Ricson C. Dakanay is a first generation American from the Philippines. His parents emigrated to the United States when Mr. Dakanay was 3 years old and they fostered a selfless household which valued old-school principles and modern-day pragmatism. He was raised in San Bernardino and attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School where he excelled in leadership positions and varsity sports, and was instilled the lifelong practice of social justice.