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1. Huntington Library and Gardens (in Pasadena, CA)
2. Archdiocese of Los Angeles (the Catholic Church of Los Angeles)
3. Girl's State
4. Homeboy Industries (Boyle Heights, CA)
5. The 1984 Olympics (held in Los Angeles)
6. My mother (with me at the Huntington Library below!)
7. My older sister (we played school)
8. Learning video games at my public library you got to play for FREE on the brand new Apple 2E computers donated by a new little-known company called Apple Computers (Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? & Oregon Trail)
10. Public library (summer reading program where reading got you free pizza points!)
11. S.E. Hinton
12. Weekly piano lessons with Mrs. Crider
13. Dr. Williams (favorite undergraduate professor)

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1. My brother's Godfather, Lambros (told us stories & sang traditional Greek songs)

2. Playing Scrabble as a kid

3. Being translator for my immigrant parents, brother (before he learned English), and grandmother

4. basketball (coach gave us notebooks to learn plays)

5. Practicing my French when we would visit family in Montreal

6. Greek School (church)

7. Greek Mythology (giant book I read over and over)

8. Dr. Paul Goldstene (college)

9. Human Services 45 (an elective course where we tutored lementary school kids in reading)

10. Used to play 'school' with my neighbor, who was 1 year older than me. I was the student and she was the teacher (learned years later I was doing her homework)

11. Sesame Street & The Electric Company on Saturday mornings

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My grandfather's almanac

Full House (Thing before Fuller House)

Hollywood movie series on Friday nights (in Japan)

Essay writing contests (many Japanese school children participated in these as part of school curricula)

Friends from home

UCSB

My child's Spanish-English bilingual school

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-2 Grandmothers (pictured below at my college graduation) and their full journals and bookshelves
-being the only child meant being included in conversations as a peer, not a child
-community conversations
-Judy Blume
-Dr. Betsy Watson
-Jody Woodbury (HS English teacher) and Carl Woodbury (HS Gov't teacher)
-Thomas, my grandmother's Siamese cat (aka my best student)
-Reading Rainbow
-Sweet Valley High

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Eye exams.
Watching older sister record herself reading books.
First grade reading circles.
Moving to Australia in 6th grade and mispronouncing words when reading aloud in class.

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Literacy Sponsors - where it kinda all began for me

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Literacy Sponsors - where it kinda all began for me

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- My parents (passed down stories, told folklores, superstitions, and traditions)
- Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library (rented out manga every weekend)
- Monopoly and other card games
- Fable the Lost Chapters and other PlayStation/Xbox games
- Karaoke in the kitchen with siblings
- Translating for my parents
- writing & presenting speeches during promotion and graduation
- family movie nights almost every other day
- athletics (volleyball and tennis)
- My adorable dogs

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- My parents(taught me Spanish, culture, and told me their life stories)
- My sisters(had a bookshelf of books that they had read and also always helped guide me)
- Dora the Explorer and Word World(shows that I watched as a child)
- Junie B. Jones(Series I read as a child)
- Movie Nights with Family
- Friends(the TV show)
- Ms. Oliver(8th Grade writing teacher)
- Mr. Madom(12th Grade Econ teacher)
- Social events with family
- Kassandra and Jessica(friends since middle school)

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-My great grandfather's stories about his home and his experiences.
-My mom who was an avid reader when I was younger.
-The libraries, both public and the ones at my schools. The amount of time I spent in those would have probably been a district record.
-My 5th grade teacher, Mr. Morris. He would order new books just because I would blast through so many in a fortnight.
-My 4th grade best friend Vanessa, she and I would spend hours in the library reading Animorphs together.
-Video games I played when I was younger, especially Fable and Fallout.

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- My parents taught me culture, faith, motivation and family values
-Summer Search guided me through college
-St. Joan of Arc catholic church( where I started singing at 10)
-My twin sister( My other half who always makes me smile)
-Public Library( earning enough point to go to six flags)
- Friends
- Movie nights with my family
- My counselor Mrs. Watkins for always believing in me.
- Agape food drive( A non profit organization filled with people who became my family)
- Poetry Contest
-Band
_ Music
- Making the most of what I had
-Zumba classes with my mom
- Eye exams
- Late night talks with my siblings
- Watching novelas growing up
-Hikes with my family
-Liz who supported me in every possible way

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1.  My mom (She taught me about the differences between how she lived to how we live now and she always provided me with the best advice about life).
2. My dad (Always encourages me to continue working hard in school and become successful, essentially both my parents taught me so much about my culture).
3. Ms. Hiroshima (Favorite elementary school teacher).
4. Mr. Sanchez (Favorite elementary principal).
5. Dora the Explorer (I Learned Spanish from watching this show at a young age).
6. City Team ( An organization in my community that provided me with support in regards to whatever I needed).
7. Mr. Kas-Osoka (A business professor in high school who taught me a lot about the fundamentals of running a business).
8. TRIO (A program that was geared toward low-income students).
9. Law&Order (Inspired my interest in becoming a lawyer).
10. Ms. Azevedo (My senior English teacher who taught me how to advance my writing skills).
11. Weekly Youtube videos with my family.
12. Ms. Ramirez (Spanish NS 1 teacher)

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-Parents (Passed down Mexican culture, Spanish language, life sacrifices and struggles)

