 My name is Amy Ortega Anderson, your host for Pinoy Power Hawaii. Today, I want to welcome you to another great episode of empowerment to fulfill our mission. We aim to enrich, to enlighten, to educate, to entertain, and we hope to empower. Today we have another great success stories from regs to riches, and to help us with the empowerment, we have our guest, Gloria Makaylev, to share her story. And let's welcome Gloria Makaylev, the owner of Hair Creations by Gloria. So welcome to Pinoy Power Hawaii. Thank you, Ate, for having me in your show. Well, we bring people like you to help us with the empowerment. And the best way to get started is, how did you begin? Tell us about the glory. Glory, how I began, I, born and raised in the Philippines, in fact, came to Ilocos Norte. Okay. Yes, Ilocos Norte in Marcos Town. Marcos Town. Marcos Town. Yes. Yes. I grew up there, graduate college in Lawad, and I came here back in 1999, moved to Hawaii back in 1999, and started working here as a hairstylist, went to school here and get my license, and that's when I said to myself, one day I will become an owner in the beauty industry. I love to make people happy, smile in their face, make them feel beautiful, take their stress away when they come and see me. Wonderful. Okay. So, but before that, tell us about your growing up. How was it like growing up in Ilocos Norte, your upbringing? Oh, growing up is really hard when I was a kid. I used to help my parents to go to farm, raise pigs, oigtaltalon, grau, baksika, agtarakuntibabuy, calding. My mom and my dad plant a lot of vegetables, and my mom cooks a lot, kankanan. Before I go to school, I go and sell kankanan, vegetable in the morning, so I have allowance to go to school. Oh, Sakwayangapangagiskuala. Yes, Sakwayangapangagiskuala. Wow. And then after school, nakagalati, karakuntmi, calding, bakantibabuy, life is really hard when we were in the Philippines, and we were seven of us. Seven? Seven siblings. Okay. And that hard life motivated me to succeed with my goal. So, because of your hard upbringing, you wanted to do better? Yes, I would like to do, I wanted to do better, and when I was growing up, no one really does able to do what they want and what they succeed because financial is really hard back then. Can you relate to the saying, sangkasapulan, sangkaapuyan? Sangkasapulan, sangkaapuyan, agrigat. Yes. So, inakaglakoti natang ate, malem, yes, and then kaksurjeval balay. So, I have to sing, and I sing before they buy, and I entertain them, but that's all like, you know, hard work. Yes. And then some people- So, you learn how to use your charm? Yes, yes. Okay. And then they say, okay, tip me, then the money they gave me is my allowance to go to school. Wonderful. Yes. What a wonderful foundation ng rugiana. In other words, you weren't one of those fortunate ones, you were born with a silver spoon or silver platter. Tatap nun, agbalingka ng adonya, ang kagtrabaho, right? Yes, yes. You weren't one of those. No. You know, I was really glad that I grew up that way. I didn't regret that we grew up in a poor side, not in a wealthy side, because that hard work and poor, it motivated me and it made me strong and made me for who I am now. Okay. So, as a little girl, you started to have a dream that someday you would come to Hawaii, particularly America. Yes. Right? How did your family able to come to Hawaii or America? My father has one sibling, their only two brother, and he had an opportunity to come here because of his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Hermitanyu and Auntie Nida. Help us. Help us. They are your connection. Yes, yes. My uncle actually just passed away, so he's a little bit of emotion for me, but they are the reason why I'm here now. Yes. Wow. They had, they became my parents when my parents are still back in the Philippines. They helped me and guided me, made me strong, always trying to remind me that don't forget your root and help your root. And my family did not forget our root. Even when we're here now, we're still helping our community back home. We still, you know, go and take a vacation and spend time with the people in town, in Marcos town. Okay. So, you know the value of hard work, and then who in your life inspired you? Who are your idols? Did you see them? Did they take care of you? Did you learn to be successful? My father. Your father. Okay. Yeah. So, my father passed away back in 2007, but even how hard life is, his heart is so full of love. He always helped other people, even Sangkasapulan Sangkaapuyan. He shared Nan Tupelang Jay, Bagi Na, that's what I admire about my father, very emotional. Even when he gets here, he still helps, and every time he always tells me that be humble and don't forget where you're coming from. Oh, I feel you starting. We do get emotional here, you know. We share it here because we appreciate the value of Kenariga, and therefore it helps to drive us to do better and to succeed. Yeah, I'm sure you can relate to that. Oh, yes. Yes. Yeah. I reached my goal today. People approached me, why you become so humble? I think of my dad and my uncle. Always humble. Even if they have something, they always never, they didn't forget where they're from. And that's what is inside my heart. I wanted to give out. I pray to God that will bless me more, to give out to the community here. I know I have a lot of relatives and friends from Marcos or either any from the Philippines. Yes. I wanted to give out to the community. And sometimes by me as a hairstylist, even if I don't have money, if I can put a smile in their face by doing their hair, that means a lot to me. Wow. This kind of brings joy to my heart listening to your story because you are so willing to share, willing to give. And this is why when people come to you and say, Gloria, would you help us with our mission? Would you help those that are less fortunate? I know that you cannot say no. Yes, yes. It's hard for me to say no because my heart always says I'm willing to help as long as I can stand up and have energy and have something to help, either money, anything I can do. Resources. Resources. Talents. Yes, yes. Wow. It's