My name is Raquel Gonzalez, and I grew up in Santa Maria, CA. My family ran a huge strawberry farm and from a young age, I learned the meaning of hard work. As a kid, I was always working on the farm when there was no school to attend. We provided strawberries for mass distribution to grocery stores and even had our own strawberry farm stand that I created and managed so customers could buy their strawberries directly from the farm. Our strawberries were award winning in several competitions and were known locally for their quality. After graduating from school, I went on to begin a new career with Verizon which took me to the San Jose area. The hard work ethic instilled in me from working on the farm helped me climb the ladder at Verizon, rapidly becoming their top representative for my region. I then become a licensed mortgage professional and realtor which was always a goal of mine from a young age. The mortgage industry is where I was given my nickname of "Rokky" or "Rokk". Whenever my colleagues had a difficult lending situation, they would say "give it to Rokky" and I would find a way to make it happen for the homebuyers. This is why I named our company Rokk and Ron Landscaping Design when Ron and I started our business together. My skills in the financial and real estate industry pair well with my role as a landscape designer. I understand the importance of designing projects around the client's budget and presenting them with realistic choices that meet their needs. I hope to work with you soon on your landscaping design project!