Good evening, I wanted to take some time to tell everyone a little bit about myself.

I was born in the Houston area to Asian and LatinX parents. I grew up just north of Houston, in Spring, and I have lived in Pearland since 2011.

Family is important to me, I'm the eldest of 4, and I have a close relationship with all of my brothers and sister. Growing up in a large household was a blessing to me, and my family continues to be my heart and soul.

I went to college here in town, graduating from Houston Baptist University with a double major in Biology and History. I also have an MLA from the University of St. Thomas, with a focus on History as well as an MBA from LSUS.

Public education is important to me, being the son of immigrants. Public schools opened up doors of opportunity that I wouldn't have had anywhere else in the world. I fell in love with the arts and sciences in school, and I have been passionate about sharing that love with others ever since.

I am an IT engineer at a large software company, focusing on cyber security, but my career started in the Texas Medical Center, where I started out as a lab tech at the Human Genome Sequencing Center. After two years in biology I transitioned to a role in IT, at the Department of Genetics, at Baylor College of Medicine. I spent over a decade working in IT at the Texas Medical Center, moving on to other opportunities.

None of those opportunities would have been possible without the head start I received in local public schools. My amazing teachers encouraged my curiosity, and supported my growth.

These same opportunities should exist for all students, from all walks of life! We must make sure that our schools help cultivate the future success of their students. We must enable our teachers to do the best work possible, and we must make sure everyone has access to the tools needed to make this happen.

Pubic education is also how we can begin to address issues of inequity within society, ensuring that every student has the tools they need to be successful in life. We also begin addressing the issues of the school to prison pipeline, by ensuring that every learning environment that is paid for with public dollars addresses an approach that rejects punitive punishment.