20:49.850

Okay, I have. So just to finish this all off, I have a few questions. I think. I think you'd like you can just sort of like give brief answers and, you know, it's yeah, it'll be

01:20:51.140 - 01:21:06.100

not not-not like that, but like a sort of rapid round. Okay. So, um, and these are a jumble of miscellany. So, second to last, have you engaged with a lot of, you know,

01:21:06.600 - 01:21:16.560

young Filipino and Asian Americans through the community work that you've done? What do you think is, you know, what's your advice for them? What's your advice for those people?

01:21:18.010 - 01:21:33.430

I would say it's to be proud of who you are and where your family has come from. Do your best to achieve your dreams by creating a plan and doing your best to execute.

01:21:34.950 - 01:21:49.370

Challenge yourself to break through what one of my, you know, mentors said is breakthrough the feeling of the different stereotypes about being Asian, you know, being quiet, submissive, all those things, break through that.

01:21:50.080 - 01:22:02.250

Because, you know, we— you don't have to be that way; those are just stereotypes. So I would say, you know, do your best to be confident, speak confidently, express your ideas, ask questions.

01:22:03.440 - 01:22:17.810

And I would say that you know, life is like always a series of choices where it's almost like the visual of you're on a mountain. And like, you can tip forward or fall backwards, but like if you make it a habit in your life, that in a time where, “Eh.

01:22:18.740 - 01:22:33.110

I could do something that would be good for me, or I could just not do it. It'd be easier.” If you're in a habit to constantly decide to tip forward and act and to do things that you're afraid and you're afraid to do, your life will be so much better for

01:22:33.110 - 01:22:43.890

it. For example, if you want to email someone about an internship, make a coffee, you know, connection with someone, sit down and have coffee with them. If you’re thinking about asking a question in class.

01:22:45.310 - 01:22:59.080

And you're like, I could just not or I could do it. Make it a habit to push yourself to do it. And your future will be so different, the effects of that kind of habit will be life changing. Yeah, that's, yeah.

01:22:59.580 - 01:23:14.260

Yeah, it's really great. Yeah. There's so many times that, you know, discomfort is key to growth, like, you can't grow unless you're uncomfortable, you know, you're supposed to get uncomfortable in a healthy way, and do things that

01:23:14.260 - 01:23:26.860

you normally wouldn't like this interview, you know, like you're interviewing me, this is the first time and I'm proud that you, you know, you've decided to take an opportunity like this. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I've really enjoyed.

01:23:27.030 - 01:23:40.810

I really enjoyed talking with you just to learning about your life and, you know, all the, you know, all the stuff that entails. So here's my, here's my last question. Somewhat spurious, be warned.

01:23:41.280 - 01:23:53.910

So in also in your Where and When one interview, you said that getting older you're realizing the importance of sleep. But I also watched the segment introducing you as co-host on Houston Life to the end.

01:23:55.140 - 01:24:11.360

And the guy interviewing you asked what time you went to bed the previous night. And you said “2.” I even check the date. It was two months after the interview. I keep learning and unlearn thing.

01:24:12.000 - 01:24:23.190

Yeah, yeah. This is a like, this is all this everything was leading up to this. Old habits die hard. It's a-it's a little by little thing. It is.

01:24:23.480 - 01:24:33.000

Oh my gosh. I'm a terrible sleeper. Yeah. You, for me. It's about like efficiency. I'm like, well, sleep is inefficient because you can't get as much done

01:24:33.000 - 01:24:41.980

in a day, and there's so much to do. So why sleep is like, oh then I'm getting tired. Then I get tired. I'm like, oh, So it's a continuous cycle.

01:24:42.620 - 01:24:55.560

Yeah, that's that's-that's pretty much what I have. It was great to meet you. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for you know, agreeing to do this interview and for

01:24:55.560 - 01:25:08.070

talking about your life and your career and everything else. Yeah. Thank you. And Josh, if you ever need me for anything or you have any, you know, questions you want to ask me or advice or anything, my doors always open to you. Okay? Good

01:25:08.120 - 01:25:19.800

luck to you. Yeah, good luck. Well, you already yeah, I have this thing you know when you, when the waiter tells you to enjoy your food and you say “you too,” that was one of those moments but yeah.

01:25:21.340 - 01:25:26.580

Thank you for extending that hand. Yeah, yeah. All right. Have a good night. Bye.

01:25:27.790 - 01:25:30.410

Tell Ann I said thank you. Yeah, I will.