-Older sister (Provided me with guidance, taught me what she knew)

-Community Centers (Would read books out loud)

- Loteria (Helped me learn some words in Spanish, my family would all play at least once a week with our neighbors)

-Calvary Baptist Church (My other home, would listen to service in Spanish and english, youth groups)

-Counselor (Middle school Mr.Luna would let me ask his infinite questions no matter how busy he was, and in high school Mrs.Ramirez would send me various opportunities )

-Basketball teammates

-Dora the explorer, Wonder Pets! (Shows I would watch when I was little)

-Grey’s Anatomy

-AVID (Helped prepare us for college)

- PEAC (Tutoring for students)

-Mission Scholars (Helped first-generation students find resources for the college admissions process, proofread my college essays, helped with fafsa)

-Discussion classes (AVID seminars, US Government & Politics class)

-Tiare (My best friend since 3rd grade, who I think is the smartest person, religions conversations (My parents are christian and her dad is an atheist), life conversion)

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-My parents taught me to always put God first and everything else would fall into place
-My siblings
-My uncles and aunts
-My cousins
-Friends
-Strawberry Shortcake, Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go, Super Why, Word World, Martha Speaks, Superbook
-Criminal Minds
-My teachers from k-12
-Public library
-High school counseling office stuff
-Reading ever since I remember
-Being the oldest child
-Growing up in a humble home
-High school office admin
-BVCA
-American Red Cross
-Tracy Latin Athletic Club

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1. Living with my four older brothers while growing up helped me get rid of my speech impediment.
2.Wrestling Teammates
3.REACH Program junior year.( A program that helps low income high school students get into college)
4.Mickey Mouse Club House.
5. Wordle help me develop more Vocabulary and made me think.
6.Being the youngest
7.High School Teachers
8.Netflix and Hulu
9.Youtube Videos
10. Sesame Street.
11. Disney Movies.

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- Cesar Chavez Library
- Cross Country and Track & Field coaches
- MESA
- Baile Folklorico and Danza
- Friends
- Legos
- Mexican traditions (Dia de los Muertos & Dia de la Virgen)
- Parents and siblings
- Visual and performing arts
- The Wahine Project
- Mrs. Samuels (2nd & 4th grade teacher)
- Ms. Ward (Highschool Biology teacher)
- Athletic.net (sports performance results/ranking and recruiting through NCSA)
- Shows I grew up watching (Wild Kratts, Curious George, Cat in the Hat, and Sid the Science Kid)
- AVID
- St. Mary of the Nativity Catholic Church

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- Mrs. De La Torre (very first teacher ever)
- Johnson Elementary Library
- R. L. Stine (The author of Goosebumps)
- Mary Pope Osborne (Author of the Magic Tree House)
- My sister(she's the reason ive made it all the way to college)
- AVID
- Trio Talent Search
- Mr. Jorge
- Ms. Svacina (My counselor who kept me in check when slacking off)
- Cyber (a place where you rent a spot on a computer. I used it to do homework when i had to live in Mexico.)
- Friends
- Friends Parents
- STEP!!

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1. Excelsior Library (San Francisco, CA)
2. PBS Kids (Dinosaur Train, Word Girl, Wild Kratts, etc.)
3. Storytime at school
4. Family
5. Friends
6. Ms. Wolf (6th-grade English teacher)
7. Mr. Riehl (10th-grade English teacher)
8. Work
9. Television
10. Spanish classes/bilingual classrooms
11. Mexican education

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1. My mom with MANY workbooks
2. Older siblings who loved reading
3. Junipero Serra Branch Library
4. Dora the Explorer/ Go Diego Go books (it was a series of them)
5. Strawberry Shortcake (games), Word's World, Arthur, The Berenstain Bears,  (other PBS Kids shows)
6. Blues Clues
7. Ms. Alvisurez and My 4th grade teacher
8. Homeboy Industry (Father Greg Boyle's book)
9. Older cousins
10. Watching Dragon Ball Z early Saturday mornings with my brother
11. active member of my church (guided by my parents)
12. Both my parents backgrounds
13. My brother's death
14. My nephew's

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-Number 1 HAS to be my parents because they were the ones that introduced me into this world and all the wonderful things in it.
-All My Friends who ive been going through this strange world with since pre-k
-Father Manuel (A priest in the church i visited back home) for showing me that no matter how bad things get, we can always turn to god and ask for guidance.
-Ms. Tang (12th Grade English Teacher) for being the first teacher to make English and writing fun and not a chore.
-Mrs. Becerra (For being my Advisory Teacher for all 4 years of High school) for teaching me the tips and tricks to college life and adult hood.
-Maria and Brian (Both of my awesome siblings) for picking me up when i was down an helping me navigate through life.
-Coach AB (old lineman coach) for teaching me that nothing in this life comes free and if we really want something than we have to work our butts off to obtain it.
-Mr. Ortega (My Old Counselor, He a real one) He grew up the same place i did and i could relate to him more than any other instructor in high school so i would often look towards him for guidance
-I have to thank the og's over there at sesame street for making me count to 8 every time count von count (the vampire) was on the show
- Arthur (old Show) for giving me hints on how to solve real world problems
-Video games taught me many terminologies that would not be found any other way, many times not good or useful words but they are words nonetheless:)