Herschel is a Filipino American who was born in Mountain Veiw, but grew up in Bakersfield, CA. While a student at SFSU, he’s taught at Denman Middle School with Pin@y (Pinay/Pinoy) Educational Partnerships (PEP) and is looking to be a copywriter in the future. We talk about how he distanced himself from Filipinos while growing up in a predominantly white neighborhood, but then found a sense of inportance in his culture after taking an Ethnic Studies class at De Anza College—an awesome community college institution in Cupertino.

We laugh about some random shenanigans while he also shares important stories such as when his parents were told “Don’t teach him another language” by a schoolteacher. Take a listen and follow him on Instagram @herscheldude