- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa NJ" with Carlos Medina has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, PSE&G, The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Hackensack Meridian Health, The Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative 825.

ROI-NJ Business Magazine.

Lyft Ride Share Services, and more.

- Hola familia, welcome to the season finale of Que Pasa with Carlos Medina.

In today's episode we're lucky to have April and Summer Rose Castillo.

Doctor Reber from Hudson County Community College and Vanessa Diaz, writer and performer, and a special announcement about a Wells Fargo grant to the Statewide Hispanic chamber of commerce.

Que pasa.

(bright upbeat music) Welcome to kep "Que Pasa".

- Hi - April Hernandez Castillo, and Summer Rose Castillo.

Welcome.

- Thank you for having us.

- Thank you so much.

- Pleasure.

I heard I'm your first in-person interview.

- Yes.

This is so cool, but it's also pretty weird 'cause we've been doing more Zoom than in person, so this is amazing.

(April laughs) - Cool.

I'm glad you like it.

So tell me about your career.

I know your first big break was doing a commercial that played during the super bowl known as, was it a yo?

- The Yao Ming - Yes.

So my first commercial ever was with Yao Ming and Yogi Berra and it aired for the Super Bowl.

- Excellent.

- And how exciting is that?

That was the first time I actually got paid as an actor and I thought, "Hmm, I think I can do this."

(All laughing) And it was phenomenal.

It was just really being in the presence of these great actors that I also met.

And then my career just went really fast after that.

- Now, I am a fan of "Dexter", and I was reading your bio, and now that I put a name and a face, I do remember your character.

- Yeah.

- And it's making a comeback now.

- It is.

I'm curious to see how his life has progressed, especially in this year in the age that we're in, but it was phenomenal.

It was great working in Hollywood.

That's always an actor's dream and it's such a phenomenal show.

- Was some of that shot in Miami or was it all- - No, all of that is shot in LA.

- Oh okay.

- Right.

All of that is shot in LA, but the exteriors, obviously, are based in Miami.

- Interesting.

- When you're in LA, if you're around Long Beach, or more of the areas that resemble Miami, you can get away with it.

- Excellent.

- Yeah.

- And then a movie called "Freedom Writers".

- Yes.

"Freedom Writers" also was my first film and that was with Hilary Swank.

And that was my first time ever just, going toe to toe with an Oscar winner.

And it was phenomenal.

The film still has so much impact even, I'm not gonna say how many years- (all laughing) - A couple of years.

- But just a couple of years.

Thank God for Netflix that people it...

I hope I can say Netflix?

Can I say Netflix?

Okay.

- [Carlos] Yeah sure.

- It's been on there and it's been on rotation.

So now there's a whole new era and a whole new age of people who are finding it and feeling such a connection.

And so I just interviewed on a podcast with a woman who was from UK and she says, "I saw your face and I had to look you up because I saw "Freedom Writers."

- Amazing.

- And I thought, "Okay Yeah."

- That's so cool.

- So Summer Rose, you have two exciting projects coming up "Alma's Way," and then somebody that we had on the show, Elaine Del Valle via with her new film, "Brownsville Bred."

- Yes.

- Tell me about those two projects.

- "Alma's Way" and "Brownsville Bred" were absolutely amazing.

I am so happy.

And I'm also happy because it was created by Sonia Manzano.

And so she was on Sesame street and I used to watch her when I was a little girl.

And this is just absolutely a big blessing for my family and I to do "Alma's Way."

- Definitely.

I remember Maria was her character's name, - Right.

- Sonia.

- That's great to work with an icon.

- Mm-hmm.

- And it's great that PBS, one of our family members here is doing some diverse programming with "Alma's Way."

- Right.

It's funny because when we were able to meet her and have dinner, and I felt like a little girl when I was in front of her and I was totally fanning because I'm thinking, Summer, she understands who Sonia is, but when you've grown up watching this woman who the only one ever on TV that looked like you, who you can connect with.

And then she was also someone that I looked like.

And it was just like, I couldn't stop staring at her and I didn't wanna make her feel weird.

(both chuckling) But she really is a phenomenal woman.

- Yeah.

And so we had dinner and I just wanted to faint in my chair.

(all laugh) I just wanted to faint.

