Pilipinx American History Month
The month of October is Pilipinx American History Month (PAHM)! "PAHM Celebration” is PCMC"s second annual project consisting of two sides.
PCMC's "PAHM Celebration Publicity Campaign" highlights historical Filipinos of the past and of the present! From food to business to the big screen and everything in between, Filipinos and Filipino Americans have made their mark in the United States. This month we celebrate these Filipinos of the past, of the present, and of the future.
On the other end, the Senate and many P-orgs' "PAHM Celebration Events," for the lack of a better word, celebrates the Pilipinx-identity through various general meetings, socials, events, etc tailored towards Filipino culture from the scope of a respective organization's focus.
PCMC's "PAHM Celebration Publicity Campaign" highlights historical Filipinos of the past and of the present! From food to business to the big screen and everything in between, Filipinos and Filipino Americans have made their mark in the United States. This month we celebrate these Filipinos of the past, of the present, and of the future.
On the other end, the Senate and many P-orgs' "PAHM Celebration Events," for the lack of a better word, celebrates the Pilipinx-identity through various general meetings, socials, events, etc tailored towards Filipino culture from the scope of a respective organization's focus.
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Filipinos of the Present at UCLA
Mabuhay Collective interviewed 5 individuals from UCLA - from traditional students to transfers to even professors! Check out a glimpse from their interviews on our Instagram (and the post above)! Read more highlights from their interviews below!
"Tita" Nenita Pambid Domingo (she/her)
Professor of Filipino at UCLA
Professor of Filipino at UCLA
“My whole life I grew up in the Philippines and my culture is Filipino so since I cannot embrace that identity of being a Filipino-American, but siyempre if you are here, your nationality is U.S.”
“[Filipino American History Month] is important because it highlights or it acknowledges the presence and contributions of the the Filipino-Americans and Filipinos, or however they want to call themselves or Filipinx to the progress and to building this society we call the United States.”
“You have the term Filipino in the way you name yourself, and when you name yourself something like Filipino American, you create meaning. So when you create meaning you are given the opportunity to create your world and create your identity. The mere fact that you have Filipino there means that you have a history behind the term Filipino and the term American. So what makes the Filipino American identity unique is because he, she, or siya has Filipino in it and that ‘Filipino’ goes far back to the home country where the Filipino immigrants immigrated from.”
“I am first generation immigrant Filipino, and my students in Introductory Filipino specifically are mostly second-generation Filipino… meaning they were either born in the United States or they came to the United States when they were between the ages of 1 and 10. This is my definition of the students I have and even the kind of Filipino immigrants that are here in the states. They are mostly second-generation.”
“The mere fact that [my students] call themselves Filipino American, [they] create meaning, [they] construct meaning, and when you construct meaning you have the potential to change the world around you… Most of the students would say it is who I am, it cannot be separated from my identity, it is my life, when they say they are Filipino American.”
“[My favorite part of teaching my students is] the eureka moment or the epiphany that they are actually Filpinos! With the traditions they practice at home and the values that they have and the fact that they can understand their family members that speak Filipino and this close bonding with the family. Being able to communicate with immigrant communities especially if they work in nonprofits that serve the Filipino community, [my students] have a better understanding of the communities that they would like to serve.”
“The first few months or days that I was in the United States, I thought I was exiled. A full grown tree with deep roots in the Philippines transported and transplanted to a new soil. Although we have a colonial mentality, and we learn English at a young age, and the medium of instruction in the Philippines is English and one of the official languages is English, it is still a different story being transported to a new place. So I really felt like I was exiled the first few days.”
“I dream of Filipino American President. I dream of a Filpino American Supreme Court Justice. I dream of a Filipino American Governor. All of those key positions. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, I have a dream.”
“[Filipino American History Month] is important because it highlights or it acknowledges the presence and contributions of the the Filipino-Americans and Filipinos, or however they want to call themselves or Filipinx to the progress and to building this society we call the United States.”
“You have the term Filipino in the way you name yourself, and when you name yourself something like Filipino American, you create meaning. So when you create meaning you are given the opportunity to create your world and create your identity. The mere fact that you have Filipino there means that you have a history behind the term Filipino and the term American. So what makes the Filipino American identity unique is because he, she, or siya has Filipino in it and that ‘Filipino’ goes far back to the home country where the Filipino immigrants immigrated from.”
