Where you grew up and your background can often have surprising effects on our lives and careers. We’ve asked folks from the community to tell us about how their background has affected them.

Sadaf Qadir | Creative Project Manager & Food and Hiking Enthusiast

I am from Orange County, California. I grew up and spent a majority of my life in Huntington Beach. But my family background is very rich and vibrant and instilled in me a great sense of community. My parents are both Pakistani immigrants and we are all Muslims. Growing up in a post- 9/11 world as a Muslim in America was challenging at times but my parents wanted to raise their children understanding both the religion (Islam) and the culture (South Asian). When I was younger, my community was found through the limited mosques (masjids in Arabic) and religious schools. I spent countless hours there and that built a very strong foundation for my identity as a Muslim American. Read more>>

CHRIS DAMON | Actor & digital creator.

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh PA, by a single mother of three boys. Although my brothers and I had to fend for ourselves in many cases, my mom always made sure she made a homemade meal for dinner — I honestly don’t know how she did it. I also spent a good bit of time by myself and had a wild imagination. Wild. This upbringing taught me how to be incredibly independent, resourceful, to take action, to be creative, and yes, to always make sure there’s a homemade meal ready for dinner. Read more>>

Roberto Barron | Producer , Creative Director and CEO & Founder, Industry Connexion

Roberto Barron, a renowned event producer extraordinaire, has carved a niche for himself in the industry with his cutting-edge, sophisticated, and innovative approach to event production. With a fundamental belief in the power of storytelling, Roberto’s creative process revolves around crafting compelling narratives that captivate audiences and leave a lasting impact. Hailing from Salinas, California, Roberto’s journey in the event production world has been nothing short of remarkable. Armed with a diverse skill set that spans strategy, creative production, audience sourcing, social media, digital media, design, building, and public relations, he is a true master of his craft. Read more>>

Huy Vuong | Dancer & Dance Instructor & Choreographer

Hi, my name is Huy Vuong also known as “Ah Moonz” among the dance scene. I’m a street dancer specialized in Waacking. I was born & raised in Vietnam, and I’ve moved to the USA since 2018. When I was six years old, I already had a big interest in dancing by watching Western Pop music videos and even some old school Korean Pop music videos. Apparently, my family found out that I like dancing so they took me to my first choreography dance class in 2003. During my first 5 years of dancing, I had been performing with many Vietnamese pop stars at the time and I just really enjoyed to be on stage. Until 2008, the movie “Step Up 2” was released, that movie has completely changed my dance career from a studio kid to become a competitive street dancers. Read more>>

Dylan Hutchins | Production Designer

I was actually born and spent most of my childhood in a quaint little historic, super arts heavy town in between Montreal and Ottawa Canada.. I still honestly marvel to this day at how magical my childhood was. Exploring forests, creeks and waterfalls, cross country skiing and ice skating canals, taking pottery and painting classes and horseback riding through some seriously epic pastures. The odd weekend was spent either attending the Royal Theatre at the National Arts Center with my one set of grandparents, or heading to Toronto, to soak in more culture, or an impromptu magic show with my other grandparents. It’s the total immersion in every aspect of the arts as a young boy that has truly stuck with me to this day and shaped who I am today as a Production Designer and Creator. I mean it really was a wonderful stoking of the imagination. Read more>>

Jacqueline Reyes | Model & Commercial Actress

I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Some people call me a unicorn when I’m on set because it’s rare to meet other people from Los Angeles working in the Industry. But honestly, it’s something I’m immensely proud of. People often ask me what it was like growing up in Los Angeles. Most of them expect a similar story to the plot of Euphoria. But aside from the lack of snow days and our schools being outdoors, I didn’t see the difference between growing up here versus another state. However, looking back as an adult. Hollywood culture was SO prevalent. Kids started caring about celebrities and status from an early age. The cool kids walked around with clothes from Betsy Johnson and Juicy Couture in 3rd grade. Read more>>

Liam Samuels | Actor, model, and student!

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but raised in Thailand for the majority of my life. I’ve been fortunate enough to have grown up surrounded by so many people with different beliefs and experiences. It’s taught me and given me such grace and compassion for others and myself. I am now based back in the states for work and school but my upbringing has encouraged me to prioritize people, community, friends, and family. It has shaped me into the person I am today. Read more>>

Ami Haruna | Print Model and Live Streamer

I’m from Tokyo Japan. I think Japanese people have totally different mentality towards work (at least when I was there) There were a lot of people who works for the same company till they retire, so they are loyal to the company and so the company treats them well. No 100s of start ups to choose from and also hopping around job in a year- all those were not there when I was raised. also my parents taught me to be kind. like we say to our kids, sharing is caring and don’t be greedy. So when I work I try to do my best and go above and beyond to keep clients happy. we may never see each other again but being professional and kind was how I was raised. Read more>>