I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and grew up in Merced, California. Coming from a family of field workers and being a first-generation college student, I’ve always valued resilience, hard work, and community. I earned my bachelor’s in Psychology from CSU Stanislaus and my master’s in Social Work from Cal Poly Humboldt. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work in a variety of settings, from counseling teens in schools to working in forensic environments, including juvenile halls, county jails, and state prisons. I’ve also spent time working in rural communities, which really opened my eyes to the diversity of spirituality and cultural backgrounds that people come from.