“I am first generation immigrant Filipino, and my students in Introductory Filipino specifically are mostly second-generation Filipino… meaning they were either born in the United States or they came to the United States when they were between the ages of 1 and 10. This is my definition of the students I have and even the kind of Filipino immigrants that are here in the states. They are mostly second-generation.”
“The mere fact that [my students] call themselves Filipino American, [they] create meaning, [they] construct meaning, and when you construct meaning you have the potential to change the world around you… Most of the students would say it is who I am, it cannot be separated from my identity, it is my life, when they say they are Filipino American.”
“[My favorite part of teaching my students is] the eureka moment or the epiphany that they are actually Filpinos! With the traditions they practice at home and the values that they have and the fact that they can understand their family members that speak Filipino and this close bonding with the family. Being able to communicate with immigrant communities especially if they work in nonprofits that serve the Filipino community, [my students] have a better understanding of the communities that they would like to serve.”
“The first few months or days that I was in the United States, I thought I was exiled. A full grown tree with deep roots in the Philippines transported and transplanted to a new soil. Although we have a colonial mentality, and we learn English at a young age, and the medium of instruction in the Philippines is English and one of the official languages is English, it is still a different story being transported to a new place. So I really felt like I was exiled the first few days.”
“I dream of Filipino American President. I dream of a Filpino American Supreme Court Justice. I dream of a Filipino American Governor. All of those key positions. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, I have a dream.”
Amanda Adolfo (she/her)
4th year Biology Major
4th year Biology Major
How has being Filipino/Filipinx influenced your life?
“I am very in touch with my Filipino culture. Both of my parents are immigrants and I was raised in a very Filipino household. I would say what I identify the most with Filipino culture is just the close tight knit of family. Sorta that collectivist culture that family is very close and that’s the way I was brought up. A lot of common Filipino traditions are centered around family.”
“I’m from Las Vegas and for 18 years I lived in the same house, my parents are together, sometimes my grandma visits from the Philippines, and I have siblings. I also grew up in a very Catholic household. I grew up with one perspective of life. My parents influenced that heavily and so did their religion. I am the oldest child so I moved to LA, and that was the first big move and that was very new. In college, I started developing my own beliefs and those beliefs may have been very different from my parents. It’s just this constant struggle trying to bridge the gap with the beliefs I grew up with and what I learned in college. I’m very close to my family, but I feel dissonance when I am alone here at UCLA.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“It’s a time for people who share this cultural identity of being Filipino and to be empowered and to be proud. Also, intersectionality is really important and I think that even though we have this shared cultural identity of being Fillipino there’s are a lot of other factors that make up your cultural identity so it’s also a way to celebrate uniqueness and consider intersectionality and how other factors affect one’s identity.”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“A lot of people in my family do have a background in health care and I think definitely has propelled me towards that field, but I did choose it for myself after interacting with the community. I could name drop PCH (Pilipinos for Community Health), I love PCH they’re my niche. PCH is a great way for me to volunteer and work with lots of members in the community and also meet lots of role models that are my peers and people the same age as me but they’re still my role models.”
“PCH has given me an opportunity for me to do leadership and get more involved with healthcare related things. So further down the road, I would love to go into medicine and particularly I’m really interested in women’s health or OB/GYN. I think it still has a lot of negative stigma, and I would love to educate, break down the stigma and it would be cool to represent Filipinos.”
“Just being able to balance school and extracurriculars and social [was an accomplishment]. It may seem basic, but it really is an accomplishment! I guess that and being able to participate in leadership. I’m just proud of my growth here. The person I was four years ago and the person I am now, very different people. But in a good way, it was for the better. There was a lot of good growth going on. Growing up at UCLA [is one of my most memorable accomplishments].”
What advice would you give new students?
“In order to leave a mark, you have to acknowledge your own success. Give yourself a pat on the back. Don’t criticize yourself too hard, you’re doing great. The community needs more self love, and to be proud of their accomplishments no matter how big or small and honestly that’s something that has made me have a better perspective on my life. I view it as in like I am proud of ‘how far I have come’ instead of thinking ‘what more can I do.’ But you just have to realize you are doing amazing and look at all these amazing things you’ve done and you’ve just got to give yourself a pat on the back.”
“I am very in touch with my Filipino culture. Both of my parents are immigrants and I was raised in a very Filipino household. I would say what I identify the most with Filipino culture is just the close tight knit of family. Sorta that collectivist culture that family is very close and that’s the way I was brought up. A lot of common Filipino traditions are centered around family.”
