J-Term Trip 2023 to the Philippines

January 4-19, 2023

Manila → Dumaguete → Kalibo → Boracay

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. At a Glance 2
Trip Description 2
ANNEX A: Trip Itinerary + Overview (with Pictures) 5

II. Reflections 10
Key Takeaways 3
ANNEX B: Individual Trip Participant Reflections 12

IV. Looking to the Future 30

HPF 2023-24 Board Members 30

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I. At A Glance

Trip Description

Every year, the Harvard Philippine Forum holds a roughly two-week-long community
service and educational trip to the Philippines this J-term, from January 3rd to January
19th, focusing on the three pillars of HPF: education, service, and culture. This year,
while in the Philippines, we had the opportunity to work with various service
organizations, from to medical missions (New England PMA), advise high school and
college students (Ateneo, UP, and Silliman University), and meet with some inspiring
Filipino leaders (Maria Ressa and Leni Robredo). Participants also had the chance to
explore various cultures within the Philippines, visiting Manila, Dumaguete City, Aklan,,
and Boracay and getting a glimpse of all the beauty that the Philippines has to offer.

The goal of the trip was to develop a deeper understanding of the rich and diverse
Filipino culture in Luzon and some parts of the Visayas by engaging with locals, meeting
young people, visiting vital cultural sites, and immersing in local service activities to
develop cross-cultural competencies and develop a sense of identity and community.

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II. Reflections
Key Takeaways

❖ The key to long-standing and sustainable community service is to fully immerse yourself in the
community you’re working for—get to know the people in the community, what issues they care
about, what problems are plaguing them, and how one can help, considering their perspectives as
a guide for your actions. Members of a community who have experienced the community’s
problems themselves are best fit to give their viewpoints on what solutions should be.
❖ Another key to long-standing and sustainable community service is to develop a love and
appreciation for the country itself. Service, in its core, is the sharing and spreading of love.
❖ The service is only “self-serving” if we make it that way. We’re interested to check in with
everyone, every year, to see what impact the trip is making/has made on their lives, and how
they’re continuing to use it as a guiding star to incorporate service into the work they do.
❖ We cannot discount the hope we give people in the communities we visit. As we learned more
about the Philippine government, we observed misalignments between what issues the
government believed required their attention and what issues were actually plaguing the
community. Even when interests are aligned, the solution the government comes up with does not
often reach the most far-flung and rural communities (for instance, we found that COVID relief
money still did not reach the Banilad barangay we delivered water to through our service with
Silliman water). Although we believed that the service we did was not enough, and it certainly
wasn’t, the hope we brought through our visit that there was a group of people, or even an
institution, representing their voices and willing to advocate for the issues plaguing their
communities was a positive ramification we all agreed on.
❖ It is very difficult to make a long-lasting change in two weeks, but it is more important what
happens after the trip. After reflecting on the trip and making connections with these different
communities, we take back with us these experiences and hopefully get to share them with our
own communities, whether at home or at Harvard. For Fil-Ams, this trip holds a deep-rooted
place in our hearts because we all have the opportunity to reconnect with the motherland and
regain a newfound sense of identity. For others, it serves as a way to immerse themselves in a
new culture, kindle a newfound appreciation for it, and spread awareness of Philippine culture as
ambassadors and issues concerning the Philippines as advocates.

Most meaningful/impactful experiences

❖ Silliman Conference — hearing from local high schoolers and college students about their
experiences; bonding over our shared experiences as youth in an increasingly globalized world,
identifying ways that we can unite to address today’s challenges, and reflecting on the fact that
although we may come from different education systems, curiosity and passion are universal
among members of our generation.
❖ YATTA — witnessing the brilliance of Filipino youth & their capacity to wield art for social
change.

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❖ PMA — engaging with both the children and the elders of a historically marginalized community
in Kalibo, and comparing the reality of their experiences to the version on display at Ati-Atihan.

Several Board members are considering returning for the summer

❖ Eleanor will be back to conduct senior thesis research on the epistemic and transpacific legacy of
the U.S. colonial education system in the Philippines — in particular, the connection between the
historical role of Harvard affiliates in the design of English-only instruction and the current lack
of Tagalog course offerings at the College. Her aim is to secure Tagalog courses at Harvard before
she graduates in May 2024. She will be conducting archival research at Ateneo and ethnographic
research at Silliman, connections which were largely fostered through her participation on the
trip.
❖ Miggy is hoping to work with local venture capital leaders so that he is equipped to promote
social progress in the Philippines through economic development in his future career. He was
particularly motivated by the dinner with Jaime Alfonso and the pathbreaking work of the Ayala
Corporation.
❖ Francis is hoping to work for Rappler and contribute his skill set in computer science to advance
their technical/coding work on identifying and combatting disinformation. He cited the group’s
meeting with Maria Ressa as one of the most inspirational moments of his life.

