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Second-gen FilAms and the constant struggle to prove their parents’ move to America was ‘not in vain’
By Christian Catiis Being raised by immigrant parents in the suburbs of a predominantly Caucasian neighborhood, I struggled with preserving my Filipino identity. My Filipino mother had her sight set on emigrating to the U.S to accomplish her American Dream. Unknown to her at the time, she would later set a foundation of success not […]
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JCI North Jersey kids send love to the troops
By Cristina DC Pastor How well do mothers and daughters work together? In the case of Rahway, N.J. mother of five Joyce Andes-David and her oldest daughter, Jazmine, they work best when community teamwork is at stake. Joyce and Jazmine put their heads together when conceptualizing a monthly activity for JCI North Jersey, a newly […]
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Has ‘crab mentality’ crept into the ranks of second generation FilAms? (Part 3)
By Kristina Rodulfo During a meeting at NYU, I met with Ronald Rapatalo, the 1995-1996 president of the NYU’s International Filipino Association, where I was president. IFA started in 1985 originally as an intramural campus basketball team and evolved into a full-fledged organization with educational, cultural and social programming. Rapatalo told me of his involvement […]
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Leadership burnout: Why youth lose interest in community organizing after graduation (Part 2)
By Kristina Rodulfo That last point on collaboration hangs in limbo most, according to former FIND leaders. One time National Director Steven Raga recalled proposing to expand FIND to Southern California in 2007. His idea was rejected because of restrictions supposedly related to FIND’s 501c3 nonprofit status. No such status existed; FIND only recently achieved […]
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INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING PROJECT: Campus organizations no longer breeding ground for future leaders: The story of FIND, Inc. (Part 1)
By Kristina Rodulfo The sounds of cheers, chants and chaos you hear at any opening ceremony of a FIND Inc. conference draw striking resemblance to a sports game. The bi-annual gatherings for Filipino American college students on the East Coast feel like pep rallies, with each of FIND’s seven districts excitedly reciting prepared, coordinated anthems. […]
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A Balikbayan Manifesto
Last year, about a dozen fellows from Kaya Collaborative spent some time in the Philippines to learn about the country of their parents and a culture that seemed vague to some and complex to others. For several months, they lived with host families and relatives, got to shake hands with government officials, had conversations with […]
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Kabataang Makabayan as the proverbial Boomer at 50: Are its ideals still relevant?
By Cristina DC Pastor On November 30, 1964, a geeky-looking student leader from UP founded the Kabataang Makabayan (KM), visioning it as a network of youth with socialist ideals who would be part of a campaign for a “Philippine revolution against foreign and feudal domination.” That revolution sought to establish a country led not by […]
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FIND’s Fall Dialogue throws challenge to students: ‘Ikaw Na: Your Move’
The Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND, Inc.) is pleased to announce this year’s Fall Dialogue, themed “Ikaw Na: Your Move.” The conference will be held on November 15, 2014 at Steven’s Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Dialogue joins the national conference series initiated by Pilipino American Unity For Progress (UniPro), Fil-Am Young Leaders […]
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For all that they share, the Filipino-American and the Filipino are ‘worlds apart’
By Daniel Griffith Looking outside the plexiglass window was, almost, a mistake. Our visibility was limited by the dense, charcoal-colored clouds that obscured life down below. As we circled the city, lightning struck at three-second intervals, accompanied by booming reports echoing into the dusk. My heart beat with a mixture of emotions: one part anxiety, […]