“I’m from Las Vegas and for 18 years I lived in the same house, my parents are together, sometimes my grandma visits from the Philippines, and I have siblings. I also grew up in a very Catholic household. I grew up with one perspective of life. My parents influenced that heavily and so did their religion. I am the oldest child so I moved to LA, and that was the first big move and that was very new. In college, I started developing my own beliefs and those beliefs may have been very different from my parents. It’s just this constant struggle trying to bridge the gap with the beliefs I grew up with and what I learned in college. I’m very close to my family, but I feel dissonance when I am alone here at UCLA.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“It’s a time for people who share this cultural identity of being Filipino and to be empowered and to be proud. Also, intersectionality is really important and I think that even though we have this shared cultural identity of being Fillipino there’s are a lot of other factors that make up your cultural identity so it’s also a way to celebrate uniqueness and consider intersectionality and how other factors affect one’s identity.”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“A lot of people in my family do have a background in health care and I think definitely has propelled me towards that field, but I did choose it for myself after interacting with the community. I could name drop PCH (Pilipinos for Community Health), I love PCH they’re my niche. PCH is a great way for me to volunteer and work with lots of members in the community and also meet lots of role models that are my peers and people the same age as me but they’re still my role models.”
“PCH has given me an opportunity for me to do leadership and get more involved with healthcare related things. So further down the road, I would love to go into medicine and particularly I’m really interested in women’s health or OB/GYN. I think it still has a lot of negative stigma, and I would love to educate, break down the stigma and it would be cool to represent Filipinos.”
“Just being able to balance school and extracurriculars and social [was an accomplishment]. It may seem basic, but it really is an accomplishment! I guess that and being able to participate in leadership. I’m just proud of my growth here. The person I was four years ago and the person I am now, very different people. But in a good way, it was for the better. There was a lot of good growth going on. Growing up at UCLA [is one of my most memorable accomplishments].”
What advice would you give new students?
“In order to leave a mark, you have to acknowledge your own success. Give yourself a pat on the back. Don’t criticize yourself too hard, you’re doing great. The community needs more self love, and to be proud of their accomplishments no matter how big or small and honestly that’s something that has made me have a better perspective on my life. I view it as in like I am proud of ‘how far I have come’ instead of thinking ‘what more can I do.’ But you just have to realize you are doing amazing and look at all these amazing things you’ve done and you’ve just got to give yourself a pat on the back.”
Sofia Gonzales (she/her)
4th year Political Science Major and Southeast Asian Studies Minor
4th year Political Science Major and Southeast Asian Studies Minor
Do you identify as Filipino or Filipino American?
“I actually identify more on the Filipino side. I don’t consider myself to be American because I grew up in the Philippines my whole life and I moved to the United States my Junior year of High School, still as a Filipino. I left my family behind and came to the United States to study. I think a part of me does identify as American because I have become so assimilated and so in-tune with American culture that it just was very easy for me to get along with everybody in the States.”
“I would say I had a very Westernized upbringing because I learned English primarily as my first language in the Philippines. I went to International School for High School, and gymnastics was a very big part of my life. I represented the Philippines on the Philippine team in the SEA Games and that’s how I found my way to the United States was because of gymnastics. I saw it as a window of opportunity for me to get on the UCLA gymnastics team and I did!”
“I remember when I first came to the United States I definitely sounded more Filipino kind of ‘fresh off the boat’. When I came to the United States my friends would ask, ‘so Sofia you are from the Philippines, do you live in huts?’ or ‘You can’t say orange or stomach properly’ and all of these words made me feel very uncomfortable being in my own skin. I remember where there were times when someone would look down on me just because I was brown and sometimes the minority in the room and it would cross my mind of I wonder what they actually think when you say you are from the Philippines because some people would be dismissive.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“I honestly think [Filipino American History Month] is an awesome thing. I have a best friend who is Filipino American and she was never really in-tune with her Filipino side. I had the pleasure and the privilege to introduce her to what the FIlipino heritage meant. FAHM means being really excited and happy with who you are as a person, and I definitely see that in my best friend. It makes me really happy to see it in other people, and I understand it is a struggle. But I honestly have the utmost respect for people who are able to be like ‘I’m just myself.’”
How have you found community at UCLA?
