Today we’d like to introduce you to Cassandra Balbas.

Hi Cassandra, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I can’t start my story without first acknowledging the immigration stories of my family. Both of my parents and their families immigrated from the Philippines: my mom moved to Hawai’i when she was16, and my dad to California when he was 21. Neither of my parents immigrated with their entire families, and they both went through years of separation due to the logistics and applications that came with petitioning their parents and siblings. It took 10 years for my mom to be reunited with her entire family, and 12 years for my dad.

As I reflect on their stories, I feel both humbled and overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and responsibility, knowing I am the manifestation of their sacrifices, determination, and love for their families. One of those sacrifices was my dad’s dream of studying music in school—where my own story of pursuing design and art begins.

In college, I started as a computer engineering major. My dad worked in IT and was able to provide well for our family. For most of my childhood, he had a secure, well-paying job: the American Dream realized for my first-generation parents and our relatives. And so by the time it was my turn to start toward a career path and apply to college, it was a given that I would follow in his footsteps; however, during my first quarter of school, I was miserable and struggling in my classes. My confidence wavered, and I knew deep down that I was on a path that I was not meant to be on.

Amidst all of this, my parents were also going through challenges in their relationship, which added another layer of emotional turmoil for me at the time.

During the early stages of their conflict, my dad came to visit me on campus to talk through his side of things. We sat in his car and had a heart-to-heart conversation about the state of our family and the changes ahead of us. Looking back, I was honestly in and out of that conversation—although I was obviously upset about what was happening between my parents, I wasn’t completely surprised, since they had already been struggling a few years prior. I was mostly thinking about how much I wanted to tell him that I was struggling in school. I didn’t want to add an additional layer of disappointment to the mix. Since my dad was essentially the family’s breadwinner, I worried that he’d either be disappointed that I wasn’t excelling in my studies toward a career path similar to his, or that he would tell me to stick it out and keep going, just as he had done… or both.

Naturally, the topic of school came up toward the end of our conversation, and I ended up telling him everything. My heart was so heavy, worried that this was another blow to our crumbling family dynamic. But what he said next surprised me: “Cha” (my family nickname), he said, “even after all this time and everything I’ve been able to do for you, I still regret not studying music in college. Do what you want to do. You don’t want to live with regret.”

In that moment, my views on what a successful career and life changed. It was a powerful reminder that our purpose, passion, and truth—no matter how deeply we try to bury them—will always find a way to resurface. From that point on, I knew I needed to pursue my dreams; the first one was design.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

Definitely not, but I learned and grew so much.

The biggest hurdle was navigating my parents’ separation. We lost contact with my dad a few years after that conversation, and I had to step in to help support my mom and brother financially soon after graduating from college. It was really hard on all of us, and my mental health suffered. I felt like I had to grow up so quickly to co-parent my younger brother with my mom. Even though he’s only four years younger than me, I felt a sense of responsibility to take care of and protect him. Reflecting on my story now eight years later (and after many therapy sessions), I know it’s because I lost a caretaker in losing my relationship with my dad, and I wanted to fill in and be that lost caretaker for my brother.

I was carrying the burden of expectations, uncertainty, and my own ambitions all at once. I felt the weight of this even more when my partner at the time moved to New York for school. I went to visit a few times a year, and immediately felt compelled to its energy and art culture. I knew that that was where I needed to be, but before I could make the move, I needed to ensure that my mom and brother would be okay without me. I needed enough money saved to ensure that 1) I wouldn’t have to rely on any external financial support and 2) I had enough saved for my mom and brother, at least during the first few months of my absence, in case anything happened while I was gone.

It was a lot of hard work. For those next three years, I balanced two different jobs and did additional freelance work on the side with my own set of clients. I commuted with my mom to work to save on gas money and monthly parking permits. During my free time, I worked on my portfolio, took design classes, and attended networking events—one of which was Ladies Get Paid, where I got to meet and listen in on panels of women who were making multiple six-figures in their jobs and/or their own businesses. It was inspiring and gave me hope that I could do that for myself one day.

All my hard work paid off when I landed a job at Backpack Interactive, an edTech design agency in Brooklyn. I signed to make nearly double my salary from my last job, and by the time I was set to move, I managed to pay off my car and credit card debt, save up 4-months worth of living expenses for myself once I moved to the city, and 4-months of rent that I gave my mom when I was living at home.

