There are so many factors that affect how our lives turn out, but one of the most interesting is how our backgrounds give us unique strengths and perspectives that affect who we are as adults. We asked rising stars from the community to tell us about their background and upbringing and how they feel it’s impacted who they are today.

Haley Oh | Graphic Designer

I’m originally from South Korea and spent my formative years in the Philippines and Canada, which exposed me to diverse cultures early on. Currently, I’m pursuing my MFA in Graphic Design at ArtCenter. Before this, I earned degrees in visual communication and fashion design. I worked as an in-house graphic designer for a cosmetics company and a brand agency in Korea and interned at a design studio in Los Angeles. These experiences have given me valuable insight into the design world and expanded my creative perspective. Read more>>

Laura “chime” . González | Costumer/ costume designer

My name is Laura Gonzalez, but I go by “Chime.” I’m originally from Armenia, Colombia, a small town known for its coffee production. I later moved to Bogotá, where I discovered my passion for the arts. In school, I participated in theater, played various instruments, and engaged in every artistic activity I could find. I’ve always been a very visual person who loves working with my hands, so I naturally gravitated toward becoming an artist. Read more>>

Valerie Alexander | Realtor

Although I was born in LA, I was raised in Madison, Wisconsin – land of cheese, sports, down-to-earth nice people, and brutal winters! The winter really does toughen you – and gave me a helpful serving of grit that I carry with me to this day. I was raised by a single mom, doing her best to make ends meet and make sure I had opportunities – one of which was competitive figure skating from age 8 to 18 which taught me dedication and perseverance, and allowed me to exercise my creativity when I choreographed my own routines. In high school, I competed in DECA, a business extracurricular which introduced me to the world of business and found it was my passion. I went to college at University of Wisconsin -Madison, a top academic and D1 sports school and majored in International Business, Marketing, and French. After studying abroad in Paris, I knew I wanted to live in a big city after graduation, so I decided to go back to my roots in California. Read more>>

Andrea Valadez | Staff writer

I’m from a suburban town in Southern California called Santa Clarita – most people recognize it when I tell them that’s where Six Flags is located. My family and I moved to California from Tijuana, Mexico, my dad’s hometown, when I was around three years old. As I’ve gotten older, coming from an immigrant household and being a Chicana has impacted my day-to-day life more than I thought it could. As a Chicana, I feel immense pride in being Mexican and the hardships my parents have faced to give my siblings and I more opportunities than they had. I often think about how brave, intelligent and resilient they had to be in order to pick up their entire lives and move to a country where they didn’t speak the language and maybe weren’t widely accepted, all to ensure that their kids were accepted. Read more>>

Gaby Castro | UX Designer

I’m Gaby Castro, a product designer at AdventureGenie, where I focus on creating tools to make trip planning easier for RV and road-trip enthusiasts. My path to UX design began in Brazil, studying design but later transitioning to systems analysis and development to improve job prospects. While working as a back-end developer, I gained valuable technical experience but found myself missing the creative aspects of design. Read more>>

Amy Rowland | teacher/family historian

I’m the sixth generation to live in Southern California. I’ve lived in Chino my entire life but my roots are in the San Gabriel Valley, My 3x great grandfather bought land from Mexico in the 1840’s. I grew up watching my grandfather John Rowland IV work on his allotment of land. They farmed the land and respected it. We were taught that there are no short cuts. You have to work hard and have the ability to pivot when you need to. It keeps you evolving and taking risks. Also, make sure you’re doing your part and chip in when someone needs a hand. Read more>>