“My freshman year, [UCLA Women’s Gymnastics] won the National Championship and it was a huge ‘what the f’ moment and it was a huge reminder that I mattered and I was a part of that. My diversity on the team mattered. My opinions on the team mattered. We wouldn’t have gotten there if we all didn’t have a part in it. That was definitely a memorable time for me. Also, the friends I have now. I was bullied as a kid and I never really had super close friends but I am at a point where I have friends who love me for being me and I love them for being them. We are so proud of each other and we keep pushing each other and it’s a different kind of friendship.”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“For me, there were times I would feel ashamed for being Filipino in a place like UCLA and I would ask myself why I am here because I just disappear in the sea of people. The way I want to leave my mark is I want people to know that they matter. Their backgrounds matter, their experience matters, their opinion matters. No matter what you believe in, where you come from, what you look like, it all has essence to it.”
“I actually identify more on the Filipino side. I don’t consider myself to be American because I grew up in the Philippines my whole life and I moved to the United States my Junior year of High School, still as a Filipino. I left my family behind and came to the United States to study. I think a part of me does identify as American because I have become so assimilated and so in-tune with American culture that it just was very easy for me to get along with everybody in the States.”
“I would say I had a very Westernized upbringing because I learned English primarily as my first language in the Philippines. I went to International School for High School, and gymnastics was a very big part of my life. I represented the Philippines on the Philippine team in the SEA Games and that’s how I found my way to the United States was because of gymnastics. I saw it as a window of opportunity for me to get on the UCLA gymnastics team and I did!”
“I remember when I first came to the United States I definitely sounded more Filipino kind of ‘fresh off the boat’. When I came to the United States my friends would ask, ‘so Sofia you are from the Philippines, do you live in huts?’ or ‘You can’t say orange or stomach properly’ and all of these words made me feel very uncomfortable being in my own skin. I remember where there were times when someone would look down on me just because I was brown and sometimes the minority in the room and it would cross my mind of I wonder what they actually think when you say you are from the Philippines because some people would be dismissive.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“I honestly think [Filipino American History Month] is an awesome thing. I have a best friend who is Filipino American and she was never really in-tune with her Filipino side. I had the pleasure and the privilege to introduce her to what the FIlipino heritage meant. FAHM means being really excited and happy with who you are as a person, and I definitely see that in my best friend. It makes me really happy to see it in other people, and I understand it is a struggle. But I honestly have the utmost respect for people who are able to be like ‘I’m just myself.’”
How have you found community at UCLA?
“My freshman year, [UCLA Women’s Gymnastics] won the National Championship and it was a huge ‘what the f’ moment and it was a huge reminder that I mattered and I was a part of that. My diversity on the team mattered. My opinions on the team mattered. We wouldn’t have gotten there if we all didn’t have a part in it. That was definitely a memorable time for me. Also, the friends I have now. I was bullied as a kid and I never really had super close friends but I am at a point where I have friends who love me for being me and I love them for being them. We are so proud of each other and we keep pushing each other and it’s a different kind of friendship.”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“For me, there were times I would feel ashamed for being Filipino in a place like UCLA and I would ask myself why I am here because I just disappear in the sea of people. The way I want to leave my mark is I want people to know that they matter. Their backgrounds matter, their experience matters, their opinion matters. No matter what you believe in, where you come from, what you look like, it all has essence to it.”
Arlo Alegre (he/him)
2nd year transfer, Geography Major, Statistics and Urban & Regional Studies Minor
2nd year transfer, Geography Major, Statistics and Urban & Regional Studies Minor
What does FAHM mean to you?
“For me it’s really all about highlighting the experiences of Filipino Americans. One of the things I have been struggling with is using the use of Filipinx, Filipino, Pilipino and all that. I feel like I have been stuck in the middle a little bit… I feel like it is important that Filipinx is a word that was made in America. Dictionary.com adding it to their vocabulary is recognizing the struggle that exists in Filipinx American communities. FIlipino is a gender neutral term, but it is also not a yes or no thing. It is a conversation that needs to keep going on because the use of the term is brought about by a lot of factors such as the education system, the knowledge of the language, and the experiences!”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“I want to continue working in the community. Besides PTSP, I am also in Anakbayan and a huge part of what I do is community organizing and really integrating myself in the community. Know the needs of the community and empower the community and really stress their needs and be the one that raises them because they’re the ones experiencing the struggles. They’re the ones who understand or can fully articulate the struggles that they are experiencing. Years from now, I would still want to be serving the community. Whatever I do post-grad in terms of studies, I will always go back to the community struggle, hopefully being with families and friends raising the struggles of the community and how all these systematic things tie together.”
