My journey with Pacoima Beautiful began in high school through volunteer work, where I spent hours cleaning parks, schools, and assisting at community engagement events. As president of their school club, I grew to admire their mission and later joined as a team member for phone banking and canvassing during the 2020 Census. Despite the immense challenges of the pandemic, a racial justice movement, xenophobic fear tactics, and disruptions to the census timeline, my team and I persevered, ensuring that 60,000 hard-to-count individuals were accurately represented for the decade.

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As the pandemic continued, I shifted to phone banking efforts to help community members schedule COVID-19 appointments. When the vaccine became available, I was promoted to team lead, training and managing a team of 30 members on effective canvassing strategies. I guided them through conversations with hesitant individuals, fostering trust and encouraging them to attend pop-up events where we provided free PPE. Together, we knocked on over 100,000 doors, scheduled thousands of vaccine appointments, and distributed PPE to more than 100,000 low-income households. This experience strengthened my leadership skills, taught me how to motivate a team in difficult times, and gave me invaluable lessons in community outreach, data organization, and resilience that I will carry with me forever.