Tell us about what you do as an Events Assistant at UCSF.
I worked at the Mission Bay childcare center when I met CLS Events and Engagement Coordinator Jamie DeAraujo at last year’s Block Party. The event was so fun, and I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. I started my role as an Events Assistant a few months later in December 2023. I have a background in crafts. I have an entire cabinet in my house dedicated to craft supplies. During the pandemic, I was a craft instructor and taught classes online. I enjoy doing this and now I do it or a living! When I started at UCSF, they needed help on Staff Appreciation Breakfasts right away. Then I was able to lead my own events, like Paint and Plant and also Plant Nights. I work hard to make our events sustainable by sourcing responsibly and reusing what we have. On a post-event survey, a participant said, “This is just what I needed. I don't get opportunities to be creative. I really appreciated this opportunity.” That’s what drives me and our group.
You’ve published two cookbooks. Tell us about them!
My journey started in Costa Rica when I moved to teach English after graduate school. I was in a very remote village of 20 people. I needed to get some daily social interaction, and I turned to food blogging, which was popular at the time. I signed up for all the food blog email updates. When I returned from teaching abroad, I decided to become a food blogger myself. A cooking show inspired me to be creative with cooking in a muffin pan. I called the blog Do You Know the Muffin Pan, a perfect tie-in to my education background. Two years later, a friend in the publishing industry asked me to write a muffin pan cookbook. It was scary because I’d never written a book, plus I worked full-time. It was a daunting 100 recipes, each with a personal story. I did all the writing, research, testing, and photography. The resulting book Do You Know the Muffin Pan? was a long nine-month labor of love.
They approached me three years after the first book to write a second cookbook with mason jars. Writing the first book was so hard. In the evening, I would go to the store to get food, then go home and prep. Then I’d wake up early to cook and photograph before heading to work. Then, I’d work and start the cycle all over again. I didn’t think I could write another book, but my mother encouraged me to do it. The second book, The Mason Jar Cookbook, is my favorite of the two because I had more experience, and I was a better photographer.
