Bio

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and have lived there for most of my life. I remember driving with my parents along the coast to visit Monterey and seeing the artichoke and strawberry fields stretch a far as the eye could see, or travelling down the middle of the state to Los Angeles and seeing orchards, vineyards, and just about every other type of produce imaginable being grown. It was dizzying to see the perfect rows of food pass by my window in an instant, but I never realized how the people in those fields lived. In the past couple of years I have explored my own connections to farmwork, and have found that I am not so far removed as I thought I was.

My great-grandfather emigrated from Japan to work in the sugarcane and pineapple fields in Hawaii. The stories that have been passed down to me from my family only magnify the injustices that continue to exist for farmworkers. One thing that my great-grandparents believed very strongly in was the power of education, and they passed down those values to their children and those ideals are ingrained in my beliefs as well. In my study of documentary at UC Santa Cruz and as the CDS-SAF documentary intern, I have seen the importance of exploring issues outside oneself as well as looking at personal connections through storytelling.

One of my passions is food - I love to cook, bake, read about and most importantly eat. Through this internship I have had the opportunity to learn more about the social justice issues around food and the sacrifices that are made to bring food to our tables. I also got to know the SAF interns, some of whom have come from farmworker families and are now attending college in addition to advocating for farmworker rights. I have been impressed and inspired by the commitment and passion that these students have for improving the lives of farmworkers. I plan to continue gathering stories, starting with those that are closest to me - my family, and exploring how these personal stories reflect social issues on a greater level.