- And tell me about "Brownsville Bred."

A lot of the scenes have been shot already?

- Yup.

It was absolutely amazing.

And it's about a little girl with her father and the relationship between the both of them.

- Excellent.

So in addition to acting, you're now an author.

You have a book out about a year now, tell me about that project?

- It's called "Embracing me" and it's my memoir.

And I began writing it at the height of the pandemic because we had time, I guess.

(all laughing) Not really, because I was home with my kids and everyone, we were trying to figure out life, but it was a moment where you say, how can I take this moment of chaos that it felt, it was very chaotic, and find a way to still create.

And I wanted to show my daughter, this is what you do when times are tough.

You figure out a way to make things happen.

And so I would write from 10:00 PM to about 4:00 AM and then wake up and do everything that a mother does.

But I knew I had to get this story out and it's just been phenomenal.

It's my own personal story.

I'm a survivor of teen-dating violence, and I'm also an advocate, and it's a story of resilience, moving forward.

Anyone can read it.

My husband, he shot the cover of the book, as we have our business photography.

And it's been phenomenal.

It really is.

Writing a book takes a lot of discipline.

And so someone just recently asked me "When is your third book?"

And I would go, "I don't know, but it'll come."

(all laughing) There's just the level of commitment that comes with writing a book.

But it's a beautiful thing when it finally all comes together.

- And has that opened the door for speaking engagements?

I know you do a lot of public speaking.

- Yes, actually.

More virtual now, which I'm okay with, but I'm an in-person kind of girl, if you can say, but I've been speaking for over 10 years now.

I did a TED Talk, I recently spoke for Microsoft.

So it's been exciting to see how the different doors are opening up.

- Did you see mom's TED Talk?

- She has not watched it.

No.

- You haven't seen a it yet?

- No.

- I know it's on one of your bucket list.

She'll also do a TED Talk.

- Yeah, she wants to do a Ted talk one day.

- That's amazing.

Shout out your husband's business.

I always wanna promote Hispanic entrepreneurs.

- Yes.

So my husband and I have our company called Lionchaser Films, where we create content, visuals for entrepreneurs, small businesses, influencers, and he also has Zola Photography.

So we've been... Well, I don't take the picture, but he has been a photographer over 10 years as well, and when you can collaborate as a family.

So we are a visual creative family, which is great, which this is not a surprise that Summer Rose would just fall into this.

You hope as a parent, that your children will gravitate to something that you have.

And if they don't, it's fine.

But she found this early on, and so it's second nature for her.

- Excellent.

What do you tell entrepreneurs, artists, Latinas that are looking for their way, looking for words of advice?

What are some tips you could give them?

(April sighs) - When you get paid, put money away for your taxes?

(all laughing) It seems plenty, but it's not.

It's one of those things where you really just have to know the lane that you want to create.

It's easy to compare yourself, but do your best not to, it just kills the creativity.

And surround yourself with people who are moving forward all the time, and people who can give you criticism that will elevate your business and elevate you as a human being, not necessarily just wanna break you down.

I don't believe in that kind of business mindset.

I think you can get so much more treating someone with a little bit of honey that a little bit of salt.

- Definitely.

- Sometimes we need a little salt in our little lives.

- A little bit.

- It's what gives it taste.

- Latinos could be notorious for a little salt.

- Just a little bit.

I'm sure you know what that feels like.

Words are so important, and the more that we understand, "Wow, If I create a team of people who can tell me the truth, but also say, 'Hey, this is where you can improve.'"

That makes a person just genuinely want to be better.

- Sure.

- Yeah.

And also I have a little tip that if anyone has a dream, just try to be yourself.

Don't really try to be like other people because then if you try to be like other people, then it's not really going to sound like yourself.

- Being authentic is very important.

Very wise words from a young person.

(chuckles) - And it's not always easy.

Being yourself can sometimes be the scariest thing or the hardest thing.

- Definitely.

- Especially in a world that we live in where social media drives and there's so many filters, how do we really stand in authenticity?

So that's important to think about.

- Definitely.

Well, thank you both.

Best of luck in your career.

And thanks for coming on "Que Pasa."

- Yes.

Thank you for having us.

- This was absolutely amazing and I'm really, really, excited.

(all laughing) - That's what Alma says all the time.

