Rublyn Chu(she/her)

Rublyn Chu is a co-founder of Access2, a staffing and sourcing company based in Seattle that focuses on connecting minority and underrepresented candidates — including people in tech, labor, teaching, and accounting — with real career opportunities. She wears many hats at her company, handling operations, candidate experience, community outreach, and people/culture. She's also currently supplementing her startup income with a part-time job, and she's completely upfront about that because building something from scratch is hard, and there's no shame in being real about it. Rublyn's path wasn't straight. She grew up in a Filipino family where nursing, medicine, and engineering were seen as the only legitimate careers. She enrolled in nursing school, even though deep down she knew it wasn't her. It took her seven years to finish her undergrad after leaving Gonzaga, switching schools, and gradually finding her way into the business and entrepreneurship world. The whole time, the signs were there — she was already running inventory, scheduling staff, and managing marketing at her high school student store — but it took courage to trust herself and tell her family she was changing direction. After working her way through recruiting agencies and eventually becoming a Chief Operating Officer, Rublyn teamed up with DeAndre James and Ahmad Korner to launch Access2. The company grew out of a community basketball tournament concept that combined entertainment with on-site recruiting for underrepresented communities in South King County. When COVID hit, they pivoted and doubled down on their mission: creating a staffing agency where diversity, equity, and inclusion aren't buzzwords — they're the whole point. For students of color, Rublyn's story hits different because she talks honestly about the cultural pressure to follow a 'safe' career path, the experience of being talked down to in the workplace, and what it actually feels like to build something of your own from the ground up. She doesn't sugarcoat the grind, but she also makes it clear that purpose, discipline, and relationship-building can take you further than any single credential or job title ever could. Her advice is practical and grounded: learn basic finance and accounting even if you hate it, don't quit your day job before your side hustle is ready, take breaks and protect your energy, and above all — know your 'why.' If you're a first-gen student, a student of color navigating a career path your family doesn't fully understand, or someone who's ever felt like their skills were being undervalued at work, Rublyn's journey is one you'll want to hear.