Support for the next trip

❖ Partnerships with organizations working on a local, regional, or even national level

❖ Opportunities for longer-term connections that are sustainable
➢ Developed email list with all contacts
➢ Some members have already reached out to those we worked with
➢ More direct contact between HCPG and HPF
➢ Opportunities for members to work with the organizations after the trip ends
❖ Continued assistance in securing accommodations and transportation in advance of trip
❖ Contingency plans in the places we visit in the case of emergencies

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ANNEX A: Trip Itinerary + Overview

January 4-8: The Manila Leg of the Trip

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January 8-13: The Dumaguete Leg of the Trip

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January 13-18: The Kalibo + Boracay Legs of the Trip

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ANNEX A: Individual Trip Participant Reflections

Alessandro Barbiellini Amidei

Brookline, MA | Mathematics and Economics, Class of 2025

As a half-Filipino born and raised in the United States, there always

existed a separation between the Philippines and me. Even though my
Filipino mother tried to raise me on Tagalog and occasionally Bikol and
instill within my sister and me a solid Filipino identity (mainly through
food and celebration), I have always found myself falling short of
understanding my heritage. These shortcomings are still apparent in my
lack of fluency in Tagalog or Bikol, my ignorance of the economy and
political climate of the Philippines, and my ignorance of the profound
spiritual and secular culture of the Philippines. For me, this trip was an
opportunity to reclaim some of my lost heritage- a trip where I could
immerse myself in various Filipino languages and customs and learn and
experience firsthand the complicated (and oftentimes messy) political and
economic issues the Philippines faces. Before this trip, these issues had
only been occasionally brought up by my mother and some of my titos and titas. However, during this trip, I met with
national and local leaders, motivated high school and college students, and extraordinary visionaries who were all
able to give me a different perspective of the Philippines.

It is difficult (and maybe even impossible) to list all of the things I learned in the Philippines. Therefore, I will cite
specific facts and experiences that I found the most eye-opening and ripe for further investigation in my studies. The
Philippine economy was heavily bolstered by OFW spending during the pandemic. In my future macroeconomics
courses, I would like to investigate the effects of an economy that is perhaps overly reliant on consumer spending
and a labor force that lives abroad. I was surprised to learn how political dynasties operate in the Philippines, and I
am interested in investigating how one can combat such widespread cronyism and corruption. To many, especially
the students we talked with, these issues seem so apparent, but for some reason, no widescale reform appears to
occur. Who or what enables this corruption? Are voters being deceived, or are their voices being suppressed?

Furthermore, I was fascinated to learn how weaponized misinformation seeps into personal and faith-oriented
communities and radically misinforms Filipino citizens from Maria Ressa. I was surprised to learn that the seeds of
this misinformation were sown much earlier than many realized. Because of how our brains our wired for
sensational news, how can we systematically fight misinformation and deprogram those entrenched in echo
chambers? Surprisingly, this area of research is especially important and active in the United States now.

The most memorable part of the trip was meeting and interacting with the high school and college students at the
Silliman University forum. I sincerely hope that future J-term trips continue this type of dialogue. Furthermore, I
hope that we can continue to keep in touch with the students who attended the forum. It was clear that these students
were highly driven and hardworking. Beyond that, I was able to see that these students were keenly aware of the
issues plaguing their school community and were able to relate them to broader local and national issues facing the
Philippines. Although we were guests meant, in part, to offer our advice to these students, their proposed solutions
to these issues and confidence in their abilities provided a unique opportunity for us Harvard students to learn from
their determination and sense of responsibility. Often, the only advice I could offer to the students was to not give up
hope in their academic and professional aspirations, as it is so easy to do in a system wracked with corruption and
poverty.

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Returning to the states, I can already see how this trip has changed me. My discussions regarding new political and
economic developments in the Philippines with my mom and titos and titas have become more nuanced and less
one-sided. I am finally able to contribute something to the conversation. Furthermore, I have returned to Harvard
with an ardent desire to see Filipino culture showcased and taught at the university through initiatives such as
Tagalog classes and Filipino history seminars. At the Ayala Museum, we were able to see how the often-overlooked
pre-colonial Philippines was a melting pot of many cultural exchanges. I was shocked to learn that Hindu beliefs
and art made their way to the Philippines long before the Spanish arrived. Revelations like these have inspired me to
further enrich myself in the cultural diversity of the Philippines, whether it be in a Harvard-sponsored setting or by
myself.

In addition to preserving Filipino culture at Harvard, I hope to find ways to connect Filipino institutions and
students to institutions in the United States. I have seen firsthand that the interest is there in the Philippines, but I
have realized that in order to create meaningful and lasting dialogue, both sides need to share the same level of
enthusiasm. I hope that I can advocate for this dialogue by encouraging exchange programs and similar types of
meet-and-greets that we participated in back in the Philippines. Finally, I hope I can inspire the next generation of
Filipinos to be excited about STEM since the Philippines lags behind its other Southeast Asian counterparts in
STEM education. This goal seems to be a bit more nebulous than those previously listed, but I know that I can do my
part by sharing my love of STEM subjects (particularly mathematics) with the Filipino community that I already
interact with. At a systematic level, I know that I can encourage educational leaders at Harvard to find ways to
popularize the study of STEM subjects within Filipino communities and focus on improving Filipino representation
in STEM-oriented programs.

