Could you introduce yourself to us and give us a fun fact about yourself?
I'm Dawson Par, I am a computer science major and the president of the Andrews Filipino International Association. I'm a third year in college and an interesting fact about me would be that for the first time this year, I was able to join an online conference that features Filipino American History Month. It was done by Tik Tok actually, and it was very interesting to learn how Filipinos fit into the tech industry. That's something relevant to me and I found that interesting.
What made you want to be president and what are some of your plans for the club this year?
So when I initially came to Andrews, I was introduced to AUAFIA because they said hey, you shoot videos, you should become a videographer for us. And I said sure. From there, I really learned from the president at the time, Justin Flores. Ever since then, I've been really passionate about engaging with the Filipino community here at Andrews and that's what led to me becoming president-elect then and now president. For Filipino American History month, we just had our AUAFIA Sabbath which was in partnership with the lamp church, and we're also having a potluck that incorporates the community's entrees, and everyone’s invited. And then there's things like kinetic worship, and for the first time we will be holding a pickleball tournament at the end of this month.
What is your favorite thing about Filipino culture?
It's very warm and welcoming. Those are the two words that have the most significance to Filipino culture for me because of my experiences with my family and churches. I always have a sense of community.
Do you feel that sense of community here on campus as well?
Yes, I do, but you kind of have to break into it. It was a little bit of a struggle for me personally when I entered Andrews as a freshman because I really had to find where the group was and where my culture was. I will admit that the Filipino community tends to hang out within itself. So although we do welcome anyone and everyone in, sometimes you actively have to go search for the community and it's not automatically like ‘Oh, hey, come join us.’ Once
you approach them it's fine, but it's hard to approach the members at times.
Earlier, you talked about Filipinos in the tech industry, and you’re also a computer science major. Can you tell us more about that?
It's interesting because although we aren't the most underrepresented group, we are still a minority in the tech industry. And companies such as TikTok or Amazon have made it a point to have culture families and groups within the company to really incorporate community, so people in the same culture can hang out or just have a sense of ‘hey, there's other people like me here.’ And for me, it was really interesting that larger scale companies would care about something like that. It’s cool that they’ve begun incorporating this into their work culture.
Have you faced any difficulties being a member of an underrepresented group in your major?
I personally don't think about it that often because in my field as a computer science major, a lot of the return is the amount of effort you put in. If you don't do projects or do your homework and just practice coding it's not really fruitful, but I don't think my minority status plays a large role in that.
What is your favorite Filipino food?
I went to the Philippines this summer actually, and oh my goodness, I still think about this food: chicken inasal. The way they fry it, the seasoning, it’s so good. I think about the chicken and I immediately want to go back because I want to eat it again so badly. So definitely chicken inasal is one of my favorite dishes.
Do you have any Filipino role models that you look up to? Any celebrities?
So from a smaller perspective, I really look up to my parents and what they're able to do as immigrants and how much work that they put in by moving from the Philippines to America. They’ve really helped their family back home and also developed one here in the States. They are probably my biggest role models. Outside of that, when it comes to celebrities, there's so many to pick from but I can't really relate to them. So I'd say more or less my parents are my celebrities.
Since your parents are immigrants and you grew up here in the states, how do you connect with your Filipino culture?
Okay, funny that you mentioned that, because in my household, my parents speak to me in their native languages (Ilocano and Tagalog) and I can fully understand it. But I don't speak it fluently. And if an auntie or uncle were to speak to me, I can understand what they're saying and communicate back to them. I think language plays a very vital role in my culture, and there’s many dialects in certain groups in Filipino culture. For example, my dad speaks Ilocano and my mom speaks Tagalog. Whenever I go to church, my aunties and uncles are like, oh, do you understand that? And I say yes, I do, but I can’t speak it back to them. That is the struggle that I've had. But other than that, I'm trying to learn my mom’s and dad’s specialty dishes because I feel like they have a lot of pride in their Filipino dishes. And I'd like to carry that on and possibly pass it on to future generations.
What foods do you know how to make?
I do know how to make pancit, that’s from my mom's side. I want to name something impressive, but Filipino dishes are usually very simple, except whenever you cook a Filipino dish and want to know the measurements of the ingredients and everyone will say to just eyeball it, and obviously everyone is different. And sometimes one family will use a particular ingredient in a dish but another household doesn’t. So anything could be simple, but also complicated. I know how to make a lot of simple dishes, though.
For anyone who is interested in joining AUAFIA, what would you say?
I think one of the most unique highlights of AUAFIA is that we really try to make it a point to welcome everyone, whether you're undergraduate, graduate, Filipino, or non-Filipino. You're all welcome to all of our events, and a lot of our events are food centric. So if you're looking for food other than what the Cafe has to offer on a Saturday, just come to our kinetic worship and we'll be happy to serve you and make you feel welcome in our community.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.