'Kapit Bisig' | Together in Unity

Co-Coordinator

Throughout the 2021-2022 academic year, I was Filipino Culture Night (FCN) 2022 Co-Coordinator for the Philippine Student Association UIUC alongside my co-chair Abbie Mondala. Our theme was Kapit Bisig, literally meaning 'holding hands together'. By bringing together the PSA and greater UIUC community for a celebration of Filipino and Asian/Asian-American culture, we aimed to highlight the diversity of not only the Asian/Asian-American community on campus, but also the Filipino/Filipino-American community and the ways in which we celebrate our culture, while also cementing our solidarity and support towards groups in the Philippines struggling with typhoon relief.

At the end of the school year, I organized and produced a zine/booklet with contributions from the PSA Community. This collaborative project is a small but powerful collection of art and poetry celebrating Filipino/Filipino-American culture, and I am greatly indebted to the artists & writers of PSA for their amazing work. Their accounts are linked below:

• @ariannaua
• @str4wberry_jam (my ading 🙌🏼💚)
• @ypartistry
• @samaniego__