I was born in Los Angeles and raised in Rosemead - a child of Khmer-American asylum seekers. I attended both the Garvey and Alhambra Unified School Districts and I was the fifth child in my family to graduate from San Gabriel High School in 2012. I have since obtained my Bachelor of Science from CSULA, graduating in 2017.
All this is to say that I have been intimately involved with AUSD and the San Gabriel Valley for my entire life. Through these twenty-plus years of involvement in community organizing I have seen what the 2008 recession did to our schools, I experienced the fear of our immigrant community in 2016, and I have seen how the current pandemic has stressed and challenged our neighborhoods.
We now have the opportunity to rebuild and grow a truly equitable school environment. One that can close the opportunity gap in our population while providing necessary resources for vulnerable students and families. One that encourages community schools and celebrates family and student achievement. One that can build upon our resiliency and creativeness and put us on a path not just of recovery but expansive success.