I would like to extend a special thanks to the Asia Center for enabling me to actually make the flight back home to
the Philippines. Furthermore, a necessary and extraordinary thanks go to Tita Myrish and Tita Carol for supporting
the group in our travels (and maybe even more importantly, in our sickness) and for connecting us with many of the
influential people we were able to meet in the Philippines. I would also like to thank all those who sponsored our
housing and some of our meals. I would like to thank all of Marcky’s contacts who enabled many of meetings and
dinners and opportunities for service. Finally, last but not least, thank you, board, for planning all of this and
choosing me to accompany you on this amazing journey!

Alexander Elamine
Dearborn, MI | Biomedical Engineering, Class of 2024

In my years on campus so far, 2 weeks either fly by as they are filled with
event after event and memories or they drag on and feel like months as I
complete exam after exam. Yet these 2 weeks spent in the Philippines with
HPF have been the most uniquely packed, educational, transformative,
and filled with a lifetime’s worth of lessons and experiences, despite my
disbelief that the time has already passed. I applied to the Philippines J
term trip to learn about the medical infrastructure and needs in the
country and to become familiar with the people. My goal was exceeded
in every way.

Beginning the trip in Manila and learning about the economic and social
affairs and history of the Philippines was a productive way to begin the
trip. Everything that we experienced after was framed by this leg of the
trip. In speaking to a prominent economist at the Bank of the Philippines Islands, and reading relevant articles to
discuss, I gained valuable insights into what progresses and hindrances the Philippines has faced in developing its

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economy. Prior to this I had never engaged with this aspect of learning about a country but I realized how relevant it
was to my own goals of making medicine more accessible. It was very important to learn about the wealth inequality
and common markets, or lack thereof, in the Philippines.

Later in the trip I saw how important it was for people to have a means to take care of their needs such that they can
actually maintain their health. A lack of nutrition, clean water, and sanitation facilities all were social determinants
of health. I was reminded of how critical a means of financial development is in improving a community's health and
that the most cutting edge medical technology is worthless if it is not accessible by everyone. In experiencing this, I
was inspired to bend a part of my future career towards educating the communities we visited on how to maintain
community health and providing members of the community with emergency aid training. I want to work toward
creating programs and infrastructures where community members can learn about medicine or become trained as
medical professionals, whether EMTs, nurses, or in preparation for medical school. Hopefully doing so can provide
local and accessible resources and people to help these communities which are cut off from the resources of major
cities, be it by distance or discrimination.

The medical part of the trip and volunteering with Silliman Water was important in immersing me in the
communities which I hope to help as a physician. As vital as this support is to the communities, I and others in the
group had conversations about how our presence there might not have been the best allocation of time or resources,
to no fault of ours or the planning of the trip. We felt that what we did was a short term solution and that we gained
more than the communities through our career guiding experiences and personal growth and humility. However, I
hope to work with HPF to brainstorm projects which can provide longer term solutions to the communities which we
visited. Whether this takes the form of advocacy to connect the needy communities to city resources, creating water
collection and filtration systems, or building missing infrastructures, I hope to guide future trips such that our
presence in the community is positive and lingering.

The other important leg of the trip was learning about the culture of the Philippines. I believe that could not have
been done any better than it was. Learning about the history and culture through multiple means like the museum in
Manila and through similar aged college students created a holistic understanding of what the social and cultural
spheres are like in the Philippines. I learned how valuable water accessibility and climate change advocacy is to the
younger generation, I learned how welcoming and excited Filipinos are to share their traditions, and I got to
experience the food, dress, and pre-colonial traditions and history. After having spoken to former Vice President
Leny, and others having met the current speaker of the house, we gained greater insight into the current political
landscape and how the people respond to it. These nuances of values, the disparities in experiences, and emotional
encumberment came up frequently in my interactions with students across every university we visited. I felt the pain
and passion of each of the students’ and performers' experiences and saw how a single opportunity, and a way to
express oneself, can take somebody’s life from deprived and despairing to driven.

On the flip side, I observed how pervasive the effects of colonialism are, from American ideals in schools, food, and
language, to Spanish Catholic names being predominant in even native communities. I learned how different each
regional language and island can be, and how having Tagalog as the national language and Manila representatives
is not all inclusive. I would not have truly understood how special and diverse each region and language is without
having gone there myself. I was astonished at how even the sentence-ending terms of respect are different between
regions in one country. I learned powerful terms such as “bayanihan” (strangers that look out for each other) and
“sana ol” (wishing the best for everybody, including yourself, as a way to say you want what someone else has)
which express so much in such short words.

Along with everything I learned about the Philippines and how it will guide my career, being in a new and
sometimes intense environment with a group that is emotionally mature, kind, and well learned, has made me grow
in two weeks as much as I have in the past few years. We constantly reflected on what we experienced and were

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honest about the impacts we made, even if we felt that what we were doing was not a sustainable impact. I shared
many laughs, was reminded of how to be selfless, and shared many somber feelings with the group. I am deeply
thankful to HPF, the Philippines, our sponsors, and Tita Myrish :), for this experience. My academic and
professional careers are better defined, my appreciation and respect for the Philippines is cemented, and my desire
to contribute to medical solutions globally and to the Philippines is reinforced. A goal I have for this semester is to
connect with other medical organizations that service impoverished communities such as the ones we visited and
create a project for next year's HPF group to work on that creates sustainable impacts.