So, yeah.

- Awesome.

I like it.

And up next, we have Dr. Chris Reber, president of Hudson County Community College.

(bright upbeat music) Welcome back.

We have Dr. Chris Reber from Hudson County Community College.

Welcome to Que Pasa.

- Pleasure to be here, Carlos.

So how long have you been president of Hudson County?

- It's hard to believe, but it's going on four years.

- Four years.

- Yeah.

- Yesterday we met at the culinary center with Junior Maldonado.

- Absolutely.

- And we got together- - It's been so wonderful working with you.

We appreciate your leadership and your support.

- It's been a pleasure working with you.

Tell me about Hudson County Community College.

I was born and raised in Hudson County and I know there's a phrase that the college uses is called Hudson's home.

What does Hudson's home mean to you?

- Hudson is home.

The college is inspirational in every way in its mission, but the people, in particular.

I've been in higher education for 41 years and counting, and I have never had the honor of serving a community of people that has been so caring and supportive.

During the pandemic, people really stepped up and helped one another.

And out of that sense of comradery and support and caring has come this phrase, Hudson is home.

Our students in particular have been increasingly saying, "This isn't just a college.

This is a place where I feel I'm part of a family, part of an extended family."

And they coined the phrase, Hudson is home, which has now become our tagline, and we're very proud of it.

- That's amazing, especially when it happens organically like that- - Absolutely.

- That's wonderful.

People spend years developing a slogan or a tagline.

- You're right.

And this is real and genuine.

- I love it.

Tell me about the composition of your students.

How many are of Hispanic origin?

- Yes.

I'm proud to tell you we're a Hispanic-serving institution.

56% of our students are Latino and that reflects the rich diversity of the community we're proud to serve.

- So you crushed the threshold that's 25% Hispanic to be Hispanic-serving, and you're over 50%.

- We have one of the most diverse student bodies in the United States.

- Amazing.

- And of course, Jersey city's in the most toured city in the United States.

- Yeah.

- But that's what makes the college special.

Frankly, that's what motivated me to apply for this position.

I spent most of my career in Western Pennsylvania and in fact, most recently in Pittsburgh and I had a great experience there, but I wanted to be in a diversity area.

I'm passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion.

And it has just been an honor to be part of this community.

- Tell me about the experience for a student.

And I know for businesses, access to capital is the major hurdle.

I'm assuming with students that access to funding financial assistance is very difficult.

How do you work with the diverse population to make sure they have funding for their education.

- It's hugely important.

Our students are, just to give you a quick characterization, a third of them come to us speaking English as a second language.

They're learning English while they're attending college, which, to me, is phenomenal and inspirational.

A third were born outside the United States, 80% are the first in their families to attend higher education.

And the vast majority come from families that have financial challenges.

And so affording college is hugely important and our students are so grateful for the opportunity to attend college.

They know it's truly the gateway to the American dream.

It's truly an opportunity for life changing transformational future.

And so we are working in partnership with our students to make sure that every student can afford to attend the college.

And we're proud of the fact that we offer the most Pell dollars, that's federal financial aid to the largest number of students of the 18 community colleges in New Jersey.

We offer the most dollars from the new Community College Opportunity Grant, which has governor Murphy's free college initiative and we serve the most students in New Jersey.

And so the combination of those tools, plus our foundation raises scholarships, Hudson County really invests in scholarships, means that we can meet the need, the financial need of every single student.

And in fact, a lot of our students, believe it or not, don't spend any of their own money to attend the college because we have those financial tools to put together, which is hugely important for them, because they have so many challenges managing families and full-time jobs while also attending college.

- Sure.

Tell me the community college experience.

Do you have relationships with four-year institutions that take the credits and then a student transfers in essence.

- Absolutely.

We believe strongly at Hudson County Community College that we need to be part of the educational ecosystem.

So we very much believe in partnerships.

In the old days when I was in college, which is a long time ago, colleges used to view any other college as a competitor.

We can't afford to do that.

Our country, our needs, our regions it's too complex.

So we believe that we're the nexus, as a two-year college of K-12 and four-year undergraduate education.

And we are assiduously developing partnerships in both directions so that students can.... Actually, we now offer the opportunity for high school students in Hudson County to finish their associate degree when they graduate high school.

