biculturalism: ayaka dohi.

Being Filipino American to me means being resilient and building community. Resiliency comes from my mother who moved to the United States in the early 1990s to work a job and to save money so that she can bring her two daughters to the United States to have a good education.With that came many sacrifices including working low-paying jobs learning a new languageIn a country where she knew no one. One of the Tagalog words that comes to mind when I think of my mom had a similar to resiliency is matapang, Which also means hard core and stubborn. The other is building community. When I move to the United States, titas and titos, who were not my blood relatives welcomed me into their homes and their communities and i know that we could not have made it in America without them. This is what it means to be Filipino-American.

Learn more about Ayaka!

​​College: Gonzaga University '13
What is she up to now? Ayaka is an Assistant Director of Admissions at Whitworth University., grad student, and a furry animal mama (caretaker of four cats and one crazy dog). Her passion is to work towards social justice including making colleges accessible, creating inclusive spaces and celebrations, and bring about racial equity.