so wonderful to hear your story. I'm getting teary-eyed only because you were fortunate to have a close relationship with your dad. You were able to have his values, his upbringing, and you were guided by your father. And what is the most valuable lesson that you learned from him? Hard work, hard work, and again, respect and dignity. Okay. Always have respect for others. It is so inspiring to hear that you're not blinded by just monetary values, but it goes back to respect and dignity, which is very, very important. In a world where there are so many material things, Gloria, that we are surrounded with, it's easy to get caught up with the value of wanting this material possession. You're not blinded by the value of the answer, the value of the materials, but yet, you have integrity and hard work. Those are values in life that are immeasurable. You cannot put monetary value on them, but you are blinded by the value of what you have. I salute you and commend you for that. Thank you, Ate. Tell us about your mom also, because there have to be a balance, maternal and maternal things. Tell us about mom. My mom is very loving, very naasi, very patient. She's all about talking about God. She's always reminded me to be humble and don't forget about God, who created us and guided us. I have a situation right now that always reminds me, don't forget to pray. Every single time, wake up, go eat and everything, she is my guidance. She is with me all the time. She worries too much, and I love her so much. Typical mother who never stops mothering, you know, they always make sure that the children are well cared for, are taken care of, and they are watched over, and no harm will happen to them. So that's what mothers are there to do, to protect. She's just like the hand that protects all the little chicks, because all these risks and things are around us, we are surrounded by the things that could do harm to us. Especially now Ate, I'm going through a health issue right now, so always tell me, don't forget to pray. Pray is very powerful, and I do believe in that. Back in the 20s, I believe it's 2013, I was diagnosed for pre-cancer. I have a polymyositis. So always tell me, pray, that's your strength, and this is your strongest medicine, and I pray and pray. So every morning, it reminds me, be thankful and pray. What a wonderful lesson to be taught by your mother, who is the main strength, the main foundation for our family, and I cannot put a value. It's very important that we pray and pray for guidance and direction. And like I said, I get emotional when you share stories like that, because I can relate. In 2005, I was diagnosed with brain tumor. And I thought that was like a pretty, but for me, it was an awakening. Awakening to do better, awakening to be thankful and grateful for all of my blessings. And this is why I'm feeling your energy right now. You're right to have faith, to pray, and to continue to ask for guidance for direction from a loving Heavenly Father. I'm so glad you agreed to come. I knew that the show would be difficult to do, because somehow, even if we don't really know each other that much on a personal basis, I knew that I can connect with you. Because I feel your energy. I feel that you are a very, very special child of God by your faith and all the wonderful testimonies that you have shared about hard work and also being accountable and also doing the things that are righteous. We welcome back here on Pinoy Power, Hawaii. I'm your host, Amy Ortega Anderson, and we will have another chance to have a conversation with our guest today, Gloria McAleb, with Gloria's creation. We'll be right back. Hi, I'm Rusty Kamori, host of Beyond the Lines. I was the head coach for the Punahou Boys varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we're fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my book, which is also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence, achieving and sustaining success, and finding greatness. If you're a student, parent, sports or business person, and want to improve your life and the lives of people around you, tune in and join me on Mondays at 11 a.m. as we go Beyond the Lines on ThinkPak, Hawaii. Aloha. Aloha. I'm your host, Sharon Thomas-Yarbrough, a sister power here at ThinkTech of IE, and sister power is all about motivating, empowering, educating, and inspiring all people, and we have various subjects here. Sister power is here at ThinkTech every other Thursday at 4 p.m. Again, my name is Sharon Thomas-Yarbrough, host of Sister Power. We look forward to seeing you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at sistersandpowerandkawaii at gmail.com. Look forward to chatting with you soon. Aloha. Welcome back to Peter and Power, Hawaii. I am your host, Emmy Ortega Anderson, and today we are really having an empowerment and with my beautiful guest, who is beautiful inside and out, Gloria McHalev. What's your middle name, Gloria? Hermitaneo. Okay, Gloria Hermitaneo McHalev, who hails from Marcus Town. Is that close to Sarat? Close to Dengras. Oh, Dengras. Okay. Yeah. Nagbatanti Dengras and Banna. Oh, okay. I'm not one of your family because I don't remember much, but I know that the vicinity, I could get lost, but I'm still able to remember a lot of my upbringing. So let's go back to your stories. You're willing this to share and help others. You're so willing to do that because you know the struggles, right? What can I do to help? How can I help? Anything I can do to help with the community or to just personal to someone. Everyone knows me that Gloria doesn't know how to say no, doesn't take no. My husband always, he always tell me, that's why I love you so much because your heart is so full of love. Heart of gold, yeah? Heart of gold, yes. Okay. Since you mentioned about your husband, tell us about your husband and your family. I know that he's a big rock. He's an architect here in Pacific Garden Center. Okay. We have four kids, Taylor, Shania, Ben and Paris. Paris is my miracle baby. That is our together, the three is our previous. This child, Paris Ember is a miracle baby, I say, because I have her after my