Selected interview transcript

This interview transcript has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

Esta entrevista fue conducida en inglés. Para leer versión en español de las preguntas y respuestas, haga click aquí.

What brought you to the San Joaquin Valley? Is it where you would like to stay or your children to stay? Why or why not? 

Parents brought me here as a young baby and I have been raised since 3 months of age. Yes, I would want to stay and have children here, because I learned the history of the Central Valley - the history of great leaders like Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez.

Describe your life 10 years as compared to now. 

10 years ago things were a lot calmer in my community. I remember it was more active, there was a lot of community involvement and more children playing outside. Now there is more homeless around the area, more fights around the community. I do not think it is as peaceful as it used to be.  

Describe your typical workday including when it starts and ends, how your time is

From 6-8 am I start doing homework depending on how much homework  I have that how long I take. After I watch tv or some movie.

At 9-11 am, I focus on chores I like to help my mom, sometimes we wash clothes or I help her mop the living room and kitchen. Then, I  take care of dog necessities, usually take my dog to go for a little walk and make sure he has his food and water. If needed I go to the store if he needed any groceries.

My lunch is from 11 am -12 pm.

After at 12 pm-1 pm I continue to do my homework if needed I like to get things done early.

Then at  1-3 pm, I start preparing for my tutoring internship. I tutor about 3-5  students on zoom they are  English learners. So I have to make sure my material is all set up and ready. 

Tutoring begins from 3-5 pm.

I try to grab a little snack and then from 5-8 pm.  I go into my other internship with Valley Forward. We are phone banking informing people about their workers right during COVID 19. 

By then I am already really tired so from 8-9 pm I start getting ready for bed and brush my teeth I’m usually about to sleep by 9 pm. 

If you were elected to office (County Board of Supervisors or mayor) and had unlimited power to make any changes you thought would improve your community or your environment, what would be the top 3 things on your agenda? County Board of Supervisors?

First, I would improve safety: making safer neighbors, by bringing more offers to the community, bring more security cameras to communities. Secondly, I would improve Healthcare by finding ways to bring in funding to offer free services to the community. Thirdly, I would improve public areas, for example, parks by having more volunteers, social media involvement to see people.