Resilience is deeply rooted in Filipino history, culture, and values. My parents embodied it while chasing the American Dream, and I will continue to carry on Filipino resilience in how I support others, aiming to be a pillar of strength through adversity.

From distant shores, my parents chased the American dream Supporting our family and relatives in the Philippines.

Budget meals with Spam and corned beef, a frugal delight, Layering up in winter to save on heat & gas on cold nights.

Balikbayan boxes sent with love, across the seas they roam, Filled with clothes, food, and more, for family back home.

My parent's Filipino resilience, bold and strong, shines bright, A legacy of strength, guiding me with their light.

I carry their spirit in how I support and care, For resilience is my heritage, a bond we share.

With hope and determination, I strive to be A testament to their past, and the future I foresee.

Alexa Cabiaza is an Administrative Assistant on the Corporate team based in New York.

I carry the leap my parents took, the love of where I come from, and the voice I’ve shaped through culture, creativity, and purpose. Between worlds, I found not just my identity, but the power to help others share theirs.

They gave me a home beneath two skies A place for my questions, my roots, and my whys.

Through laughter and Indian classical dance, in stories retold, I found my bridge between two worlds, both new and old.

Embracing my cultures three, Not quite this here or that there- just trying to be fully me.

The diaspora, the in-between.

A voice shaped by courage, yet full of hope and grace, Learning, listening, embracing every story and place.

To speak with purpose, to be seen with intent, To listen deeply-to understand what’s meant.

The unique stories that have yet to be told impactful communications and digital creativity taught me how to be bold.

When I step forward, I carry it all The leap, the love, the voice to stand tall.

Alisha Yuhanna is Senior Account Supervisor on the Smithfield Digital team based in San Francisco.

Growing up, my late Japanese grandfather would often say “you can’t stop progress” as we would drive past each new gentrified project in old Kailua town. I often reflect on those simple words and the project manager in me weighs the costs and benefits on how our communities are impacted. He might be right but at least we get to influence what that progress looks like.

Sakura in bloom

Rusted fence, child’s first step

What’s old is now new

Chad Grossman is a Project Director on the U.S. Project Management team based in Los Angeles.

I come from parents who crossed oceans with nothing but hope—a father who labored with humor and quiet strength, and a mother who embraced change with fierce determination. What they passed down isn’t just resilience, but the belief that possibility is something you build. I carry that into every space I enter—grounded, grateful, and shaped by faith.

My story didn’t start with me — it began in rural villages in Pakistan, where families rebuilt after war, in a country still learning how to stand.

My father left as a teenager, worked in coal mines, sold newspapers on distant shores, and drove a yellow cab through foreign, bustling streets.

My mother arrived with fierce determination — no English, no roadmap — yet she learned a new world, and made the unfamiliar feel like home.

Together, they built a life from grit and prayer, shaping hope out of hardship, and turning struggle into something that could grow.

For the next generation, they dreamed bigger — children who would read the words they never had time to, write stories they were never invited to tell, lead with purpose, and live, freely.

In our home, we honor a mix of languages — Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, English — a reflection of where we come from, of the land and people who shaped us, each word carrying memory, migration, and meaning.

The way I speak, the hijab I wear, the values I carry — they are my inheritance.

I am not just my parents’ daughter — I am their answered prayer, the future they dreamed into being, their legacy, in motion.

Fatimah Alyas is a Senior Account Supervisor on the Social Impact and Sustainability team based in New York.

I have deep respect for the generations that came before me and a strong curiosity to learn from others' experiences. My perspective is shaped by the legacy of my grandparents, who documented their journey from China to the Gold Mountain. Their story—rooted in sacrifice, perseverance, ingenuity, and devotion—continues to influence how I see the world and connect with others.

A boy with a name not his own, crossed oceans to a land of gold. Sold a fairytale, but slept behind brooms and dreamt of roots, while love waited half a world away.

A decade of moving forward while trusting in his return, She set the foundation to grow a business and family together and weather grief apart.

Now, through glass and grain, conversation and observation, I honor their truth — each story a gift each portrait a seed. Their past in my hands, becoming tomorrow’s light.

Kristina Gong is a Senior Vice President on the Workplace Advisory team based in Los Angeles.

My mom passed her nursing exams on her first try. When she first immigrated to Boston, she decided the city was too cold and risked her visa to get a job in LA. My dad worked in sales for 25 years. He’s charming, quick to crack jokes, and remembers small details about each of his customers.

My parents came from an island, where the sun reached down and kissed their skin and the humidity hugged their bones. I carry their caramel tones with me.

I am the sugarcane fields and coconut palms of my mother’s island. I am the waves crashing against the boulders of my father’s island. I am all heat and all fire, all of their dreams and ambitions stowed in their suitcase.

I have climbed ladders they never knew existed and walked through doors that had been locked to them. I have flowered from where they planted me, grown branches beyond their imagination. Soon I will be able to offer them shade and a place to rest after their long journey across oceans. I will be the island they left behind and the legacy they leave behind.

Kristine deGuzman is a Managing Director and Global Client leader based in Los Angeles.

I carry a chorus of my family’s love, laughter, hardships, and traditions. They are woven into who I am and shared with love wherever I go.

My story begins with my family crossing the Pacific to build a new life.

At long reunion tables and amid the vibrant Pahiyas festival in Lucban, I glimpsed the traditions they carried across oceans.