I would like to thank the sponsors for opening the doors to such an enlightening journey, for allowing us to become
a community. We were able to enjoy our time in the Philippines and access the resources needed to get to the parts of
the islands we need to for the service missions and that was crucial to our experiences in the trip. Words of gratitude
are not enough to convey our appreciation and I am confident that the actions and careers of everyone in the group
will keep the Philippines at the forefront as our form of repayment.

Christian Abney
Kokomo, IN | Linguistics, Government, and Arabic, Class of 2023

My small-town childhood grew up on a gray island amid the seas of

cornfields. It was the place you look for gas as you drive by – definitively
not a cosmopolitan center of diversity and intercultural education. It was
the place I was from and occasionally return to. But occasionally, the
insular environs and its “live, laugh, love” mundanity were made vibrant
with my mother's reflections on her time as a missionary in Mindanao
before my birth. A monkey-skull headdress sat next to the framed photos
of my brothers and me in adorably matching outfits. She taught me how
to find the good qualities in everyone, reflecting on how the New People’s
Army became the “nice people.” She told me about the Philippines from
the perspective of someone who spent her time teaching an inspired
message but fell short of being taught herself. I learned about the
Philippines from someone who went to change it. My knowledge of the
Philippines was that of her lived experience under Marcos I and Aquino
I, and while valid, was an outdated and outsider view of such a vibrant country. I joined the HPF trip to learn for
myself alongside a similarly minded group.

I learned that much had changed since my mother had left 30 years prior, but the charm had fortunately
remained the same. I learned that the food – the pancit, lumpia, and tap-, bang-, corn-, and longsilog – was still
equally as delicious, and that US soft influence had only grown (as evidenced by the Olive Garden soon to open in
BGC). I learned that the jeepneys were still very much driving throughout Manila’s roads, though now they stalled in
traffic more than dashing around. I learned that Filipinos were still eager to share their lives with others, selflessly
engaging us in everything from a birthday party complete with lechon and dinuguan to an invitation into their
homes to learn more about their families after we delivered water. I learned that the global Harvard network
facilitates unparalleled experiences like meetings with key leaders across the archipelago, while Harvard’s
institutions and alum make these experiences accessible to all who are selected.

I learned most through interactions with the Filipinos who embody their culture. Illness struck our third
day in the country, as we one-by-one fell ill with food poisoning that would affect us for the two remaining weeks.
The Harvard students bonded over our unfortunate situation, taunted by the delicious food and challenged by the
limited number of bathrooms in our hotel. We were together in our unexpected situation but worried that it would

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impair our ability to engage as extensively as planned. Yet, we had underestimated the warmth and kindness of our
host country. Within hours of hearing about our illness, the Ateneo students we had met only earlier in the day
rallied together to bring us medicine and moral support.

Throughout the trip, the Filipino youth offered us their kind support and wonderful ideas. They inspired us
to believe in the transformative power of the youth collective, who will champion change and progress in an unequal
society. Their inspiration was the best souvenir I could hope for. The future is bright with their hearts, minds, and
hands guiding the future Philippines and the global forum we share.

Thank you for the opportunity to explore the Philippines for myself, to fill in the many gaps with the lived
experiences and perspectives of those who call the archipelago home. I appreciate your generosity in creating an
inspiring and transformative trip for myself and the other 14 students. Your support created connections,
friendships, memories, and a determined drive to deliver change at home and abroad. Thank you.

Eleanor Wikstrom
Oakland, CA | Social Studies and Cognitive Science, Class of 2024
HPF Public Relations Director

I first joined HPF as a freshman in Fall 2020. During that time, when all
of life had retreated to the deepest recesses of Zoom, and we were
collectively unsure about when any semblance of normalcy would return,
HPF offered a burgeoning community with small pockets of light:
bi-weekly virtual game nights, book talks and speaker events on topics
otherwise neglected at Harvard, the promise of pamilya when we all
returned. In Fall 2021, when the fateful day of our reunion on campus
came, we cautiously celebrated with a back-to-school picnic. But in
truth, we hadn’t quite returned. Our institutional memory had atrophied
over two long years of pandemic, and we didn’t know each other — or
the potential of our community — as well as we might have pretended.

Of all my reasons for going on the trip — returning to the country of my

mother’s birth for the first time in twelve years, establishing context and
contacts for my own senior thesis research, filling the void of cultural knowledge that I’d lacked while attending an
institution as distant from the Philippines as Harvard — I must admit that I was initially least enthusiastic about the
one reason that actually guaranteed my spot on the trip, which was my status as an HPF board member. That all
changed almost overnight once we arrived in the Philippines. As we traveled from engagement to engagement —
sometimes sleep-deprived, sometimes ill, but always, always in awe of the opportunities that we had been given — it
became impossible to take HPF for granted any more. In press conferences and private dinners, we were pushed to
articulate the purpose of our group and the trip, and we saw the impact that our connections with local students and
community leaders had on all of us. Reticent heritage learners of Tagalog suddenly regained the muscle of their
mother tongue; students who had no connection to the Philippines prior to January suddenly made plans to return.
The trip transformed us all, and the mission of our organization, in a thousand infinitesimal ways.

