Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Gregorio.
Valerie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Valerie Gregorio, a multipotentialite 29 year old Filipina American currently based in Southern Maryland. I’m a Gen Z woman of color wearing many hats. I currently work full-time in the U.S Federal Government in procurement, dance, model, write for online publications, currently serve on a political party central committee, participated in a couple of works as a background actor, create content, and in the past, I’ve competed in pageants. I have a bachelors degree in Public Policy with minors in Political Science, Sociology, and Dance from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland, Global Campus. I have my human rights certification from the US Institute of Diplomacy and Human Rights, my Simplified Acquisition Procedures (Purchasing) Credential through my employer, and a number of other certifications that I’ve earned at my job and through Harvard Online. For this election season, I currently serve as an ambassador with a voter education organization called, “She Votes,” which I promote information about voting online.
So how I got to where I’m at today is that I’m not afraid to put myself out there and wanted to try many things growing up. When I was kid, I was a shy, quiet person and often felt overlooked, especially as the only petite Filipina in the room. I overcame my shyness is finding things that I love to do in my spare time. Throughout my time in college and post grad life, I connected with so many people and utilize social media to find opportunities that I would love to take time. Networking, social media, and figuring out and pursuing what I love are all what got me here today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No it hasn’t because I faced more rejections instead of “congratulations” or “acceptances” in my life. And I do get judgement from some or certain people for doing what I love. Yes it hurts and sometimes I wonder why I wasn’t good enough. Was it because I didn’t have certain skills or experiences? Or was it because of my political beliefs and values or how I look? Most of the time, I would never know why I was rejected. I know I can’t dwell on the past. I have to continue to move forward in life and never give up on what I believe in. That’s how I come any challenges or obstacles in my way.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I do a lot. As a multipotentialite, I wear many hats. I have my day job, which I don’t talk about often. I work for the federal government as a Contract Specialist, which involves creating contracts with our vendors and ensure our employees receive the items and services they need to perform their work. I’ve been working in the federal government since I was 23 and won a couple of awards during my career. I started during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic as a student trainee while working on my MBA and moved my way up. Fun fact: Only around 7% of federal employees are under the age of 30 (I’m currently 29) according to OPM’s “Making Government Cool Again” article from December 2025. I will admit, it has been a lot for my career within the past year but I’m still standing doing what I love. And that is to serve the people of the United States in the capacity I’m in and upholding the U.S. Constitution.
Outside of my job, I’m a dancer. I currently focus on ballet. I will admit that ballet is the hardest style of dance I’ve learned thus far. As someone with scoliosis and small feet, it requires a lot of balance and grace. I dance at a nearby dance studio and performed in a few ballet recitals. My background in other styles of dance from my college years has helped me shape who I am today. Another fun fact: my dance minor was more focus on contemporary/modern. I didn’t really dive into ballet until a few years ago and I’ve grown more as a dancer since then.
Other cool things I do are both pageantry and modeling. I both got my start in those ventures back in 2022. I first discovered pageantry through an online ad on Instagram, which is the Miss Maryland USA pageant. After doing some research I figured, “Hey why not?” I was 24 when I did my first pageant and it was a risk that I took because I want to have more fun with my life and I knew deep down that I wanted to do more. I’ve learned and grown a lot more as a person since then, even though I didn’t win. I’ve competed at Petite USA representing Maryland and received a Presidential Service Award and at Miss U.S. International representing the East Coast and received the Commitment to the Planet Finalist Award. I also placed 1st runner in a virtual pageant called International Ethereal Miss. I do plan to continue my journey in pageantry. It’s not only about the glitz and glam but it’s also about community service and being a leader and role model in your community. That’s is what I love about pageantry the most.
I have a community advocacy platform that highlighted last year when I was competing at Miss U.S. International called, “It’s Not Too Late,” which encourages people that it’s not too late to go after their goals and dreams in their lives like running for office, writing a book, training for a marathon, trying out for a TV show, taking a ballet class, pursuing higher education, and more. Even when you feel like it’s too late to start something, it actually isn’t. The idea behind it stems from being a late bloomer. For example, I didn’t get my drivers license until after I graduated from high school. A couple other examples I have are that I didn’t take dance seriously until college and I got into politics straight on after the 2016 presidential election. This is in the works but I’m planning to launch a small project on this soon using my knowledge with social media and my passion for writing in providing opportunities that people can pursue. I’m planning to continue to use this platform in both pageantry and my personal life. Stay tuned which pageant system I’ll be in next.
As for modeling, it came shortly after pageantry when I competed and became an ambassador with CB Modeling Associates. From there, I’ve walked in several fashion shows, worked with photographers, been on a billboard twice in New York City, and was on the cover of Vigour Magazine for their November 2025 issue. I noticed in this space along with pageantry that there are barely any petite Filipina American women. I am glad I’m making space for other petite Filipina Americans who look like me to follow and look up too. You can catch me pursue more modeling opportunities in the future.
To wrap this up since I have more to list, I also do writing, mentoring, working on some voice over stuff, volunteering, content creation, and pursuing more education on the side. I’ve written for several online publications and I created two publications on Substack with one of them called, “The V Perspective” and the other called, “Hold the Line: Supporting the Federal Workforce.” I’ve also interviewed a couple of voice actresses, which were both published on “The Mixed Asian Media.” My latest writing pieces were published from my “The V Perspective” publication and The Olive Branch Review website with my poem called, “First Meeting,” which anyone who knows me can figure out what it’s about. I’m also currently working on a secret writing project on the side. As for volunteering, I current serve on a political party central committee as the only Gen Z and Filipina American on the committee. I do a bunch of behind the scenes work for candidates who are running for office. I’m also a part of a few political and advocacy clubs, which I was a founding member for one of them. I also currently serve on my college’s alumni council and volunteer to mentor high school and college students on the side while currently working developing myself as a voice over artist (my profile is on audio.com (link: https://audio.com/valerie-gregorio). I’m also a content creator behind my creative project @quotesforyouproject, where I create (yes I create my own quotes) and post my own quotes to inspire people. An as I mentioned earlier, I an ambassador with a voter organization called, “She Votes,” where I promote voter education on social media.
And I’ve recently started to write for Unwritten and the Gen-Zine publications online and dance with a DMV dance company called, Ava Dance Company.” Also, I’ve joined the United Nations Association of the United States of America as a member in supporting the mission of the United Nations. Lastly, I recently joined Reel District Talent Casting to pursue more acting opportunities and Model Mayhem to pursue more modeling opportunities in the future.
I can say that I am a Filipina American Gen Z woman who wears probably way too many hats haha.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
So whenever I’m working or writing for my next article, I like to listen to music of my choice from Youtube. I usually listen to a variety for pop music and listen to music of nature that helps soothe me when times get tough.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/vcg18
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vcg18/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valerie.gregorio?ref=bookmarks
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-gregorio/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmUv8p6asSoMD0jdl4BNAuw
- Other: https://www.modelmayhem.com/4906226 https://www.imdb.com/name/nm17646700/?ref_=ra_sb_ln https://audio.com/valerie-gregorio Bluesky: @vcg18.bsky.social https://www.backstage.com/u/valerie-gregorio/ https://usactors.com/listing/valerie-gregorio/