What advice would you give new students?
“As a transfer, because transfers only have 2 to 3 years at UCLA, I can say that you should just try out something even if there’s only a sliver of you that wants to try it out. Although the community is big, there are huge non-intersections that you can explore too! Just go for whatever you are thinking of doing. You will never realize how much you can learn from other people, the communities, and the spaces that you just step into without even fully immersing yourself. Go for it! All of the things I joined in my first year is helping me make those big decisions that I have to think about now.”
“For me it’s really all about highlighting the experiences of Filipino Americans. One of the things I have been struggling with is using the use of Filipinx, Filipino, Pilipino and all that. I feel like I have been stuck in the middle a little bit… I feel like it is important that Filipinx is a word that was made in America. Dictionary.com adding it to their vocabulary is recognizing the struggle that exists in Filipinx American communities. FIlipino is a gender neutral term, but it is also not a yes or no thing. It is a conversation that needs to keep going on because the use of the term is brought about by a lot of factors such as the education system, the knowledge of the language, and the experiences!”
How do you strive to make history in your Pilipinx community? How does your work contribute to the Pilipinx American community at UCLA and beyond?
“I want to continue working in the community. Besides PTSP, I am also in Anakbayan and a huge part of what I do is community organizing and really integrating myself in the community. Know the needs of the community and empower the community and really stress their needs and be the one that raises them because they’re the ones experiencing the struggles. They’re the ones who understand or can fully articulate the struggles that they are experiencing. Years from now, I would still want to be serving the community. Whatever I do post-grad in terms of studies, I will always go back to the community struggle, hopefully being with families and friends raising the struggles of the community and how all these systematic things tie together.”
What advice would you give new students?
“As a transfer, because transfers only have 2 to 3 years at UCLA, I can say that you should just try out something even if there’s only a sliver of you that wants to try it out. Although the community is big, there are huge non-intersections that you can explore too! Just go for whatever you are thinking of doing. You will never realize how much you can learn from other people, the communities, and the spaces that you just step into without even fully immersing yourself. Go for it! All of the things I joined in my first year is helping me make those big decisions that I have to think about now.”
Yana Zamora
2nd year transfer, Philosophy Major, Environmental Systems Minor
2nd year transfer, Philosophy Major, Environmental Systems Minor
Do you identify as Filipino or Filipino American?
“I recently just got my American Citizenship, and I do identify as Filipino American. I was born in [the Philippines], but I moved to the U.S. when I was four. I kept going back and between the Philippines and America, so I feel very in touch with my culture beyond just the language. But I also feel in touch with it because of the community here because of UCLA and I also found at Historic Filipino Town.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“It means honoring our history. I took SPACE internship so it’s really ingrained in me to ‘K(no)w History, K(no)w Self’ and the lessons that I took from that class I really tried to implement in the projects I worked on in how it started and who it’s benefitting and who it’s helping and serving. Like many history months, it’s for the people to be recognized for the community as well as honoring our culture and our history.”
What are you dreams and aspirations?
“My biggest dream is to be a lawyer, and to be able to give back somehow to my mom and buy her a house is like number one on my list. I want to be an environmental lawyer for a clean energy firm or more public interest. My boss from my previous job worked at a non-profit and she was helping people at Historic FIlipino Town not get evicted during the pandemic and I really valued that work. In ten years I hope that I’m practicing law and I am doing a lot of pro bono work in immigration because that’s a cause I truly value.”
Why did you transfer to UCLA? How is your transfer experience?
“I transferred in last year and one of the main reasons I transferred was because of PTSP. I was so nervous trying to find community on campus as a transfer, but then I found it and they made me SIR. I’ve been involved there. I’m the social coordinator there and we have been trying to plan events for the community to keep them engaged during this time especially to support them. I am also the President of the Pilipinx Pre-Law Pipeline. I love this org, it’s a very new org that started in 2019. The mission highlights the lack of representation in law. Filipino Americans aren’t represented there. There are only about 11% that are attorneys, and that’s crazy. It’s an organization that empowers students to pursue careers in law because it’s a hard field to get into but it’s not impossible for people of color.”