I look back at that time with pride and sadness for that younger version of me, who had her own fair share of sacrifices. Those three years after graduation were difficult and extremely lonely. But I did it. And during that journey, I developed a strong faith in God and His timing, a passion for advocating for accessible mental health resources (especially for immigrant communities), and a level of trust in myself that truly makes me believe that I can do anything. I am humbled knowing that many of the seeds I planted then, have blossomed into flowers that I am still enjoying and am tending to now.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?

Serving others through art and design have been at the core of my work. I just celebrated five years of working at Backpack, where I create digital tools for educators, students, and their caregivers. I work with an amazing team of designers and educators who I get to learn from everyday. One tool in particular that I had the honor of leading was Starwriter, a handwriting app that teaches students in grades PreK-1 how to handwrite efficiently. We worked alongside educator and literacy researcher Dr. Nell Duke and occupational therapist, Tracy Mistry. It’s currently being utilized in classrooms, and the app won a W3 Silver Award and was recognized by the Webby’s.

My work for children has trickled into personal projects as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. In the past couple of years, I’ve had the honor of working on the illustrations and book design layout for two children’s books. The first was ‘Nasudi’s Amazing Adventure’, written by Chachie Abara and edited by Mario Doropan and Dr. Aurelio Agcaoli from the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. It’s written in Ilokano, my parents’ native language, and in English. The book was community funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign. The second book, ‘See You Again Soon’, was a project I co-illustrated with Wei Huang and written by Nene P. Rivera from Toronto. My work as a freelancer has allowed me to also work on projects for other Filipino entrepreneurs and creatives.

I am also small business owner. I founded We Are Sun-Raised in 2019, and it is my heart. It is a Filipino-American merchandise line that celebrates the Filipino diasporic identity. I design and sell greeting cards, stickers, and pins in vendor fairs/ markets and on Etsy. Because my family had to assimilate quickly once they moved to the US, my cousins and I weren’t taught much about the culture. I often felt the push and pull between my Filipino heritage and my American upbringing. So my own personal work revolves around trying to figure out my identity. I’m grateful that thru the pieces I sell with We Are Sun-Raised, I’ve been able to meet and have conversations with others who have felt the same way.

While the pieces I make for WASR are more general, I also use art as a vehicle for more personal self-expression and exploration of the identity. A recent piece that I am proudest of at the moment, is a painting I did for a show with my art collective, The Tsismosas. The piece captures a cherished memory from my childhood: watching Laker games with my family in California. The artwork was born from memory, illustrating my cousins and weaving in subtle nods to Filipino-American culture. At its center is a food spread—a blend of Jollibee, Pizza Hut, and traditional Filipino dishes—symbolizing the fusion of our Filipino roots with American influences. Surrounding the table are familiar scenes: uncles cheering for the game, cousins running around, and my lola tending to our family altar.

What makes my work unique is its ability to honor the richness of Filipino-American identity while addressing the complexities of navigating cultural duality. There’s often a tension in our community about not feeling “Filipino enough,” but I’ve come to embrace the idea that Filipino-American culture is its own beautiful and valid identity. Through my art, I’ve found peace and self-acceptance, and I hope to inspire others to find the same.

What does success mean to you?

For most of my journey, success looked like following my dad’s path. And while I’m grateful for where that’s brought me today, I’ve realized that my definition of success has shifted and continues to change as I grow and learn more about myself and my family’s stories each day. At this moment in time:

1. Success is having the time and space to create work purely for self-expression and play—to do it without the fear of loss or judgment.
2. Success is having the financial means to support those you love, donate to causes that inspire you, and purchase from small businesses (over large corporations) who truly celebrate your support and ultimately do more good for our communities and the economy in the long term.
3. Lastly, success is personified by my mother: the foundation of love for my brother and I, who I’ve learned to respect and admire more and more as I get older. Her unwavering spirit of generosity and sense of humor through all of life’s challenges is true success to me. Ma, thank you for everything. We love you.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cassbalbas.myportfolio.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cassandrabalbas
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandra-balbas-4a515495/
• Other: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-cassandra-balbas/ , Other: We Are Sun-Raised: – Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WeAreSunRaised – IG: instagram.com/wearesunraised

Image Credits

Roland Hyde Jr.