Leila McCarrey - Arcadia Ward

 Hi! I'm @leilajerusalemmccarrey. I'm a convert, born in the Philippines to a Filipino dad & Iranian

mom. I speak Tagalog & Farsi. We moved to the US when I was 12 and to Pasadena when I was 17

During my 2nd semester at PCC, I met two bright, glowing men in a French class. I later said to one of them, Joe Lowry, "There's something about you!" He told me he was a return missionary for the Church. A few weeks later his friend, Charlie Perry, introduced me to his girlfriend. She was from Bountiful and was unlike any person I'd ever met: super nice, super blonde..said "Oh my heck!" We hit it off, inseparable for the rest of that Spring

She later invited me to dinner. Guess who was there? The missionaries! It was bold of her, but it worked. I was baptized by Joe and confirmed by Charlie in the South Pas building two weeks later. I started attending the singles ward that met on Longden, which was dissolved into East Pas ward, where I first saw my future husband @nei3aur. He's 2 years younger than me so when I joined the ward he was still in YM. He didn't dare talk to a woman in RS and I didn't dare flirt with him so we kept our crushes to ourselves for 6 years

Neibaur's dad was my bishop when I joined the family ward. I was in and out of Church activity the next few years, occasionally returning to my home ward. My conversion took a long time, but I got there

I double majored in Econ & Third World Studies at UCSD and International Public Policy at NYU for my MPA. I taught in Newark, NJ for Teach For America for 2 yrs, spent 3 yrs at the UN, then worked for super inspiring investor and philanthropist Whitney Tilson. After that, I led the design, development and implementation of AP w/ WE Service at The College Board until 2019

These days, I try to be the best mom I can be to Paolo, Tahra, Roya, & Sabine (12,9,7,5). We also own @soccershotslanortheast. If you know of any 2-8 year-olds who want to learn soccer in a friendly environment or of any stellar humans who'd like to coach, send them our way! I also podcast about my half-Filipino identity and being mixed race @partiallypinoy. We live in Arcadia and love it here!

@soulfullycreated