Sandra Diaz

Name: Sandra Diaz.

Age: 24.

Family: Parents, Ignacio and Sonia Diaz; brothers, Ignacio and Hugo Diaz.

Residence: Marysville.

Occupation: Full-time graduate student at Sacramento State, and I work at Edgewater Elementary School as a student support specialist and at Live Oak High School as a student adviser for migrant education.

Hobbies, interests: Cooking, bike riding and photography; spending time with family and friends.

Your goal for the new year: To be more positive about everything. I started this new thing: For every good thing that has happened this year, I put a piece of paper in a jar and at the end of the year I will read all of them. It'll make me really appreciate the good things that have happened in my life.

Where do you get your news? Appeal-Democrat online and CNN.

What do you like about the Yuba-Sutter area? Maybe because I've lived here all my life and my friends and family are here. Or maybe it's because it's close to everything.

Where would you settle down someday? I would want to move to Davis. I went to UC Davis for my bachelor's degree and I liked it. It's homey.

What is the closest you've been to a famous person? I met Kevin Johnson at an awards banquet at Yuba College. The Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce presented me with a scholarship and Kevin Johnson was a speaker.

What would you do with a million dollars? Purchase a vacation home at Lake Tahoe.

Who has had a strong influence in your life? Both my parents and my brothers. Each of them has helped me in their own way. If it wasn't for their encouragement, I wouldn't be where I'm at today.

Do you have a favorite memory to share? Starting the graduate program and meeting people from other areas. It has helped me see how culturally diverse we are.

Favorite places in the area? Janyo Yogurt in Yuba City.

What is your dream job? I am aiming to be a community college or high school counselor. I want to help students aim for a higher education.

What is your pet peeve? I cannot stand it when people don't use their blinker when driving.

What are you best known for? My friends say that I think about others before myself. I guess that's a good trait and a bad one.