The Philippines is a country of more than 7000 separate islands and islets. Filipino students at Central practice their culture by participating in the arts, following religions and living their daily life with their families. 

A club based on the diverse Filipino culture was established at Central: Filipino Club. It was founded by Aidan Barbaran, junior, and the club’s sponsor is Jennifer Cave, social worker. 

Barbaran was surprised to find out that there wasn’t a Filipino club, and seeing as it was Filipino-American History Month at the time, he decided to make a club centering on Filipino culture.

“I felt that I should step in to create the club myself for my peers and fellow Filipino students at Central,” Barbaran said.

Cave herself is a first generation Filipino-American, and she plans on letting others share their cultural experiences and creating a welcoming environment in which people can feel recognized and seen. She doesn’t want others at Central to feel alone in their culture, so she found it vital that this club be established to create a supportive community. 

“Students will be able to build their community and feel connected to one another since they will have lots of commonalities,” Cave said. “This will also be an infinity space for students, an open space for them to come and feel included.”

Specifically, the club will involve sharing personal experiences, recipes and cooking instructions for Filipino foods, language/dialect lessons, historical presentations and other lessons connected to Filipino culture.

The current board members of Filipino club are Jacob Villanueva, junior, Elizabeth Lahmann, senior, Phoebe Teoli, junior, and Nate Lin, junior. 

“Filipino culture has always played a significant role in my upbringing, as I am half Filipino,” Teoli said.  “I actively engage in various Filipino cultural traditions, such as participating in cultural dances outside of school and attending Filipino social gatherings.”

She wanted to join the club to become more connected with Filipino culture and that aspect of her identity.

“I look forward to the informative sessions, enjoyable games, and…the ethnic fair, an optional event that enhanced the Filipino club experience,” Teoli said. “Through this club, I aim to contribute to helping others understand more of the Filipino culture.”

As of now, there has been one meeting on Dec. 4 and an upcoming one on Dec. 18. This club is not only for students who are Filipino, but it is also for students who want to learn more about foreign cultures in general.