They're able to take our courses while in high school, all those credits will transfer on to, seamlessly, to four-year institutions all through New Jersey and actually nationwide.

- That's great.

Now during the pandemic, I guess food insecurity, as a spotlight, has been put on that.

How have you worked with your family or community or students?

I know there's something Hudson- - The Hudson Help's Resource Center.

- Okay.

- Yeah, thank you.

We actually have partnered with Temple University's Hope Center, which is a national clearing house of data on the needs of students, particularly housing insecurity and food insecurity.

We've surveyed our students.

In this pre pandemic, two thirds of our students reported that in the past year they had experienced one of one or more of three things, food insecurity, housing insecurity, or homelessness, and that was pre pandemic.

This is exceedingly important.

We recognize that for our students to succeed, we have to provide support well beyond the traditional tutoring and academic counseling, we have to help make sure students basic needs are met.

So we had begun this work before the pandemic, and then it just exploded after that.

We've developed a sort of compendium or umbrella of services that are designed to support students' every need.

So out of that came two food pantries.

We have one on our North Hudson campus in Union City, one on our Journal Square campus in Jersey city.

And they're stocked with food, every kind of food you could want.

Our culinary conference center, which is nationally ranked prepare its food.

And not just food, but gourmet meals that students, faculty and staff prepare.

And those are refrigerated or frozen in our food pantry.

Students who have a need can walk in, they can take food home.

If their family needs a meal, they can do as many as they want.

We've, since the beginning of the pandemic, over 6,000 meals have been prepared for our students.

So that's a part of Hudson Health, but we also have mental health counseling, social work counseling, emergency financial aid.

If a student loses their job, they have their electricity turned off, they get a flat tire, that could sometimes put one of our students out of college.

We now work with them to pay those costs through donations.

And a clothing closet that Lord Abbett has funded.

So our students who need nice clothes for an interview can walk in and then they're beautiful.

Again, this is a manifestation of the college's belief in meeting all of the needs of students, being partners with students to make sure they not only have access to our programs, but they complete their programs and achieve their goals.

- That's great.

Well, thank you for being such an ally to the Hispanic community.

Thanks for what you're doing and Hudson and God bless.

- Thank you so much, Carlos.

- And up next, we have Vanessa Diaz, writer and performer.

(bright upbeat music) Welcome back.

And now we have Vanessa Diaz, writer and performer.

Welcome to "Que Pasa".

- Thank you.

Thank you for having me.

I'm honored.

- Tell me about your project that you had.

Your one woman show.

- My one woman show, "Organic Sofrito" or "Other Recipes for Disaster."

It originally was for the stage.

We premiered it off-Broadway at the United Solo Theater Festival several years ago, I was able to perform it around New York city.

We brought it to the third international Latino theater festival in Chicago, and now I've adopted it for film.

So I'm really excited about that project.

I would love to develop it further, maybe as a feature or a limited series, so, we'll see.

- Tell me about the story, tell me a little bit.

it talks about your Puerto Rican heritage.

- Yes.

So "Organic Sofrito" is about the journey of three generations of Puerto Rican women and their connection with trauma and food.

So it is autobiographical.

I had a lot of material to draw from throughout my life, like a compilation through the years.

- So is it like a cooking show, and "Oprah" - Yes.

- And a little bit of- - It's all those things.

The protagonist, she is a holistic chef and she believes that the root cause of the trauma in her life has been because of the traditional Latin food.

The ingredients that went in it, the GMOs and the things that she believes are unhealthy.

And so when we cook and explore these recipes, we go into the lives of the women that created them and cooked for her and we explore their journey.

- That's awesome.

What are some of the plates that I read I'll start- - We have sancocho.

It's a big one.

That incorporates so many different ingredients from all over the world.

So that's a really big part of the show.

We have asopao, we have so many different things, lechon, all the yummy things that we love to eat the on the holiday.

- What is one of your favorite dishes?

I haven't asked that question.

I used to ask guests quite often.

I've had a myriad of answers.

- I think the question is what isn't my favorite thing.

Writing this piece has really given me a deeper connection to cooking, and right now my favorite thing is sancocho.

- Okay.

All right.

- It really connects me to the foods that my grandmother cooked for us.

