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6-year-old Caydence Pinola-de Leon speaks out vs bullying
By Vicky Vitug “I’m calling on all of you! I need you to take a stand to help stop and prevent bullying. If you see something, say something to an adult or trusted guardian. Share laughter and share a smile. Always be kind to others.” If there’s a TED Talks for kids, Caydence Pinola-de Leon, a 6-year-old student […]
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PFAY: Young Jersey FilAms carve out their own safe space
By Cristina DC Pastor Lauren Lalicon threw herself into PFAY – or the Professional Filipino American Youth — in 2017 without much of a plan or a second thought. The following year, she began working for the office of Tammy Murphy, the First Lady of New Jersey, as a policy director. Then, she got engaged. […]
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Leila Policarpio: Representing N.Y. State at the Macy’s marching band
By Cristina DC Pastor Every year since she was a kid, Leila Policarpio, her parents and elder sister would watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade, the world’s largest,on NBC. The morning tradition usually begins with the East Hills, New York family getting up for a special holiday breakfast and then turning on the TV for a […]
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The day Harvard Radio played 11 hours of Filipino music
By Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara I am a Filipino immigrant. I was born, raised, and lived in the Philippines for 11 years. My mother and I arrived here in America in 2011. My mother is a certified nursing assistant (CNA) doing the job of domestic caregiving, which is the arduous and literally back-breaking work that […]
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The deaf can hear the love
By Vicky Potenciano-Vitug It was a Broadway-style performance with Filipino children and young adults, singing, dancing and acting. But for the unaware, they would not suspect “Musical Reflections” — streamed online on March 18 — had a cast of mostly deaf children! It was a surprise for me to see that the deaf could perform like […]
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Teen author Casey Giles publishes two fiction books
Casey Giles, the only child of a Filipina immigrant and a fifth-generation Texan, has published her first novel titled, “Indifferents,” last November of 2019, followed quickly by its sequel “Indigo Fading,” which was released on December 25, 2020. She had her book launch and signing event on March 6, 2021, in Sugarland, Texas with proceeds […]
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6th-grader’s essay comparing 9/11 and COVID wins 1st place
By Grethel Bolandrina “Sadly, COVID-19 and 9/11 have also provoked discrimination within people of different races. 9/11 turned a few people against Muslims and the Coronavirus against the Chinese. If there’s one good thing that came out of these disastrous events, it would be that the world and people came together for each other. Citizens […]
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Kids groan the discomfort of wearing masks but warn ‘COVID can give you tummy aches’
By Cristina DC Pastor Kids say the darndest things; they also dispense the wisest advice. Zed Alexander Payumo, 7, stressed the importance of wearing a mask because “COVID can make you sick and give you tummy aches.” A second grader at Success Academy Hudson Yards, Zed, however, is a little bummed that people have to […]
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First-time voter Sophia Policarpio: Thrilled, independent, undecided
By Cristina DC Pastor There are two things that get Sophia Policarpio excited and anxious at the same time: Being an incoming freshman at Stony Brook University and a first-time voter in the November 3rd elections. On turning 18, she registered to vote in her East Hills neighborhood in Long Island, thrilled at the thought […]