I can remember exactly how I felt as I went up the elevator to my host office for the very first time: nervous, but ready and excited. This summer, CAUSE has paired me with FACE, a non-profit organization that helps AAPI and low-income community members receive resources and loans to buy homes. Faith and Community Empowerment works to provide homeownership education classes in both Korean and English, in order to educate potential homebuyers on the programs and mortgage loan assistance resources they qualify for. Notably, FACE is a faith-based organization, so it serves community members with religion as a core value.
I am in complete awe of my supervisor, Hyepin Im, because she is an amazing role model to Asian American women and women in general. She is the founder, President, and CEO of FACE, and after one week with my host office, I have cultivated deep admiration for Hyepin’s work ethic and professionalism. I can tell Hyepin truly cares about her work and the people FACE serves to help, and her advocacy has influenced me to reflect on the issues I care about and the kind of spaces I want to be a part of as I enter the professional world.
I was honored to attend a US Bank event in Montebello with FACE on Thursday morning, where I spoke with brokers, real estate agents, and mortgage loaners about how FACE can be a mutually beneficial partner for both their companies and their clients. I was, by far, the youngest person at the event and it was an experience that I’ll never forget: I’m slowly learning the in’s and out’s of professional networking and at this event, I got to practice just that. I received and gave out business cards, pitched FACE’s values to others, and I learned about the homebuying process and the housing market here in Los Angeles. I never thought that I would be assisting in potential homebuyer education, but after this event, I could tell this was impactful work: the majority of AAPI and low-income community members are renters, unaware of the types of loan programs and assistance they could receive that would help them to purchase a home. This summer, I’m excited to be a part of this organization that helps people find their forever homes.