- In my family, my grandmother from Puerto Rico used to do pasteles during the holidays.

I was just one of the gentlemen doing the bananas and the other- - The masa, yeah and de yuca - Exactly.

- You can tell I like to eat that too.

- I love pasteles.

So tell me also your journey with motherhood and you have projects that deal with children with down syndrome.

And I know you have twin boys with down syndrome.

How has that impacted your life, and also the philanthropy and education that you do and try to educate folks?

- Yeah.

Before I had my boys at down syndrome, I was really focused on a career in the theater.

And I realized that there really wasn't enough representation, not just for myself as a woman, a woman of color, a woman of my age.

And when I had the boys, I realized that they also needed to be represented, that community needs more of a platform.

And so I transitioned into television writing where I can have a larger platform to advocate, not just for mi gente, but for this community, the disability community.

They inspired me to start writing and I've been fortunate enough to have had fellowships with the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and most recently Sesame Workshop.

- Excellent - And so now I'm freelancing as a children's television writer and telling their story.

- How has that workshop been, the Sesame Workshop?

Tell me a little bit about that.

- Oh, it was incredible.

Lots of great mentorship from them.

I wouldn't be able to be working in these different projects that I am right now, if it wasn't for their guidance and their leadership.

- That's amazing.

- Yeah.

It's a dream.

It was a dream to work with them.

- Can you share any of your upcoming projects?

Are they confidential?

Some of the things that we're working on- - They're confidential right now, but I am working on pitching my personal pilot that I created with the Sesame Workshop, which focuses on my twins, Julia and Knoll, and their big sister Des, where they travel into a fantastical land and all their abilities are celebrated and they're the heroes in every story.

- That's beautiful.

- Thank you.

- That's really beautiful.

Now, have you also... Do you do public speaking around?

- Yeah, I have, as a mom, as a mom of kids with a down syndrome, what that has been like for us, our struggle to get them included in regular education.

Unfortunately, it's a struggle that a lot of families go through in this country.

But we've persevered and I'm always happy to share our story with other families and help inspire them to advocate for their children as well.

- So your family in the play, which is autobiographical, your family comes from Puerto Rico.

What generation are you?

Puerto Rican?

Who came to the mainland?

Was it grandma?

- Abuela came in the early fifties with my mom and my aunt and uncle, and when they arrived, unfortunately it was really hard circumstances for them.

And it was really hard for my grandmother to survive here, emotionally.

And I believe that that impacted the women in our family and even my childhood and how I was raised.

And in performing this, and speaking with other audiences, we've all experienced that.

And I feel like it's been very healing to perform it and to hear other audiences experiences with that story and how, not just necessarily being displaced from your home, but coming to a place that is completely different culturally and what that impact is like.

- Sure.

What message do you have for young Latinas viewers of the show that are making their career choices, perhaps don't feel there's enough role models for them out there.

- I would say to listen to your heart and never give up on your dreams, no matter what people tell you.

Whether it's your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, don't listen.

You follow your dreams because at the end of the day, all you have is what's in here.

- Great.

Thank you, Vanessa.

Best of luck in all your ventures.

- Thank you.

Thank you very much.

- Ladies and gentlemen, that's a wrap.

Season finale of season two.

Thank you to Kvibe, to the crew that's here in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Thank you to Dr. Reber from Hudson County Community College talking about the great ecosystem, which are the students of Hudson County.

Thank you to the actors and performers and writers that were on the show.

And again, this season is not possible without you, the viewers.

We're gonna put our email address, send us ideas, send us storylines.

We're going to negotiate season three, make sure you look out for it.

And I also want to shout out Wells Fargo Bank Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey just gave me the good news.

They are funding a three year grant for the Latina Entrepreneurship Training Series, also known as the LETS.

$100,000 a year for three years.

Good job Wells Fargo.

Thank you for supporting diversity and entrepreneurs.

And again, familia, thank you for the support of the show.

God bless you.

And don't forget.

"Que Pasa" - [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa NJ" with Carlos Medina has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, PSE&G, The New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Hackensack Meridian Health, The Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative 825, ROI-NJ Business Magazine, Lyft Ride Share Services and more.

This has been a production of the Modesto Educational Foundation.

(bright upbeat music)