I leave the trip a fierce advocate for HPF, with my goal of getting Tagalog offered as a course at Harvard now my
primary aim before leaving this campus. I leave the trip a more informed researcher, committed to including the
lived experiences of my peers in the Philippines as they both illuminate and challenge the perspective of my
historical research. And I leave the trip humbled, genuinely touched by the generosity of all those we encountered —
and hungry to pay it forward.

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Words cannot adequately express how grateful I am for the generous support of sponsors. This year, when HPF
blossoms into an organization with undeniable presence on campus and abroad, keeping alive the connections that
we initiated on this trip; when Tagalog enters the course catalog for the first time in Harvard history, buoyed by the
support of donors we met along the way; when many of us return to the Philippines, seeking to give back to the
nation that gave us all so much — know that it was you who made this paradigm-shifting experience possible. For
the rest of our lives, we will do all that we can to make it count.

Faith Rugut
Nairobi, Kenya | Applied Mathematics and Psychology, Class of 2023

When I applied for the HPF trip, I had two main goals. One was to fully
engage with the Philippines and her people’s history and culture since I
grew consuming a significant amount of Philippine content through
telenovelas. My second goal was to learn about the country’s educational
system to gain insights on essential components of quality education as this
directly tied to my career aspirations.

As a Kenyan national who went through the Kenyan system, I was extremely
dissatisfied by its emphasis on recall rather than on enhancing cognitive
knowledge skills. As a result, I observed that the educational system only
equipped people with skills to serve in traditional roles instead of enabling
and encouraging innovation that would open more job channels. This led to
my career prospect of working in education policy to improve the quality of
Kenyan education, especially at the secondary school level, to bridge the
gap between education and career trajectory. I wanted to come to the Philippines to see and hear about the state of
its education. I viewed the Philippines and Kenya as similar countries because both were formerly colonized
countries that are trying to recover from the effects of said colonization. I, therefore, wanted to speak to students
about their experiences within the recently reformed international K-12 system and use the teachings and
experiences I would gain during the HPF trip to build on my own prospects. I appreciated the opportunities to learn
about the education sector from a higher level during the lecture on the Philippine economy and get a chance to talk
to high school and university students during our visits to Ateneo and Silliman universities and during our medical
mission with PMA New England to the Aeta people. The trip to the Aeta village especially helped shape my
approach to ensuring education equity as I observed that certain personal and social circumstances, such as gender,
ethnicity and family background, impacted students’ progress.

After two weeks of taking part in numerous activities curated during this journey, I can confidently say I achieved
my two goals. I largely attribute this success to HPF board’s careful curation of the itinerary optimized this
educational experience. Throughout, I could see how the trip had been crafted to hit HPF’s core tenets of culture,
education, and service. This enabled me to get a holistic glimpse of the Philippines.

Additionally, I saw the power of the Harvard alumni network during the trip. So many alumni were ready and
willing to be of service at a moment’s notice. This made me want to meaningfully contribute to the Harvard
community and continue to be involved with HPF once I become an alumnus. It was also inspiring to see the
different paths alumni had taken, get insight on how they got to the positions they were at, and get advice from them
on numerous topics. As a graduating senior, it was especially helpful to hear about life post-Harvard. One thing that
I particularly appreciated during my interactions with the alumni was the encouragement to follow my ambitions.
Their validation served to strengthen my prospects.

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I would like to sincerely thank the HPF sponsors for making this such a wonderful experience. If it were not for
them, I would not have been able to travel to Southeast Asia and witness the rich history of the Philippines. This trip
has cemented my aspirations and I am excited to continue working towards them in the coming years. Additionally,
this trip enabled me to develop a love for and commitment to the Philippines. I would love to partner with
organizations that share in my goal for education equity within historically disadvantaged communities, such as the
Aeta community in Kalibo.

Francis Immanuel Puente

Boston, MA | English, Computer Science, and Vietnamese, Class of 2024

My original motivation for applying to the HPF J-Term trip was to

return to the country I and my family call home for the first time in
almost 10 years, to educate myself about and do my best to address the
difficult living conditions for many in the Philippines, and to begin to
relearn my mother tongue. Without Harvard’s assistance, a trip to the
Philippines would have been prohibitively expensive and limited in
geographical/cultural/socioeconomic scope. The first thing I learned
while on the trip was just how little I really know about my country and
my people. The Philippines that exists in my mind is constructed from a
toddler’s memory, my parents’ stories, and the media that reaches the
United States. It’s one thing to visit communities where the roofs are
made from rusty metal sheets, where the main sources of water are
polluted deep wells, where the kids play without paying mind to the open
sores on their arms; it’s another thing entirely to realize that these are
your people. Perhaps I hadn’t realized at the beginning, but, in short, the reason I went on this trip was to finally see
the Philippines embodied — and I met my goal in the most viscerally painful and beautiful way.

And yet my heart does not sigh in relief for a goal achieved, because the truth is that I did very little for my country.
When our group would reflect on our time in the Philippines, we often felt that our trip leaned more towards
self-service than serving those in need. I wrestled with this idea nearly the whole time, finding it difficult because it
was true: what we gained from serving other people was infinitely more valuable than anything we could have
possibly offered them. At first I found myself overcome with hopelessness and despair, but one student in our group
reminded us not to discount the hope that our presence seemed to inspire among the people we served — the dreams
shared by the young people we mentored, the smiling faces of the children we played with, the fervent exhortations
to remember the Philippines, to return. And so the feeling that remains in my heart is one of renewed purpose in the
knowledge that there’s so much more to be done, that my people deserve everything I have to offer, and that I’ll be
back home soon.

