More pictures of my beautiful sister when she was younger.
Eliana’s first job was at Coco’s Restaurant as a hostess at age 16. She would bring home a pie everyday because Eliana famously loved free food. We got so sick of eating pies. After that, she worked as a receptionist at our family dentist’s office.
She saved up enough money to buy her first car, a used ‘99 Oldsmobile Alero that she found in the Auto Trader book.
It was the same car we used to drive to the Morongo Casino where CBS 2 was hosting the “Sports reporter for a day” contest. I went with her that day and the car was starting to overheat by the time we reached the casino. There were over 1,000 people in line, and she won!
In a world where there is so much nepotism, especially in the world of news and media, Eliana truly worked her way from the very bottom. She took every opportunity she could no matter how small it was. Nothing was ever beneath her.
She was always excited about reporting about our home: Orange County. She reported for the Irvine, Garden Grove and Orange local news reports.
Even though she had graduated from Chapman University, she still went back to Santa Ana College right after to be a part of their news program. It was at SAC where Eliana met a veteran aerial journalist that took a chance on a young reporter and brought her in as an intern.
My family appreciates all the well wishes and prayers we have received as we go through this tragic time in our lives. We love you all ❤️❤️❤️🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