Walking into the classroom, you see people filling seats and posters of food and flags across the walls representing more than just a culture, but a community. As you sit down looking at the front of the room, its colorful slideshow and excited officers give you an idea of what this meeting is going to bring. 

Filipinx Culture Club holds meetings every other Wednesday in room 213. Treasurer Emma Yabut has been in the club for three years and this is her first year being an officer. Through the view of an officer, she told me that this club is very catered to who shows up, with occasional activities to do as a group.

“A club meeting runs just based off the people that are there and what we’re doing if it’s interactive with our club members,” Yabut says. The officers are very flexible and don’t mind sudden changes in their agenda, as they are just there to have fun and connect with their members.

This club makes a very positive impact on others, even if they aren’t Filipino. They are very welcoming and really just want to spread the culture and awareness.

“One of our board members are just Chinese. They aren’t even Filipino but since they’re friends with a lot of Filipino members, like me and Alexandria, she wants to expand on her cultural differences,” Yabut says.

This club not only brings Filipinos together, but people of other ethnicities and identities as well. With their many strengths, something that Yabut mentioned on wanting to improve on is being able to build stronger relationships with the members, and getting to know each other on a more personal level. 

A frequent member of this club is Chloe Olympia. She’s also been in the club for three years, and got introduced to it by her older sister who was a member during her time here. 

Being Filipina, she learned the importance of Filipino heritage and how it connects us to our ancestors. Things such as learning languages, cooking food, and storytelling all tie into our culture in a way that makes us remember where we came from, while honoring the past.

This club is a part of that and impacts Filipino students in an amazing way. “It definitely connects me back to the Philippines and really reflects on how privileges here are not translated to the ones in the Philippines, and I get to really see how some of my aunts and uncles really live there in their lifestyle overall,” Olympia says.

This club is a huge way on how students spread awareness about Filipino culture and experiences. “It definitely shows, not only just original cultures, but improving and modern cultures that are coming up not only from the Philippines, but for Filipino Americans within this high school community,” Olympia says.

People being able to use this club as an outlet to express themselves can really improve the bond between Filipinos, students, and the community, while informing others about our culture.