Jade Lun

Honolulu, Hawaii

Age: 28 Chinese

IG: @jadelun

List three personality traits: Ambitious, Compassionate, and Kind

Life motto: Spread love and gratitude

Last book you read: The Secret by Rhonda Byrn

What is your current school or occupation: Senior Art Director at Guaranteed Rate, Founder and Creative Director of Jade Agency Hawaii

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

My passion for figure skating has helped me become who I am today. I had to take lots of falls during practice. Falling down and getting back up has helped me in every aspect of my life. If you fall down, always get back up! Failure is redirection and what is meant for you will always find a way.

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

Family. I love how my Chinese family history and lineage is so strong and loving. We have so many memories and values that we hold strongly and proudly. My family has taught me how to love my culture unconditionally.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself working completely for myself at Jade Agency Hawaii. I want to build my company, hire a team, and create impactful advertisements for local Hawaii brands. It would be a dream to be recognized by Forbes 30 under 30, and in the meantime, I will continue working passionately and with purpose.

Juliecar Faith Amian

Honolulu, Hawai’i

Age: 27 Filipina

Sponsor: Island Green Landscaping

IG: @faithamian

IG: @foodfaithlive

List three personality traits: Brave, Confident, and Fun

Life motto: Faith without action is dead.

Last book you read: Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsay

What is your current school or occupation: Quality Assurance Management

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

Cooking, definitely! I've seen and experienced my mom take care of us through this. This is very therapeutic as it brings me to the present moment and helps me take care of myself even more.

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

We have lots of delicious food at our gatherings—my favourite one has always been Christmas!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years, I see myself continually leading the food manufacturing industry while balancing being a mother.

Kimberly Szeto

Dublin, California Age: 24 Chinese Sponsor: Kimberly's Family and Friends

List three personality traits: Compassionate, mature, and childlike

Life motto:

“If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.” - African Proverb

Last book you read:

Love Letters From Janey by Richard Cheu

What is your current school or occupation: Programs Coordinator at the Chinese Historical Society of America; Social Media Specialist at CheuWrites

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved learning about history. In college, this passion allowed me to pursue a degree in History with a concentration in East Asia and the Islamic World. Today, my passion for history has led me to work with community organizations like Save Cantonese, the Okinawa Memories Initiative, and the Chinese Historical Society of America.

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

My favorite aspect of my culture is the Cantonese language. As a kid, this was something I was embarrassed about. Today, I’ve learned to champion it and to use Cantonese to communicate and connect with my family, friends, and community.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself as a community advocate, bringing positive change and happy smiles to all. For me, it warms my heart seeing the community come together at events, in solidarity, and building genuine relationships. Ultimately, we’re all here to support each other and grow together and I LOVE THAT.

Kristina Choi

Vienna, Virginia Age: 28 Korean

IG: @ktinachoi

List three personality traits: Keen, Genuine, and Inventive

Life motto:

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.

Last book you read:

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

What is your current school or occupation: Physician Associate/Assistant

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

Someone once asked, “Where is your favourite place to be lost?” When playing piano, my usually-omnipotent mind must wander from the activity at hand—focus too hard, I’ll miss the next key. My fingers flow across the piano as if part of another entity. By being lost, I know exactly where I have to be, where I have to go.

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

There is a Korean concept called “jung”, that can be hard to define and has no direct English translation; the concept of “jung” encompasses a sympathetic, positive, genuine, affectionate connection, gesture, or act for another.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

While continuing to practice medicine and caring for my patients, I hope to have found ways to broadcast general medical information in a way that is easily, publicly accessible—podcasts, broadcast programs, etc. Finally, I am surrounded by friends and family I love, hopefully married and ready to raise my children with the same unconditional love my parents have shown me.

Lisa Yan Makenna Ma

San Francisco, California

Age: 27 Chinese

Gold Sponsors: Best Friends

Asian Googler Network Wellness Sponsors: Waymo coworkers, Google coworkers, CMU aKDPhi, CMU friends, Volleyball friends, SF Friends, Ali Healy

IG: @lisayam_ Tiktok: @lisatok__

List three personality traits:

Ambitious, Curious, and Open-minded

Life motto:

“Being a role model is challenging, because what you really need to do is show students how imperfect people can be and still succeed.” - Karen Uhlenbeck, the 2019 mathematical Abel Prize winner

Last book you read:

The Biggest Bluff by Maria Konnikova

What is your current school or occupation: Software Engineer at Waymo

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

Being active and playing sports has always been a part of my life. I figure-skated and swam since I was 6, and have been playing volleyball since I was 13. Volleyball still has a big influence on my life today, from making new friends at open gyms, to training regularly in preparation for the annual national tournament I play in.

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

My dad is from Xi’an, China, and that region is known for their noodles and dumplings. My family always hand pulls noodles and makes dumpling skins from scratch. My dad even used to hand pull noodles for my school breakfast.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I will finish business school and use my technical background to start my own company as an entrepreneur or work in venture capital advising other startups. Given how much has changed in the last 5, 10, and 20 years, I’m excited to be a part of the ecosystem that pushes the boundaries of innovation.

San Jose, California

Age: 18 Chinese

Sponsors: Bay 101, Lai Hong Lounge

Mayflower, Sau-Wing Lam

IG: @makennaaprill

List three personality traits:

Free spirited, Social Butterfly, and Empathetic

Life motto:

A life can be measured in many ways, but the one that stands above the rest is a life with NO REGRETS!

Last book you read:

The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan

What is your current school or occupation: College freshman at UC San Diego

What hobby or passion that defines you as a person and can be traced back to your childhood?

Even as a toddler, I loved to sing and dance. I wore pants on my head to emulate Hannah Montana’s long hair and performed in my living room. (Thank you to my family for putting up with my loud singing and dancing noises, even now...) Performing in musical theatre has helped me grow and express myself, and I love spreading joy through singing and dancing!

What is your favorite aspect of your culture?

My favorite aspect of Chinese culture is filial piety. I love caring for my elderly grandparents and hearing stories from their childhood. My culture's emphasis on revering the elderly taught me how to be respectful, as well as greatly improved my Cantonese speaking skills.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I see myself as a successful real estate agent, and fresh out of college as a fulfilled educator. I’m following my parents’ footsteps in real estate, potentially working alongside them at their company, as well as educating younger generations to prepare them for their futures.