Today we’d like to introduce you to Rose-Ann Aragon.
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Rose-Ann. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am the daughter of two Filipino immigrants. I am a proud Filipina American storyteller here in Houston, and I exercise that passion through my community work and professional life. I am a Co-Founder of UniPro Chicago, a chapter of Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro), a Filipino leadership and advocacy group. When I moved to Texas three years ago, I helped in the launching of the UniPro Texas chapter and am now the Programming Director, helping to organize and execute programs that challenge youth and young professionals to be contributing members of their communities by creating free programs and workshops. These programs challenge UniPro’s participants to think critically, learn about history, think about their identities and challenge them to be active members of society. In general, UniPro’s mission and vision is to engage Filipino Americans through collaboration, advocacy and education. It seeks to transform Filipino students & young professionals into community leaders through its various programs, which incorporate professional development, history, and identity.
It is hard for me to separate both of my passions of storytelling and community work. To me, they breathe life into each other. As a reporter for Channel 2, I am telling stories every day, which I hope help our viewers make informed decisions and understand what is going on in our community. As a community organizer, my goal is to tell stories of history, share stories that inspire our members to be active leaders and show our members how many minority leaders have overcome hardship to achieve. My 99-year-old grandfather is one of them. He was a farmer in the Philippines and left the comforts of his home country to come to America in hopes of giving his children and grandchildren a chance to pursue their dreams. To this day, my identity as a Filipina American minority woman is very much a part of my story.
My passion for being an active member of my community started when I was in high school. I pursued many activities from fine arts to debate to sports. I learned that time management was a big part of success. In college, I decided to choose a career path based on the strengths that I learned I had from going through the ups and downs of high school extra-curricular activities. My mindset was, “If I’m going to do something for the rest of my life–it has to be something that utilizes my strengths and interests.” I knew–I loved people; I loved stories and reading; I loved research, and I loved current events. Journalism was a natural fit. So I pursued it. Since the second grade, I knew I wanted be a journalist. Perhaps, the seed was planted then.🙂
At the University of Illinois, I graduated summa cum laude and as a Bronze Tablet Scholar (graduating in the top 3% of the class). However, it was in college where my journey to understand my Filipina American identity began. I joined the Philippine Student Association. I would go on to co-coordinate the largest Filipino American collegiate leadership conference in the United States with 1300+ delegates. Post-college, I was inspired to continue my leadership in the Filipino American community and helped to bring programming for young professionals in the Midwest through UniPro and then continued to do so in Texas. Recently, I started an immersive, “living and breathing” arts showcase that highlights the stories and work of Filipino and minority artists in Greater Houston called the Lumikha Arts Showcase. With the help of our entire UniPro team, we turned vision into reality. “Lumikhâ,” in Tagalog, means “to create.” This year was the second year of putting on the immersive showcase, and the new director and our UniPro team worked very hard! It was bigger and better, and I hope it continues to grow.
As a journalist, my career would take me to pick up everything and create a life in multiple cities including Peoria, IL and Cincinnati, OH. But, I got to do what I love–tell stories. And… in every place I have worked, somehow and someway, I got in touch with the Filipino American community and they have helped me also feel at home. Likewise, I continued my community work. It was very important for me to be involved outside of work and to help inspire future leaders by creating programming and workshops as well as emceeing various community events.
Now, I am home in Houston. I love my team at KPRC, and I love the friends who have become family here. I am surrounded by people here in Houston and all of the people I’ve met along my journey who inspire me every day. The people I’ve met in every city and the people I meet in the field inspire me to be more active, engaged and to help make my community a better place through storytelling. I am also excited to say that I will be covering the 2020 Olympics in Japan!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I welcome any and all challenges because I firmly believe that they are character-building. Hardship shows you what you are made of and challenge you to overcome. However, challenges are only gifts if you allow yourself to see them that way.
Leaving everything that is familiar and comforting to you to start a life in a new city has been a challenge. But, I have learned that I am able to do it and my life has been much better for it. I had the opportunity to meet so many more people who inspire and change me because I had to leave and work in different cities as a reporter. I would have never had these opportunities had I stuck to my comfort zone by living in the same city I grew up in and turning down opportunities that took me all over the nation.
As a minority, there are also challenges that I’ve faced: microaggressions, stereotypes and prejudice. However, those encounters inspired me to educate and drive me to encourage future leaders to continue to dive into communities to engage with people who do not understand what it is like to live life through a particular lens.
Then there are challenges of simply achieving one’s goals. My motto is — “If you want it–Go get it.” Let nothing stop you. Your ideas are only as good as your execution. If you have a big dream, figure out what you need to do to achieve it, and go out and–do it. Talk to the people who have been there, do your research, fight for opportunities that will help put you in a place where you can learn about your dream. And, at the same time, know that there are many paths to achieve. There is no single way to achieve your dreams. When you fall, get back up and try again–always learning, re-evaluating and striving to be better. I embrace challenges and being uncomfortable. Discomfort is growth. Amazing things never come from comfort zones.
UniPro Texas – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UniPro) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that envisions a unified and engaged Pilipino America. Founded in 2009, UniPro’s mission is to engage Pilipino Americans through collaboration, advocacy and education. It seeks to transform Pilipino students & young professionals into community leaders through its various programs, which incorporate professional development, history, and policy through the lens of the Pilipino experience. The organization allows Pilipino Americans the opportunity to explore their place in the community in the hope of owning their niche. Ultimately, UniPro asks Pilipino Americans to answer, “How do you define Progress critically?”
As for KPRC-TV, it is the NBC affiliate in Houston, Channel 2 News. I am a multimedia journalist. When I am not paired with a photographer, I am shooting, writing and editing my own stories. I am KPRC’s Space Reporter and have the privilege of having access to the most amazing stories. I also report on all kinds of happenings throughout Greater Houston. I was recently nominated for an Emmy and led an award-winning series called “Generation Under Fire.” I am honored to be a part of an amazing KPRC family.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is doing what makes you feel fulfilled and working on getting yourself in a place where you can do what drives you and makes you feel whole every single day. Achieving success is about going through ups and downs to understand what you’re made of and to understand your strengths and non-strengths in hopes to better yourself. With that knowledge, success is making decisions every day, which are fueled by confidence in knowing exactly who you are and why you’ve chosen that path. Money, power and influence can only get you so much. True success, in my opinion, is knowing that every day you are living your potential, feeling fulfilled doing what sustains you, and living in a way that is 100% authentically you.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.unipronow.org
- Email: roe.aragon@unipronow.
org - Instagram: https://www.
instagram.com/kprc2raragon/ - Facebook: www.facebook.com/
KPRC2RoseAnn - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
KPRC2RoseAnn - Other: https://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=xePtuRBjThc
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