Equity & Inclusion

‘Daly City is basically Manilatown’- words that my white classmates said in the school hallways. I looked down in shame, but as I stared out the window and saw Karl the fog rolling in, I remembered the anecdote my parents shared with me that ‘the fog is all the Filipinos cooking rice’. I no longer felt shame in being surrounded by a community that looked like me. 

As a first generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am incredibly lucky to have been exposed to Ethnic Studies and social justice work that is rooted in the community. Through volunteering as a translator for elderly manongs and manangs as they share their stories in Tagalog at Bayanihan Equity Center in San Francisco, and showing younger Filipino American students that higher education is attainable by being a program lead for the non-profit AAMPLIFY, the stories these younger and elderly Filipinos shared the same sentiments and dreams that my parents had, to give back to our family, back to our kapwa, and back to our community; all upon the driving purpose of love.

Filipinos are resilient, and I choose to be resilient by leading with love. Being able to pay homage to the servant leaders who came before me in my work, such as Larry Itliong, has allowed me to be part of something greater than myself. Itliong, a Filipino American labor movement leader in the Delano grape strikes, proved that making noise and centering leadership around the people ensures that community remains in the hands of the community. Inspired by the movements towards intergenerational healing and solidarity work, my work in public service is rooted in leading with love; because of my love for my family, my love for Ethnic Studies, my love for my community, and my love for my Filipino identity.

- Abigail VerinoASUC President 25-26, Pilipinx & Southeast Asian Community ASUC Senator 24-25