Wealthy Gener

I often tell my kids that I don't care if they're really good at school or great at sports or become the next Kobe Bryant - at the end of the day, you have to be a kind person. I think that's really where my success has come from. It's just really having a good head on your shoulders, having manners and being a good person in society, because it doesn't matter what accolades you might have - if you're not a good person at the end of the day, nobody cares. Being kind, being polite, being aware of your surroundings and the people around you, and understanding the things that really matter in life is what I pride myself on. I try to teach my kids that I hope they'll be the best at something, and I know they will be one day, but if you have a bad attitude, it really won't matter. That's something I really pride myself on - knowing that being kind and being a good person and being good to other people is really how you get anywhere in life. I also think it's important to understand where your privileges have been and to recognize that some people might not be as fortunate. Especially in California, where I moved from Michigan, it's very easy to lose that perspective because of how different the culture is. People can become entitled because of how they grow up, but I think remembering to stay grounded and grateful is essential.

The best career advice I ever received came from my nursing school teacher who told me I was very good at writing and suggested I look into journalism and broadcast. At the time, I didn't know what I was going to do with that skill, but she encouraged me to explore it, and I took her advice. That moment completely changed the trajectory of my career. It taught me to trust when someone recognizes a natural talent in you and to be open to pivoting when something isn't working. I had been trying to follow the path my parents wanted for me as an engineer, then tried nursing because it seemed like the right thing to do as a Filipino, but none of it felt right. When my teacher pointed out my strength in writing and communication, and I actually listened and pursued it, that's when things really started happening for me. The lesson was to be impressionable in a good way, to be open to feedback, and to have the courage to switch careers when you discover where your true abilities lie.

My biggest advice is to not rely too much on AI and to remember that public relations really is a personality-forward, person-forward type of industry. Even though there are so many resources right now with AI, and I'll admit that sometimes I plug things in and second-guess myself, what I've found is that I always get better responses when I just send an email being me, without AI. I think that's where AI is trying to pull you away from who you are and make you forget who you are. In this industry, if you're good at what you do and you think you're good at something, just hone in on that and don't rely too much on what AI is doing. Especially in public relations and relationship-type building, we are the experts in it. While the robots are trying to learn from us, just remember who you are and how you've grown into the industry or into the personality that you are. Remember that you are the expert in it, and we're the ones teaching the robot - it feeds off of us. So stay true to your natural strengths, trust your instincts, and don't let technology make you doubt your abilities or replace the genuine human connection that makes you successful in this field.

The biggest challenge right now is definitely the rise of technology and AI. My company, like many others, is trying to hire more people remotely and overseas, and with AI growing, people are becoming replaceable, which can be scary for anyone in any industry. At first, I was really worried about what we were going to do - were we just going to be replaced by robots? But what I've discovered is that in public relations and partnerships, we're actually seeing the opposite happen. What AI can't do is replace how people talk to each other and how relationships are built and maintained. I have never seen in my time in the industry the salary demands or the need for someone in public relations and communications like I'm seeing now. It's amazing because huge companies like Google are looking for people in public relations who can be an in-person person, who can manage teams, talk to people, and manage relationships. So while the challenge is that technology and AI are growing and that gets scary for professionals and executives in any industry, the opportunity is incredible. There's such a high demand now for face-to-face meetings and for people who understand how to talk to others and build partnerships. Public relations people are built to understand that every personality is different and that people want to be talked to in different ways. Building and maintaining those partnerships is really dependent on how good you are at working with different personalities. Since I was in high school, I've always been in positions dealing with people - recruitment chair, hospitality, constantly meeting different personalities - and that human element simply cannot be replaced by AI, or at least AI needs to be taught by us first.

My personal life and my family are incredibly important to me. Being a mom, you lose yourself a lot, and I definitely try to remember myself in those moments where I feel like all I'm doing is mommy stuff. It's important for me to let my husband know that, and he's very good at trying to support me and make sure that I'm able to flourish and do well in my current position while also providing for the family as the mom, caretaker, and homemaker. I definitely have two jobs - it's a full-time job being a working professional and a full-time job being a mom. We are a blended family as well, so there's added complexity. My husband works 2 hours away from where we live, so sometimes I feel like I'm a single mom, which I've told him, though I don't really want that on record because I don't want to make him feel bad. But it's a lot. We both don't have our former or past significant others in the picture, so we essentially are family, and that's it. We don't split time with anybody else - those are my children and his children, so we're doing this together. I'm definitely trying to do the balancing act of family life and work life while still trying to be independent and do well in what I want to do. Those are my values - family values, personal values, being a good wife, and also wanting to do very well in my career. It's definitely a very hard balancing act, because as much as people say 'how do you do it all?' you really don't. You don't do it all. Something's suffering at some point. But I also believe strongly in being a kind person and having good character, which I try to instill in my kids every day.