chemotherapy. Oh, wow. So after the cancer? After the pre-cancer that was treated back in 2012. My doctor told me that it's not guaranteed that the baby will be healthy. Again, I pray to God and I ask for a healthy baby. And here God gave me a healthy and precious child, beautiful child. So that's Paris? That's Paris. Wonderful, wonderful stories of our triumph and of course, keeping the faith for the Lord to bless you always and he did answer your prayers. I'd say all my prayers are granted. I ask for a wonderful husband that support me and be there for me through sickness and in health, succeed, all my success is with me, he is with me all the time. Even if I say, let's donate something, let's go help other community, let's go Philippines and attend a charity mission. And he'll say yes baby, let's go. That is so wonderful. And he loves Philippines. How long have you been married? We've been married for three years. I still know, but we feel like we've known each other for a long time. You met your soulmate. Yes, yes, yes. So when did you know that he was the right husband for you? I believe that when he started giving me jobs for my other business, I have a cleaning business and he had asked me if I want to take more jobs. So that's how I knew that when we started having meetings and coffee, it's like, oh, I think this guy is wonderful and a perfect match for me. And he was single and available? He was single and available. Yes. That is so... But that's not how we met. Okay, tell us about how you met. We met back in my old workplace, 10 minutes before we closed. He is coming for a haircut and he asked us what time we closed and he said, 10 minutes before nine o'clock and I said, we closed at nine, oh, I have time. So me, I was like, what, 10 minutes before we closed, I have to go home, but I have to serve, I have to cut his hair because I don't want to disappoint anyone. And I just wanted to give him my haircut. Right and then he thinks that, you know, I was cute, but I didn't remember that until he reminded me when we started dating. Do you remember when you gave me an attitude, cutting my hair 10 minutes before we closed? And so that's how we actually met. I don't remember, but he does remember. He thinks that that was cute. Of course. You went out of your way. You went out of the box to please him and he remembers that. But I've also seen and witnessed the other side of you. You may be small, but very powerful. And you do speak your mind. And I love that about you. And we were in the same situation of serving the same situation when people tend to not put a value on our hard work and our monies and our donations. We are quick to kind of pull away because the money that we donate, the money that we use comes from hard work. Yes. And we certainly don't want people to take advantage of that and just take our money and disrespect us. I think you and I have that in common. Yes. And right away, we know when to stay away and to never get back in that dark place again, because it's not a pleasant place to be in when people mistreat us for our goodness. Yes. So I like that. I said, I like this little woman with a spunk and she wears her attitude under her sleeve and I'm glad you spoke up because I said, I'm going to have a conversation with her and remind her that you did the right thing. Yeah. So those type of decision is on to the monkey. They can cut it the other way. Success. And I put, you know, you learn to speak up and recognize right away to the joy and joy. Yes, I think so. Yeah, indeed. Well, it's so wonderful to hear that the success story. Where do you want to go with your business as far as taking creations by glory to another level? I know that you help a lot of women feel beautiful and being that you're a cancer survivor like I am. How do you handle the Gitae women that are going through chemotherapy? They want to come to you and ask you how can you make them beautiful? How do you handle that? How I handled this past year, I had a, we had an event cut for cost. It was all that charity went to, all that money that we made went to charity. Mrs. Sarah Luz, Sarah Hosaka, helped me to put this together. Actually, this year, this was last month. And whatever we made and that time, we donated that money. Whoever she picked on, give it to. And then last year we had a cut for cure. So what I did for everybody, community, Facebook, customers comes in. I asked for everyone to participate and to give me the names of the cancer survivors. Yes, and send me their names and we'll draw their names. Whoever wins gets to come into my salon to get pampered for free. Wow. Yes, we want to make them feel beautiful and relax in our salon. So they're not feeling depressed of what happens. They're cancer survivors. And you can relate to that being a cancer survivor of yourself. So that's what we did in the past. So my future goal is I want to open one another shop in town. Once I open that, I'm just a small business right now. But one day that once it becomes big, I want to open my own nonprofit organization to help other people that are needed in health. Cancer, either cancer or whoever comes to me and asks for help. I can only help small because I'm not a very big company yet. Hopefully one day God will bless me then I can have more. Well, I'm sure the Lord will provide a way through prayers. I know that he's there to answer our prayers and he has been answering yours. Well, our conversation has come to an end. Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful journey, success stories, the struggles that triumph and, of course, sharing your blessings to those that are less fortunate. And I want to commend you for your great deeds and continuing to share your blessings with others. Thank you so much for being on the show today. But I mean, but I miss a lot of both. Thank you again for another wonderful episode of you know, Power Hawaii here on Think Tech, Hawaii. We want to thank Think Tech for allowing us to come to your home. And share empowering stories like today, when the glory Makayla shared her wonderful success stories. Until next time, but I mean, Salamat, God bless and Mabuhay.