Growing up chronically ill, I was always very limited in the way I experienced the world; however, I relied on non-conventional methods to help me discover things that I otherwise couldn’t. For me, language and media were essential to allow me to see the world that seemed locked away from me. Through learning Spanish and eventually Japanese, I was essentially forced to see the world through the lens of a different culture and experience it from that viewpoint. Media provided me with a visual and auditory portal that allowed me to understand cultures in context and see outside of both my home country, and often the confines of my hospital room in the past. In my academic career, I made it my goal to gain the knowledge necessary to provide this method to others.
In my professional career, I have worked tirelessly on both ends of my knowledge spectrum
to share the world with others. Whether it is through translation, mobile application creation, or
even game development, I pride myself in my ability to bring together technology and language in
an unlikely partnership. This partnership afforded me the opportunity to work for a Japanese
gaming company where I learned the process of localization and translation firsthand as well as
the ability to provide people like myself who go mostly unrecognized in the industry. Additionally,
it allowed me to prepare programmatically and linguistically to easily do so. For me, it is my
mission to bring access to everyone, regardless of disability status, race, age, gender identity,
sexuality, or background. I believe that no one should be excluded from the possibilities,
perpectives, and opportunities the world offers. If someone like me with all the challenges I’ve
had accomplish the things I have, there’s no reason that people shouldn’t be able to do the same.
