Liezel Nudalo Formentera is now ready to work toward achieving her lifelong ambition in the field of education.

Formentera works as a street vendor in Cebu, Philippines, and hopes to improve her family’s situation someday. The only way she can see doing so is to further her education and get a better job. She could not finish elementary and high school, but she was determined and decided to join the DepEd’s ALS (Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System) program. 

ALS is a parallel learning system in the Philippines that gives students an alternative to the formal education they already got. She didn’t have to miss out on her primary education because of ALS.

In 2018, Formentera finished high school, and she began to sign up for college. She went to Cebu Technological University to earn a Bachelor of Industrial Technology with a major in Computer Technology (CTU). 

Because she also has to look after her children while she is in school, there were times when she felt physically exhausted from her work. They also experienced financial difficulties, but her farmer husband assists and supports her. There were times when she wanted to give up on her studies when times were tough, but she considered her children and the life she has worked so hard to provide for them. Thus, she worked harder for it.

She understood that there is no age limit on learning. Today, she remains overjoyed and grateful that she never expected to graduate from college. “Life is like this when you are confronted with hard times; simply pray to the Lord, and your blessing will arrive when you least expect it. This is for my children and my hope for the prosperity of my family. My children will not face poverty as I did.” – she happily shared with their local newspaper, The Philippine Star.

The Gala hosted by the Asian Business Association was in full swing during the evening spent celebrating AAAPI contemporaries. The evening’s events revolved around the concept of authentic old Hollywood, and its guest list included several famous personalities. 

Takashi Cheng was honored with the Media Visionary of the Year Award, one of the night’s main highlights. He is one of the business leaders from the Los Angeles community who highlights the accomplishments of prosperous business owners and corporations and has contributed to advancing the ABA’s goals and mission. 

Cheng serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Society One. He is known to be a creative investor and a public intellectual. Cheng has seen many ups and downs, but he credits his success to the American Bar Association (ABA), which he calls a shelter for young professionals seeking mentorship and employment. He attributed a significant portion of his success to the support of his wife and their young children.

Cheng’s Bling Empire castmate and friend Kane Lim called him a visionary. Lim is proud and happy that Cheng is in the spotlight for investing in people and projects that aim to elevate the Asian community. He is amazed at how Cheng invests in people and projects that seek to promote the Asian community.

Besides all the recognition that night, Cheng modestly used his platform to show the world that a large investment in the AAPI creator community is needed to provide a perspective and a complete spectrum of content that better understands the underrepresented. 

Cheng pledged $100 million to create new films, programs, resources, and infrastructure for Asian American business leaders. This showed Society 1’s support for AAPI creators. He concluded that he had “come full circle” from being a spectator in the crowd to receiving recognition from highly regarded community members.

For Danica Lynne Casta, an engineer by profession turned baker, success was hers after she risked taking a big step outside her comfort zone. She now manages her online cake business under “Amberlyns Cake.”

The Filipina baker had just graduated from university when the pandemic struck. Danica began to reconsider her professional goals in baking when her family had financial difficulties, so she looked for a short-term position in the online world.  

Danica had limited experience in baking. But through hard work, she persisted in her quest to become a better baker until she became well-known for her delicious “bento cakes”.

The bento cakes were not only delicious but also the perfect size and price for those watching their spending. She also recently launched a “Selfie Mirror Cake” featuring a real mirror on top of the cake. So, you can take one-of-a-kind mirror selfies while taking a snap of your scrumptious cake.

In only one month, she turned a profit into double digits. At that moment, she knew that baking was her true calling in life. “I told my family that I was quitting my job and would be a full-time baker from now on,” she told The Philippine Star, a digital newspaper in the Philippines.

As of writing, Amberlyns Cake (@amberlynscake) got over 178k followers on Instagram and Facebook.