Maria

WhAt is your hometown?

North Royalton, Ohio (west suburban Cleveland) / Bacnotan, La Union, Philippines

When did you start working at Uptown Bikes?

2004 (Full Time)

What did you do before working at Uptown Bikes?

When I was in high school, I worked in my dad's pediatric office and also worked as a receiver/stocker in the Housewares Department at Higbee's Department Store. Then I went to college, got a degree in Architecture, and worked as a studio instructor for the high school Architecture camp during the summer. I also worked as an intern for an architecture firm.

My first job after graduating college was working for REST homeless shelter in Uptown. Then I worked for Lakefront SRO, an affordable housing provider in Uptown. Next, I worked as an organizer for a women's empowerment / social justice organization. I was accepted into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 134 apprenticeship program and eventually became a journeyman A-Card electrician. I worked for one contractor on mostly industrial construction projects (CTA Red, Blue, and Green Lines, the Skokie CTA Rail Maintenance Facility, as well as the Jardine and Skokie Water Treatment Plants). I returned to working as an architect on mostly public work projects.

2004 - Barnett Bicycle Institute

What bike do you currently ride to work?

2005 Surly Cross Check

Where is your favorite place to ride your bike?

The Streets of Uptown

What is your horoscope?

Cancer

What's your favorite food?

Filipino - Chicken Adobo, Pork Adobo, Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice), Longsilog, Tapsilog, Lugaw, Pancit, Pinakbet, Sinigang, and of course, Halo Halo