One of the most memorable moments of our journey in the Philippines for me was our meeting with Rappler and
Maria Ressa. I had read up and been closely following the political drama that unfolded between the previous
administration and the free press in the Philippines, but hearing from Maria Ressa herself was still one of the most
intellectually stimulating and inspiring encounters I’ve had in recent memory. I learned that the battleground of
social media disinformation lies at the nexus of language, technology, the law, and the ways in which these levers
work in conjunction with or in opposition to each other to sway people's hearts and minds, all of which comprise my
academic and career interests. This singular 2-hour meeting inspired me to enroll in a course at Harvard titled
“ENGLISH 195BD: The Dark Side of Big Data,” to pursue a summer internship with Rappler (for which I’m

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currently corresponding with their managing editor), and to consider tech law from the angle of political and social
justice as a possible career path. I’m hoping to be back in Manila this summer.

As a final word of gratitude, I’d just like to say that this trip is among the most meaningful and transformative
experiences I’ve ever had in my entire life. Thank you, truly, for making all of this possible. I hope you continue to
help young people like me go on trips like these.

Jessie Lee
Chula Vista, CA | Chemistry and Economics, Class of 2023

I was originally motivated to apply to the HPF J-Term trip because I had studied the Philippines for one of my
classes at Harvard, Solid Waste in Developing Countries. This is a topic that I have been interested in since high
school, and I enjoyed learning about the environmental regulatory
landscape, natural geographic characteristics, and economic issues of the
country. Additionally, I thought that the trip was an incredibly unique
opportunity to visit four different islands, be immersed in their
individually unique cultures, and interact closely with locals. As I had not
had many international experiences before, I thought that exploring the
Philippines for two weeks would broaden my horizons and help me
become more conscious about the developing world. Such perspectives
are important for addressing global issues like environmental degradation
and climate change, which I hope to tackle through my career.

My primary goal was to absorb and intentionally ponder observations I

made of the Philippines with an open mind; I did not have other specific
goals as this was not a trip for research or a specific project. I ended up
doing so by making comparisons to the United States, South Korea (where my family is from), and to literature I had
read for class. Seeing the stark contrast between the infrastructure in urban areas and rural provinces provided a
reality check on the challenges to enforcing environmental policies such as waste collection in the developing world,
such as accessibility and conflicts with the economic well-being of citizens.

Unexpectedly, I was actually exposed to the topic of my final project for my waste class: Materials Recovery
Facilities. When HPF met with Mayor Ipe Remollo of Dumaguete City, we learned about the city’s Materials
Recovery Facility project that aimed to promote the circular economy. We also learned about the opposition to the
harmful, polluting pyrolysis processes in the facility from Silliman University students.
Additionally, through this trip, I was able to also explore my academic interest in religion, especially through the
Ati-Atihan Festival in Kalibo. It was interesting to see the syncretism of Spanish colonial Roman Catholicism and
the indigenous Aeta culture. In these ways, my intellectual goals for this trip were successfully met.

My view of the Philippines has been significantly expanded from the brief encounters I had with the culture in high
school through my Filipino-American friends. I learned a number of both positive and negative things about the
country. For example, I directly saw the drastic income inequality within the country after leaving Manila–which, as
I had discussed with fellow trip members, was similar to, just much more visible than, inequality in the United
States. I learned how intensive the Philippine education system is, how drastically it was transformed in recent
years, and how the value of a college degree in the country has decreased. I learned about the rich precolonial
history of the Philippines, which I had no knowledge of prior, through art, textiles, and other artifacts at the Ayala
Museum. I learned about the pioneering work of Silliman University in using 100% renewable energy as a source of

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electricity and mitigating climate change. I also experienced how trendy Korean pop culture is in the country. My
Korean appearance, even more so than my true Korean-American identity, inevitably led to Korean culture
becoming the topic of many conversations.

The most meaningful moment of the trip was the leadership conversations I had over lunch at Silliman Hall. The
high school and college students I talked to had such inspiring stories and strong passions for tackling issues like
the lack of HIV resources, political misinformation, and political dynasties. I found myself comparing their tireless
accomplishments to my relatively small-scale efforts. I admired their drive, and although it may be too late for me to
enact significant change on campus as a second-semester senior, I was inspired to clarify the environmental issues I
want to address through my career. Even more importantly, these students were so welcoming and thoughtful, and I
still keep in touch with them as friends.

During the several days I have been back in the United States, the Philippines–its differences from the United States,
its beauty, and its people–have been on my mind. I am much more conscious of how policies and actions taken by the
United States and the rest of the world could affect the country--for example, through sea level rise in coastal towns
or the overseas foreign workers labor market. This awareness will be essential as I enter my first post-grad position
in the environmental consulting sector and when I enter graduate school for environmental management in the
future.

