I grew up with Genentech. My Dad, who immigrated from the Philippines with my mom, worked in finance at a floor covering company here on DNA Way, and I learned to drive and parallel park on this street. I had friends from school who would go to the company’s STEM education programs, but I was into the arts—playing saxophone in the jazz band, entering speech writing contests, anything creative. So even though it was in my backyard, I never thought about Genentech, either as a kid or when it came time to look for a job.

I graduated from UC Davis during the recession and was working on campus planning events and booking bands at a pub, which was fun. I couldn’t find a full-time job until 2007, when a temp agency told me they had a great position for me. When they said it was at Genentech, I was shocked; what kind of job could I do at a biotech company? It turned out they had a job in corporate relations that involved doing what I love most—planning events and working in philanthropy.

People here want you to succeed, and I got great advice from the senior vice president of my group who told me, “Pick something you like, make sure whatever you like in that job is in your next job, and the next job... and you’ll land with a career you’ll love in the future.” In 2010, I was hired on full time, and I got to start making presentations and designing creative experiences in meetings. A good portion of my job involves working with a charity called Project Sunshine, where we get to provide arts and recreational activities for kids in hospitals, like throwing a hula-themed party. Though I initially wondered what I could bring to a company like Genentech, what I see now is that my passion for creating nurturing community, whether it’s in the home office or for our partners in the outside world.

Genentech was always located in my community, and now it’s an integral part of my community. When I walk down the halls, I’m always running into friends I know from elementary or high school who now work here in research, manufacturing, and government affairs. And over the years I’ve met a lot of new people too, who now feel like family. When my father got sick, my co-workers were above and beyond supportive, texting me off-hours, helping me with medical arrangements, and just checking in. When he died a few months later, I was so grateful they were there for me.

One of the last things my dad told me was that he was proud I worked at Genentech and that I had coworkers who cared so much about me.

“Be optimistic,” he always used to tell me. “It’s more fun to be.” Losing him was one of the hardest experiences of my life, and my extended family, now including my coworkers, have helped me to stay positive. I’m forever grateful for that.