SM: What struck a chord with them?
Lala: Some of them liked the fact that I was one of them—that I grew up where they grew up, in East LA, and I’ve become what I wanted to become. I told them success isn’t measured by the money you make, but by doing what you love. I walked out of there like I was walking on clouds, knowing that these girls had a mentor and could be like, “If she can do it, I can do it, too!”

SM: You must be such an inspiration to them.
Lala: They’re an inspiration to me! Sometimes it’s very hard to be philanthropic, I’m not going to lie to you. You have to understand that I was up at 3:00 to catch an airplane. I’m lugging a child around. I have four or five different projects going on at a time. I just finished catering. I have my husband and my household to take care of. I need to wash my car. And I’m like, “Oh, my God, when am I going to get around to it?” So to [step away] from all that and say, “Okay, I’m going to go speak to this group of people I’ve never met, and I don’t even know who they are and who knows if I’ll ever even cross paths with them again,” is not always the easiest thing to do when you’re in the middle of a busy life.