I would also like to discuss what I learned from the medical mission that HPF did with the Philippine Medical
Association of New England. I am thankful to the Rotary Club and Sunshine Care Foundation for also helping to
organize the mission and providing background on the Aeta community whom we were meeting. However, I noticed
that the care packages HPF was told to assemble contained excessive amounts of single-use plastic, processed food,
and inadequate quantities of rice. Other actions seemingly contradictory to the medical mission included:
distributing lollipops and plastic juice sachets to the Aeta children, conducting blood glucose tests rather than
comprehensive physical exams, and delivering the care packages to each family on a stage-like area. While the
conversations we had with the Aeta community were fun and friendly, at the end, it seemed like our service was
somewhat of a disruption. The missions seemed more practically beneficial to HPF, as we were able to interact with
the Aeta people and be educated about their way of life.

This experience highlighted how whether in direct community service, public policy, international relations,
corporate sustainability, or other fields where similar dynamics are present, it is of utmost importance to be as
educated as possible on the existing environment and stakeholders being affected by an initiative. I hope to raise
awareness of this priority in both my personal and professional life, so that service can be directed in ethical and
effective ways.

To HPF’s donors and sponsors at the Harvard Club of the Philippines Global and the Harvard Asia Center:
Having meaningful conversations with locals and witnessing the Philippine landscape firsthand, after only learning
about the country through research papers and academic case studies, was incredibly enlightening. I was able to
ponder, reflect on, and have active discussions about these experiences with other students on the trip, which
collectively grew our passions to keep the Harvard Philippine Forum active and strong. Without this trip, I would
have continued to have a very limited perspective of the Philippines and the rest of the world.
This trip not only provided experiences important for my academic, intellectual, and professional pursuits, but also
prompted me to reflect on my identity as a Harvard student from America. Though initially there were some times I
felt unqualified or out of place, I was welcomed by friendly and family-oriented Filipinos at every place we stayed.
I would love to come to the Philippines again, and am excited to see Philippine language and culture grow at
Harvard both institutionally and within the student body. Thank you so much for your support.

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Joshua Ng
Los Angeles, CA | Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2023
HPF Finance Director

My name is Joshua Ng, and I am a senior at Harvard College studying

mechanical engineering with a language citation in Mandarin Chinese. I am
half-Chinese, half-Filipino, but both sides of my family are from the
Philippines. In addition, I grew up in the Philippines for the first 5 years of
my life, eventually immigrating to the United States in 2007. Moving to the
United States, I was fortunate enough to still be surrounded by Philippine
culture in my community. Eagle Rock has bustling Philippine culture, and it
was great being surrounded by other Fil-Ams and being able to relate with
each other’s experiences. I have also been fortunate enough to visit the
motherland every other year in my youth to visit family and regain that
sense of connection from home.

However, moving to Harvard presented a new challenge for me. I quickly

realized that it was hard to find other Filipinos on campus. With a much
more diverse population and a different demographic landscape in the
Northeast, I soon grappled with my sense of identity. When I found Harvard
Philippine Forum, I found home. Although it is a smaller community than I
had expected, it is a tight-knit one, and I gained an immediate sense of
connection with other Filipinos on campus. Throughout my years of being in HPF, I have strived to help other
members and myself reconnect with their roots, and I feel that the HPF J-Term trip is a great opportunity for that.
This trip allowed me to revisit the Philippines with a new lens–one that gives me the opportunity to reflect on my
experience as a Fil-Am in the context of the evolving Philippine political and cultural atmosphere.

Throughout my time in the Philippines, I have been able to meet so many incredible leaders, including politicians,
influencers, and student leaders. One of the most impactful takeaways I had from this trip was that education is an
integral foundation that influences one’s outcome in life. Filipino youth have so much potential, but governments
and organizations have the utmost responsibility that they cultivate this potential for good. Through issues of
disinformation and poverty that have crippled the Philippines in recent years, I have come to realize that education
is the most powerful weapon that can combat this. Meeting members of Youth Advocates Through Theater Arts
(YATTA), I quickly saw how this organization fosters local youth in Dumaguete City to creatively address major
issues in the Philippines and spread awareness through the art of theater. As a theater kid, I found this to be such an
incredible idea, and this experience deeply moved me the most because I was just very inspired by these youth
advocates and saw the impact they made in the Philippines.

As I go into the workforce this year and leave Harvard, I realize that I have a responsibility to spread awareness of
Philippine culture and education to my fellow peers. I have realized that what happens after the trip is as equally
important, if not more important, than what happens during the trip because that’s when long-lasting change starts
to happen. After reflecting on the trip and making connections with these different communities, we take back with
us these experiences and hopefully get to share them with our own communities. For Fil-Ams like me, this trip holds
a deep-rooted place in our hearts because we all have the opportunity to reconnect with the motherland and regain
a newfound sense of identity. Therefore, I need to act as an ambassador of Philippine culture and proudly share
these experiences with others.

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I just want to express my deepest gratitude to all of the donors and sponsors that have so generously supported this
trip. Without your support, this would not have been possible, and I would not have been able to experience such an
eye-opening trip. This trip has motivated me to challenge my advocacy of the Philippines coming back to the United
States, and it has given me such nuanced perspectives and appreciation of the country I call home.

Keagan Yap
Windsor, Ontario, Canada | Neuroscience and Economics, Class of 2025
HPF Education Director

The Philippines is beautiful.

