LOS ANGELES — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met with a group of teens Thursday afternoon touring Los Angeles.

When teen Desiree Quezada woke up for the day, she had no idea she would be meeting Buttigieg.

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Buttigieg, who calls himself South Bend, Indiana's "Mayor Pete," spent time with them at Vector 90, a co-working space co-founded by the late rapper Nipsey Hussle.

Desiree said national politics had a big impact on her daily life. During the 2016 election, she was in the sixth grade and started hearing racist comments.

“I was constantly told, 'Go back to Mexico, go back to your own country, ICE is coming for you,'" she said.

Desiree is part of the group Hustle and Code from Chicago. They’re on a trip to Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

Vector 90 in south L.A. was a stop along the way. On this day, Buttigieg happened to be there as well.

He told the teens to speak their truth.

“You don’t even have to be old enough to vote to command a lot more attention than you realize,” he said.

At 14 years old, Desiree is too young to vote in November 2020, but the tone of the election is sure to resonate with her and her school.