"Desire. Challenge. Persist." This is my personal motto, developed when I was a teenager trying to earn a letter as a hurdler in track and field. It has also guided me throughout life.I grew up in Oxnard, California. My parents are my biggest influence. They both came to the United States with big dreams as immigrants from the Philippines: my mother joining the Nurse Corps, my father joining the U.S. Navy. They raised me to become a good person: treating others with respect, being honest, motivating and caring, to be humble and to work hard. Sadly, my father passed away in 1999 at the tender age of 57. Losing a beloved family member is one of the toughest things in life to go through. It creates a sense of urgency to question life and seek answers.My parents dreamed that their kids would attain a better life than they had. They instilled in me an aspiration to attain a college degree, and I graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 2000. I also decided to dedicate my career to helping others achieve their goals and I became a financial advisor in 2001 with SunAmerica Securities in Camarillo, CA. I married my beautiful wife, Maricel, in 2003. She is a radiology technologist, and we have two spectacular young adults. Our son, Marc Kena, is currently in college pursuing a degree in film studies and loves creating digital movie shorts. Our daughter, Mikayla, is in high school and is quite an artist and a graceful dancer. We moved to Lincoln, CA, in 2007, at which point I worked for Franklin Templeton as an advisor consultant out of Rancho Cordova. As the kids got busier with school activities and the commute to work got longer, I decided that working closer to home was a high priority. In May 2019, I joined Edward Jones as a financial advisor in Lincoln, CA. Within my practice, I work with professionals and their multi-generational families, business owners and retirees. Technology has evolved my practice to conveniently meet via Zoom, smart phone or good old fashioned in-person. I welcome the opportunity to help you face your challenges, whether you're planning for or living in retirement, saving for college or just trying to protect the financial future of the ones you care for the most. Let's partner together and use our established process to help you reach your financial goals.