It's been a WEEK since we last saw y'all! If you miss FIERCE and all your friends, mentees, and mentors--here's a video recap of last weekend.
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This is Kenneth. Kenneth is one of the Co-Outreach Chairs which means he is one of the people that basically coordinates the whole program. They choose committee, delegate tasks and work with each other to ensure the success of the program. He is our FIERCE papa. | When did you start planning FIERCE? Jess and I started meeting for FIERCE literally a week after we got elected into our position. In terms of hours we put in not too sure but we met often during our summer vacation break. Throughout the quarter we also got to meet up and to go over tasks. Why is FIERCE important? FIERCE is not only a program but a movement. This is something that i think that we have to continuously keep on pushing to make sure that students feel the empowerment of doing something amazing in their lives. This is so important to allow Filipinx high school student widen their thought process of college and Not only on the educational aspect but to also to make their cultural identity meaningful. Why do you put in the work that you do/What motivates you? Reading they mentees apps and making sure that this is the best possible experience for them. I feel that i have been blessed with an opportunity to then share my experience through college. I want to make it known that success is a jagged route that is attainable for anyone that works hard. How have you grown from this experience? I think this is has really taught me about passion and what determination can do. I have become more vocal and taking more initiative with task and delegating them among our members. What are you most excited about for this year's FIERCE? The thing that I am most excited for FIERCE is definitely see the mentees and meeting them. I am looking forward to the workshops, Jess and I have put lots of thought into revamping our workshops as well. |
This is Jess. She is the other Co-Outreach chair and she works very hard to make sure committee stays on track with tasks and answers all the questions we may have. She has been involved with FIERCE since her 1st year of college. She's our FIERCE mom. | When did you start planning FIERCE? Kenneth and I started planning F.I.E.R.C.E. the week after we got elected. Back in the summer, we were so hands on with planning that we’d have three hour meetings and constantly throw ideas around. Actually this never stopped. We still have really long meetings sometimes! (xDDD LOL <3) Why is FIERCE important? FIERCE is so much more than a 2-day program on our campus. It provides our community, the opportunity to explore their Filipinx identity as it intersects with American institutions. It empowers our youth to overcome their obstacles despite any socioeconomic barriers or self-doubt. Why do you put in the work that you do/What motivates you? F.I.E.R.C.E. is only in its fourth year and everyone who participates brings our mission to new heights. I am motivated by the passion surrounding this program. Our program is so impactful because it capitalizes off of this raw energy. It continues to be the most passion-driven project I’ve participated in. I WOULD DIE FOR F.I.E.R.C.E. How have you grown from this experience? Working on F.I.E.R.C.E. for almost the past two years has really pushed me as an individual. The nature of outreach is that you have to work with external organizations/schools who don’t see why what you’re doing is important. A lot of people will tell you you can’t do something or they don’t want to help. I’ve learned to push myself, to stand up for what I believe in, and to uphold the values of our mission despite these challenges. The opportunity to do all these things has been so humbling. What are you most excited about for this year's FIERCE? My favorite part about F.I.E.R.C.E. is that students join because they want to learn about higher education, financial aid, or the UC system but they leave learning so much more about their culture, community, and self. I’m excited for first-time mentors and mentees to transition from the former mentality to the latter. ( \ ;_____; / ) |
This is Nikki Sanjongco. She is one of the Co-Finance Chairs. She seeks out funds from on campus organizations and donors to make sure FIERCE is free for all students that attend. This year she got the program fully funded by May! She goes above and beyond her tasks and we are all so proud of her. | Why is FIERCE important? FIERCE is important because it's a way for us as college students to take everything that we've learned on the way to where we are now and transform those experiences into a program that seeks to strengthen Filipinx-Americans as an entire community. It's such a meaningful way for us to recognize how our education is a privilege while addressing flaws in the system, and then use that to support Fil-Am high school students so that we can build each other up and achieve success as a group of people. This program allows everyone involved to explore what opportunities they have now, the potential opportunities they can create for themselves in the future, and the opportunities they can provide for others. Why do you put in the work that you do/What motivates you? I do this because I have known so many amazing people who have big dreams and passions but struggled with the process of getting to higher education from high school, and it really hurt them to think they couldn’t achieve or be as great because of individual barriers or because they didn’t have correct/thorough information, and that’s something that I never want to see again. I just sometimes think about how lucky I am to be here and to feel like I belong somewhere (bc of KP) and I just want to show high school students that were like me that the opportunities are endless and there is so much to life!! Every time I think “oh wow this is a lot of work,” I remember that FIERCE is by far the most meaningful thing I’ve been involved in and how I can do something that has an impact on people outside of my own world and I can’t help but be motivated about it! How have you grown from this experience? I’ve grown in that I am so much more passionate about what I can do to help other people and the ways that I can improve other people’s worldview and it’s so inspiring to me! Also I’ve become more aware of the ways I am and have been both privileged and disadvantaged due to the different aspects of my identity/experience, which is super good to know. |
This is Ericalyn, she is one of the External Affairs chair persons. This means that her job is to get in contact with the schools that we outreach to and plan the presentation. She is only a 1st year college student but has already developed into a wonderful student leader and is always looking for ways to grow. | Why is FIERCE important? I gotta admit that I didn’t even see myself going to college let alone a UC post high school. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to college, I just had no idea what I was going to do once I graduated from high school. It was me who wanted to search up colleges… to search up what I needed to accomplish to get in and to ask my counselor what classes I should be taking. If I was given the opportunity to go to a university, spend the night in the dorms, go through academic AND cultural workshops to discover my options in higher education then I would say YES IN A HEART BEAT. FIERCE allows Filipinx students to rediscover their own culture and undergo workshops that opens the door to many possibilities, which is why this outreach program is so important. Why do you put in the work that you do/What motivates you? I applied for FCOMM for the purpose of giving back to my Filipinx community and connecting with people in KP that i’ve never met/talked to before. I don’t know man there’s just something about putting hours of work into a program like FIERCE (that you’re so passionate about) and then seeing it impact so many students’ lives that just makes you wanna go “Wow I did that” or “Wow I strive for people’s happiness.” What motivates me the most is not that I get to see myself grow as an individual, but I get to see others who are younger than me discover something that I had to go out there and look for myself. How have you grown from this experience? I’m not really sure how much I’ve grown because sometimes I forget to look back at the type of person I was before I applied and got the position on FCOMM. However, I definitely can say that at the first meeting I was very nervous and scared that I wouldn’t meet Jess and Kenneth’s expectations as an external affairs chair, but now I’m more confident in myself with presenting new ideas and handling important tasks. |
I hope in some ways this blog post helps showcase some of the work our committee members do and I hope to have inspired readers to go out there and work for the things that drive their passion.
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