I was born February 12th, 1987 in San Jose, California. My parents were both twenty-one and living at home with their repective single mothers. My father was a carpenter and my mother as far as I could remember would work as a secretary for various industries. She starting out helping my entreprenuer uncles open up their automotive shop. My first job was the summer I turned thirteen. My mother took me to work with her to help her with some filing, sorting thru bills, and answering the phones. This experience taught me some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned about running a business. I was convinced I was destined for the same role/career my mom held, as a secretary/receptionist.
My 7th grade year I lived on the East Side of San Jose and attended Joseph George Middle School. I remember my first inspirational life changing moment. My pre-alegbra teacher Ms. Oliver asked to see me after class. She had asked me what was going on with me? She said she knew I was smart because I would actively answer questions in class when she presented new lessons but rarely did I turn in homework. I responded naively stating “Well Ms. Oliver, I don’t need good grades, its not like I’m going to college” She asked me, “Why don’t you think your going to college”. I baulked and said sheepishly in a lowered voice in an empty classroom, “Well I’m poor Ms. Oliver. My family can’t afford to send me to college. I’ll probably just work in my uncles automotive shop as a secretary or something”. That day she enlightened me by revealing that she too grew up in a poor family and was still able to attend college, and that in fact all I had to do was to get good grades and I would get scholarships, some paying for everything. I was shocked and forever changed. I began focusing all my attention on how do I get myself in college. Perserverance for success, for advancing myself and determination to overcome any challenges in life were sowed in during theses years of my life.
I went on to earn my Bachelors Degree in Business Administration concentrating in Accounting, the language of business while simultaneously picking up spanish as well. I attended classes at San Jose City College, CSU East Bay – formually known as California State University: Hayward, and finally earning my degree thru Sonoma State University. Took me 7 years to receive my degree but I was able to receive the pell grant for a number of years, and the CAL grant A and Cal Grant B scholarships for a couple years. In addition, I was the first in my family to have attended a four year university and was low income and so I also qualified for the EOP grant.
I was blessed to acquire a job in the library two days prior to the start of my freshman year at Sonoma State University. It was thru the IT Department as a lab assistant. Adding to my resume and passion for information technology and customer service skills. Four years later I went from helping students in the 24-hour computer lab with basic microsoft applications, how to save, and printing to working in the IT help desk servicing smart classrooms with 100 plus student auditoriums, computer lab maintence and other tech support.
When I finally graduated college I got a temp job right away working for a high-tech company in Sunnyvale, CA in the accounting department. Three months later I was hired full-time as a revenue accountant. I was very fortunate to be taught the odds and ins of how to account for online revenue in various international currencies and banking plateforms working closely with the IT department that kept track of sales that were used to compare to our banking deposits. In 2013 I was making 50k a year and developed a nasty cocaine habit to combat my alcoholism. After two years I missed one too many days during a month end and ended my position which I regret since this day.
I eventually moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho to escape the realities of my struggles to maintain housing once my mothers mom sold her house in San Jose, CA and moved to a gated community 55 and up in Los Banos. I was homeless and so I sought a lower cost of living in Idaho and rather than get a job in accounting choose to take work in the restaurant industry. I waitressed at different locations for the five years I was in Idaho from 2018 to 2022 when I caught my charges for possession with intent to deliever meth Dec 29th, 2022. After returning from a visit in California because my beloved grandmother had past away and three months later my uncle died as well.
I was arrested Dec 29, 2022 and released to pre-trial supervision on Feb 7th, 2023 into a half-way house till my sentencing which took place March 26, 2024. I received 37 months. However, I used the time in between as wise as I could, I completed treatment in Idaho Falls, at a great facility called RHS – Rehabilitative Health Services. It was a 20 week programing schdedule 5 days a week 2 hours a day. So I was able to get my job back at the Vietnamese restaurant I was working at and decided that I needed to stay busy in order to stay sober. So I went to treatment 9am to 11am and then went straight to the restaurant to open it at 11:15am and closed it about 9pm. I attended NA meetings when I could and after I finished my 20 week treatment classes I decided to enroll in the aftercare class that was a encompassed all that I had learned in the 5 classes into one which went on for another 20 weeks. I finished all treatment about Feb of 2024 and stayed sober thru it all. After about 11 years of heavy addiction that had progressed from cocaine to meth I was finally free.
The one problem, I still had to own up to the consequences of my charges and spend the next few years in a federal penticiary in Phoenix, Arizona in which I turned myself in on a self-surrender.
