When Christina Rocchi's family's car broke down, they couldn't afford a mechanic.
Instead of giving up, the TikTok influencer had a bold idea: What if she fixed the problem herself? Here's the story behind her inspiring move.
4
Who is Christina Roque?
Christina Rocchi is a car enthusiast and social media personality with over three million followers across her social media platforms.
She was born in Detroit on Christmas Day 2000.
The rising STEM influencer earned her bachelor's degree in computer science engineering from the University of Michigan between 2019 and 2021.
The 23-year-old and her boyfriend of more than five years, Grant Sloan, share a YouTube channel where they post vlogs about buying, building and modifying cars.
Read more about TikTok stars
However, her journey into the industry began at a time when her family was struggling to make ends meet.
As the family grew, there was little money, so any help was welcomed.
Most of them turn to their relatives for help or take out a short-term loan.
So, when their car needed repairs, she chose to take matters into her own hands and learn the skills herself.
After dealing with her parents' car problems, Christina turned her new knowledge and social media expertise into an amazing success story.
First posted on TikTok in January 2020.
She's now a major force in the world of automotive engineering and aesthetics, with around 3.7 million followers on TikTok and 265,000 on Instagram.
Her videos, posted several times a week, attract hundreds of thousands of viewers.
It has cemented its place among the best automotive innovators.
But here's the twist: Christina didn't succeed right away.
She failed — multiple times — to fix that car, and faced backlash from her father.
She told Chaldean News: “I won't lie, I started crying.
“It's just this doubt, the constant doubt from your support system.
“It filled me with anger and confusion, and I doubted my abilities. You have to ignore it, even when it comes from your father, you can't do that because you're a girl.”
4
Growing up, Christina joked that she was the boy in the family.
While she got along well with her sisters and shared the same household chores, she gravitated toward interests that were often seen as traditionally masculine such as automobiles, engineering, and computer science.
When the famous car crashes started, Christina turned to YouTube to educate herself about car mechanics.
Those moments sparked something bigger, and today, millions are hearing echoes of their first rumble through videos that have gone viral.
Convincing her mother to let her move to Los Angeles at the age of 18 was another challenge.
“It's hard for them to understand social media, TikTok, automotive engineering, and the educational side of it,” Christina explained.
“Being successful is a big part, knowing that I was able to make something out of it.”
At first, her mother raised objections when Christina worked on projects with the boys.
“There are no girls to work with, but this is me trying to make this change,” Christina responded.
Now she is on a mission to pave the way for other women in the industry.
4
Looking back, Christina admits the whole thing seems a bit silly, but she admits how much it fueled her ambition.
“It definitely pushed me to be where I am now and ignited me,” she said.
Her family's doubts helped her develop resilience, allowing her to ignore negative comments on social media.
“It's just another variable that helps boost my motivation and keeps me learning.”
In December 2021, she posted a video on Tiktok showing her mother being stopped by airport security, after they mistook her bag of sugar for drugs.
Where did Cristina Roque come from?
Rocky's mother found companionship with her Chaldean colleague, and together they had three daughters, including Christina herself.
Hence its origins go back to the Syriac Catholic community, and it is originally from northern Iraq.
But Christina's journey was not easy at all.
As a young, first-generation American, she occupies a unique space in the world of influential cars.
Her family's story is one of resilience.
I was constantly trying to make ends meet for my parents.
Christina Roque
After fleeing Iraq shortly before the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, her mother and relatives headed to the Turkish border in search of refuge.
From there, they applied for refugee status, but like many in the Chaldean diaspora, the family was separated.
Some relatives ended up in Europe, others in Canada.
When Christina was five years old, her mother returned to Canada with her and her siblings, reconnecting with family there.
By middle school, they were back in the Detroit area, where Christina's story really began to take shape.
“I was constantly trying to make ends meet for my parents,” she said.
“But I never blamed my father.”
Christina mentioned that her mother often worked two or three jobs at the same time, and her sisters would intervene whenever they could, even becoming translators for their parents.
Sometimes, this meant helping with things like applying for food or health care stamps, filing taxes, or keeping up with household chores.
“My head was always in the real world,” she added.
“My sisters and cousins always support me. If my mother had a dollar in her pocket, she would give it to us.”
What did Cristina Roque study?
Robotics was Christina's first real introduction to computer science and engineering in an educational setting, and it was a game-changer.
I fell in love with this field and decided to turn it into a career.
This experience also gave her the confidence to collaborate with groups of boys in a traditionally male-dominated field – an asset she has carried with her ever since.
4
Her journey began at Stevenson High School in Sterling Heights, where she met her statistics and calculus teacher, Mr. Carpenter.
“He was one of my biggest mentors,” she said.
“He told me about a lot of opportunities and scholarships.”
I admired his ability to teach to meet the needs of each student rather than treating the class as one average group.
Mr. Carpenter encouraged her to join the robotics team, which sparked her passion for computer science even further.
Even before graduating, Christina started her own initiative for women in STEM.
I want to inspire girls to join male-dominated fields.
Christina Roque
“The high school robotics team is there so we can learn and make mistakes,” Christina explained.
“I wanted to create something like this but less competitive.”
This idea evolved into Project 102, Christina's annual STEM camp for women.
The program welcomes 20 female high school students each year for a five-day experience filled with workshops, lectures and hands-on vehicle modification projects.
She shared: “I want to inspire girls to join male-dominated fields.
“Being Chaldean, our families wanted us to become doctors and pharmacists, but I just wanted to become an engineer.
“I wanted to offer it to other students for free so they could see if this is their passion or not.
“This is something you can't really do unless someone puts it in front of you.”
Christina realizes that many automotive engineers and mechanics discover the field through family or friends, opportunities that women often miss out on.
She's working to change that, one STEM camp, and millions of viewers online, at a time.
Christina graduated from Stevenson High School one year early and attended the University of Michigan College of Engineering as a junior, eager to continue breaking barriers.
