A Bridge Between Two Worlds Reflections on being the UNP Hartland Partnership Center’s Youth Coordinator

For most of my life, I’ve struggled with my dual identity of being a Filipino and an American. In many ways, my Asian roots and my Western upbringing were at odds with each other. I remember how hard it was for me growing up and how hard it still is for me to express myself freely. I always second guess myself and question whether my voice counts.

That’s why I work at the UNP Hartland Partnership Youth Center. I think in many ways we want to provide a safe place for the youth who are new to America to engage with others while respecting their various backgrounds and allowing them to hold on to their roots. Helping them find their voice, their uniqueness, their strengths, and helping them to express themselves. My position as the Youth Program Coordinator is the bridge between these two worlds. I feel like I am well-suited because I know where these youth are coming from and my hope is to be a connector to higher education.

My parents immigrated to America with big dreams. Not for themselves, but for their children. Even though they are both college graduates, they took jobs that even high school graduates qualify for just so they could provide a better life for my brother and me. I remember my father working two jobs while my mother tried to run a home business.

They worked hard to give my brother and me the best opportunities available even if it meant that all their money was going into our tuition for private school. Education was so important to them that even if it meant working twice as hard, my parents did whatever it took to send me and my brother to Catholic school because at that time, Catholic schools provided better education and a safer learning environment than public schools.

After school enrichment programs were critical to my upbringing. I engaged in school sports, youth groups, and reading clubs to occupy my time until my parents returned from work. It was there that I learned to engage with other youth my age who come from different backgrounds. My Catholic school had a diverse population of students who came from working class or lower middle class families. I remember qualifying for free lunch while growing up. Working at Hartland seems like a natural fit because I am a child of immigrant parents.

Not many people can understand how difficult it is to leave behind everything you’ve ever known and come to a new place where everything is foreign and alien to you. How do you navigate through such a place without any bearings, without the basic skills or knowledge, or without anyone to show you the way? Your own parents are as lost as you are and are figuring things out as well. I feel like I faced similar struggles as the youth that I am employed to serve. They remind me every day how important my roots are.

This is why Hartland is so special.