“I transferred in from Pasadena City College. Straight out of high school I went to a four-year University, San Francisco State, but left because it was cold, gloomy, and too expensive. My time at community college was split between working full-time and going to school and saving money. Coming into UCLA, or even just getting my acceptance letter, I was already hit with imposter syndrome and asked myself ‘Did they get the address right?’ or ‘Is this the right person?’ and then I was very nervous about finding community college and how I would perform.... Having to reconcile my fears that I actually got in and just believing in myself. It was hard at first, but because I found my community I felt very supported and I felt like I really did belong here.”
What advice would you give new students?
“Be intentional with what you do. What is your intention? Is it for yourself or is it for your community? Are you trying to be in service for other people, or is it to glorify yourself? That really shows whenever you are doing something. Having good intentions is very important to me personally."
“Don’t be shy. An idea will stay an idea if you don’t partner it with action and talking with someone about . That’s where community comes in, tell your community your ideas so you can bring it into action and don’t be shy about it. UCLA, we all belong here and we all have big brains. It can be done for sure, you just have to put your idea forward.”
“I recently just got my American Citizenship, and I do identify as Filipino American. I was born in [the Philippines], but I moved to the U.S. when I was four. I kept going back and between the Philippines and America, so I feel very in touch with my culture beyond just the language. But I also feel in touch with it because of the community here because of UCLA and I also found at Historic Filipino Town.”
What does FAHM mean to you?
“It means honoring our history. I took SPACE internship so it’s really ingrained in me to ‘K(no)w History, K(no)w Self’ and the lessons that I took from that class I really tried to implement in the projects I worked on in how it started and who it’s benefitting and who it’s helping and serving. Like many history months, it’s for the people to be recognized for the community as well as honoring our culture and our history.”
What are you dreams and aspirations?
“My biggest dream is to be a lawyer, and to be able to give back somehow to my mom and buy her a house is like number one on my list. I want to be an environmental lawyer for a clean energy firm or more public interest. My boss from my previous job worked at a non-profit and she was helping people at Historic FIlipino Town not get evicted during the pandemic and I really valued that work. In ten years I hope that I’m practicing law and I am doing a lot of pro bono work in immigration because that’s a cause I truly value.”
Why did you transfer to UCLA? How is your transfer experience?
“I transferred in last year and one of the main reasons I transferred was because of PTSP. I was so nervous trying to find community on campus as a transfer, but then I found it and they made me SIR. I’ve been involved there. I’m the social coordinator there and we have been trying to plan events for the community to keep them engaged during this time especially to support them. I am also the President of the Pilipinx Pre-Law Pipeline. I love this org, it’s a very new org that started in 2019. The mission highlights the lack of representation in law. Filipino Americans aren’t represented there. There are only about 11% that are attorneys, and that’s crazy. It’s an organization that empowers students to pursue careers in law because it’s a hard field to get into but it’s not impossible for people of color.”
“I transferred in from Pasadena City College. Straight out of high school I went to a four-year University, San Francisco State, but left because it was cold, gloomy, and too expensive. My time at community college was split between working full-time and going to school and saving money. Coming into UCLA, or even just getting my acceptance letter, I was already hit with imposter syndrome and asked myself ‘Did they get the address right?’ or ‘Is this the right person?’ and then I was very nervous about finding community college and how I would perform.... Having to reconcile my fears that I actually got in and just believing in myself. It was hard at first, but because I found my community I felt very supported and I felt like I really did belong here.”
What advice would you give new students?
“Be intentional with what you do. What is your intention? Is it for yourself or is it for your community? Are you trying to be in service for other people, or is it to glorify yourself? That really shows whenever you are doing something. Having good intentions is very important to me personally."
“Don’t be shy. An idea will stay an idea if you don’t partner it with action and talking with someone about . That’s where community comes in, tell your community your ideas so you can bring it into action and don’t be shy about it. UCLA, we all belong here and we all have big brains. It can be done for sure, you just have to put your idea forward.”
PAHM 2022 COMMITTEE
The PAHM Committee is the operating body in charge of the planning and execution of the annual Pilipinx American History Month Celebration at UCLA during the month of October.
KAYLEN REESE GAPUZ
Interim PAHM 2022 Project Coordinator |
PHILIP EMMANUEL JEREZA
PAHM Assistant Project Coordinator
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ALYSSA COSICO
PAHM Assistant Project Coordinator
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MIA MONTILLANO
PAHM Assistant Project Coordinator
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