I came to see my 18th debut and my role with the SoCal Lucbanian Society as more than just a request from my family, but an inheritance of tradition and the culture I come from.

Being Filipino American means honoring both your dreams and duty – carrying the multigenerational experience with me wherever I go.

Megan Villaverde is a Senior Account Manager on the U.S. New Business team based in Washington DC.

At thirteen, I crossed oceans, carrying my mother’s courage in my chest. Culture clashed loud, but her example kept me steady. I learned to stand on my own, to find my voice in unfamiliar rooms.

In the heart of the Philippines, she stood — my mother, quiet but fierce, turning sacrifice into strength, making ends meet without complaint.

At thirteen, I crossed oceans, carrying her courage in my chest. Culture clashed loud, but her example kept me steady.

I learned to stand on my own, to find my voice in unfamiliar rooms. Not needing rescue, just space — I became someone I could trust.

Now I move through the world with her fire in my bones — independent, unshaken — because she taught me how to rise.

Nicole Luang is an Account Supervisor on the Health team based in Chicago.

My parents ventured beyond the boundaries of tradition. They crossed continents—journeying from India to America to Hong Kong—navigated uncharted careers and cultures, and entered spaces that defied expectation, all while holding fast to love and community. I carry their courage not just to forge my own path, but to do so with purpose, heart, and connection.

When they were small, they were told to be A certain way, a certain shape, no room to veer. But the urge to dream, to explore, it was loud. So they charted course for their own truths, An undiscovered purpose that outshone the pull of pattern.

Across continents, they moved with courage, One that was quiet at first, dampened By serpents and storms that hissed with doubt and hatred. But love and community bound them close. And so they staked the serpents with compassion, together.

My parents planted in me seeds of courage. They watered them, gave them sun, and so they grew. Seeds became seedlings, and seedlings then sprouts, Until I too held their boldness, love, and compassion. Until I too knew how to dream and find my own purpose.

They taught me how to nurture my own seeds, And that growth is lifelong with the wisdom of others. They taught me that boldness means nothing without kindness, And a path carved alone is best walked together. Now, I walk forward rooted in their love, in search of my own light.

Nitya Velakacharla is a Senior Account Executive on the Brand Purpose team based in New York.

I come from love that labored—parents who worked three jobs and showed love through sacrifice. That shaped how I show up today: with empathy and a deep commitment to making sure no one’s hard work or story goes unseen.

I come from love that labored, hands sorting mail at the post office, feet standing long hours behind a frozen yogurt counter, three jobs stitched together so I could stand taller.

Through many sacrifices like this, and more — my parents held up a world that never saw them.

And my father sang his tired away, full-chested — sometimes Korean church hymns, sometimes mariachi music, sometimes ballads from Elvis — teaching me the power of song, how melody carries emotion, how music connects hearts even when you don’t understand every word.

From them, I learned: lead with empathy, carry unseen stories, honor every hand that helped me rise.

I show up now not just for myself, but as a communicator shaping the culture we share — guiding voices through crisis and change.

In this way, I show up now not just for myself — but for the love that made me.

Sharon Cho is a Senior Vice President on the Multicultural Communications team and DEI Advisory based in Los Angeles.

I was raised by a woman who was strong, assertive, and unapologetically driven—despite a world that expected her silence. As a child, I resisted her toughness. But over time, it shaped me. Her boldness became mine. Now, I approach my work with that same instinct: I take initiative, face challenges head-on, and never wait to be told what I can do.

I used to flinch at the sharp edges of her strength — the way she moved through the world with a spine that never bent, even when bending might have made things easier.

I didn’t understand her. Why she met life with such firm resolve. Why softness never seemed to tempt her. I’d wonder — couldn’t she have leaned back a little, let herself be gentle, just once?

But the years have a way of softening judgment, of stitching us back to where we began.

What once felt like too much now fits just right. She didn’t wait for life to unfold — she made things happen. With a spine like steel and hands that shaped what wasn’t yet real, she built the life she envisioned.

Watching her act decisively taught me not to wait for opportunity, but to search for it — or create it myself.

She looked beyond the day in front of her — toward a bigger home, wider horizons, experiences that would open our world.

From her, I learned the power of foresight — that long-term vision demands a backbone steady enough to carry both today and tomorrow.

Now I hear her in me — in how I speak with intention, in how I carry what’s heavy without apology, in how I stand tall, spine straight, unafraid to take up space.

What I once resisted now steadies me.

Thank you, Mom.

Yujung Lee is an Account Supervisor and Senior Designer based in Chicago.

I’m led by my vision for a world where people coexist. Not out of tolerance, but choice. The strategic choice to celebrate our nuance, our shared truths, and everything in between. To find power, precision, and clarity in how we connect. Because when we build together, we build better.

I come from places where the love in your heart matters more than what’s in your wallet.

Where home isn’t just a roof over your head - it’s arms waiting to hold, hands that lift, and eyes that understand.

I come from places where we help those in need, not out of needing something for ourselves - but from knowing we are nothing without others.

Where we do the right thing, even when no one is looking.

I come from places where you say it with your chest, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Places where sacrifice far outweighs the cost of bitten tongues.

See, when you have crossed oceans and sky, borders become a figment of the imagination. Reminders of the way that man tries to control what he cannot.

They say all rivers lead to the sea.

So, here I stand.

As a reminder that we come from the same place.

A mother’s dream.

Xahil Mcdonald is a Copywriter based in Seattle.