My family’s history in El Salvador and Guatemala has fueled my passion for history.

My Grandma Gladys has been my hero my entire life. She immigrated to the US from El Salvador as a teen. Her parents sent her and her twin sister to live with an aunt to achieve a better life in the United States. She attended Balboa High School in the Excelsior District in the Mission Terrace neighborhood of San Francisco where she met my grandfather. They were married when she was only 18. After starting a family, they moved back to their home country and unfortunately faced several tragedies, including the loss of a daughter due to heart complications. They were forced to flee the Civil War in El Salvador in 1980 when my mom was a child and moved back to California. My Grandmother started her own business, a Mexican restaurant, and raised her family in the US. When she was only only 61 years old, she suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm that left her walking impaired. My Grandma has never complained. She walks several miles a day, and continues to cook delicious meals. She taught her entire family the power of hard work, resilience, and gratitude and for that she is my hero.

Connected to my love of history is my love of traveling. I’ve visited 14 countries: Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, UK, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and Israel. I absolutely love museums and historical sites, especially in Italy, France, and Israel.