From heartbreak to hope: Anais Gomez's journey in communication and photography
Anais Gomez comes from a large family of 120 in Norwalk, rooted in her great-grandparents
who moved from Visalia in the 1950s. Born in Whittier and raised in Santa Fe Springs,
Anais was influenced by strong women, including her grandmother and mother, who instilled
values of independence and resilience.
After graduating from Bishop Amat Memorial High School in 2014, Anais focused more on social life during her brief stint at Mt. SAC in nursing, and she started working full time in retail instead of completing her education. It was when her father’s life was taken unexpectedly and tragically in 2018 that she realized she needed to get her life together. Another motivation for Anais was for her mother to witness her walk across the college commencement stage.
She re-engaged with education at Cerritos College in 2019 to study business administration/ human resource management. However, after one small group communications class and an encounter with Professor Brooke Hanniff and Instructor Desiree Montenegro, she fell in love with communications. In addition, Instructor Dawn Trickett recognized Anais's potential and encouraged her, saying she would make a great communications professor. Motivated by this positive feedback, Anais decided to pursue a degree in communication studies.
During her time at Cerritos College, Anais became actively involved in Phi Theta Kappa, the national honor society, and received tremendous support from the communications department and her instructors. A self-taught photographer, Anais has always had a knack for capturing moments behind the camera. In 2020, she started her photography business with guidance from a communication class at Cerritos College, which taught her how to create a portfolio and build a website. Her company, AMG Photography—named in tribute to her and her father's initials—officially became an LLC last year and specializes in wedding, family, and maternity photography.
Anais married her husband, Matthew, last year. He is also graduating from Cerritos College with a degree in communication studies. She is transferring to Cal State Fullerton in the fall and is considering pursuing a master’s education and possibly becoming a professor after gaining experience in the communications field. Anais served as the commencement speaker for the class of 2025.
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