Our people are warm and kind, yet are resilient and vested in a great
tradition of justice. Our values are built on a shared notion of
community and our culture is deeply rooted in a diversity that is
unlike any other in the world. We are neither of the “East” nor of the
“West” though we serve as a bridge that brings Asia to the rest of the
world. We are proud and we carry this pride with us wherever we go.

The Philippines is also incredibly broken.

The nation has been marred by inequality, poverty, crime, corruption,

pollution, malnutrition, and health crises for decades on end and has
yet to break free of the shackles of a post-colonial society.

This dichotomy has never been easy to reconcile. My parents were among those who left the country and much of
what I have come to know about the Philippines, while genuine, was second-hand. As a board member, I was privy
to most planning aspects early on and it was evident that I was not prepared for what I was about to experience.
What had been planned out was a “deep dive” into society in all its aspects. For one, Silliman Water gave us the
opportunity to meet low-income families. The woman I spoke to told me about how she met her husband and the
movies her children love to watch. All the while, I was staunchly aware of how deplorable their living conditions
were. On the other end of things, we met some of the most prominent individuals in the country who discussed their
plans to invigorate the economy and empower the general populace. We met with student leaders from leading
universities from across the country and from high schools from across the Visayas, with whom I had some of the
most enlightening conversations. This led me to a great takeaway - there is not a lack of solutions but instead a lack
of a framework for growth. There is not a united principle nor a shared belief of how prosperous the Philippines can
be.

We made so many friends and infinitely more memories, but I will always identify our January trip with this
particular afternoon in Kalibo. The Philippine Medical Association of New England arranged for us to visit a
remote Aeta community. My good friend, Francis, and I began speaking with the kids and their shyness was at once
amusing and endearing. We decided that since our Bisaya could only take us so far, we brought them outside; what
started as a relatively calm game of catch with a roll of toilet paper soon involved into the most raucous play as
Eleanor, Francis, and I chased each other around with thirty of them holding onto us, running, screaming, and
laughing. When our van pulled away from the building and onto the dirt road, I began to tear up. Those children
cheered and waved at us as if we had given them all the hope in the world and it occurred to me that they may be
bound by poverty in perpetuity. And even if we could lift these children out of poverty, there would be hundreds upon

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thousands more communities like theirs who would continue to be poor. Their smiles broke my heart but it also
reminded me of how much I enjoyed being a kid and how naivete might lead you to survive the hopelessness of
reality as you try to give back to a community that may never truly be healthy the way you want it to. These children
did not feel poor. They live by the simplest joys and they live for one another; resilience is intrinsic to their existence.

I am in genuine awe of the generosity with which we were shown by all the individuals who supported us on this trip.
What they may not know is that what they have provided us will extend past the time we spent there and beyond that
which we were able to partake in the Philippines. In their kindness, they have offered us their highest hopes. It is the
passing of this tradition of stewardship and integrity from one generation to the next that gives a young college boy
like me the audacity to think that he could make a difference in the country from which his kabayan hail and in the
lives of his new friends, from Manila to Dumaguete and beyond.

I knew that this J-Term trip would vigorously change my perception of the Philippines. I did not realize that it would
also shake the core of my identity within just a mere three weeks. Now that I am in Boston, the Philippines has never
felt further away and never has it been closer to my heart. I eagerly await the next opportunity to return home where
I hope to continue this journey of learning and growth I have had the great fortune to embark upon.

Kira Traylor
Dallas, TX | History of Science and Global Health & Health Policy, Class of 2024

My original desire for applying to the Harvard Philippine Forum’s

J-Term Trip stemmed from my passion for public service, interest in
further exploring Filipino culture, and desire to travel out of the United
States for the first time. I can wholeheartedly that I not only accomplished
these initial goals for embarking on this trip, but completely recast my
worldview and outlook on my personal, professional, and academic
future.

In the future, I intend to attend medical school. Thus, service will play an
integral role in my life. The volunteer opportunities afforded to me on this
trip were transformative. From being able to not only educate but learn
from students at universities ranging from Ateneo and Silliman, engage
with Young Advocates for Theater Arts and learn about their methods of
community engagement, and aid the Aeta people in addressing medical issues present in their community are
memories that I will forever cherish and apply to my future endeavors.

Additionally, my secondary reason for embarking on this trip stemmed from my desire to explore the culture of the
Philippines from a first-hand perspective. My dad grew up in Hawaii, a melting pot of various ethnicities, and was
surrounded by Filipino culture. He brought this cultural influence to our family, and I grew up indulging in Filipino
cultural foods such as pancit, lumpia, and sisig at local restaurants. Through embarking on this trip, I was able to
fully immerse myself within Filipino culture, albeit for merely 2 weeks, and gain a stronger connection to my family
by eating these foods (veganized, of course). I find food to be an important vessel of culture, and I found this
especially true during the trip. All of our meals served as methods to bring people together to share stories and
wisdom as well as exemplify the historical legacy of the Philippines.

Lastly, I am eternally grateful for being given the opportunity to go on the HPF J-term trip because it served as my
first experience being outside of the United States. The ability to fully immerse myself within a culture that isn’t my

23
own, hear people speak a language that I do not understand, and learn about the history of a country through those
actively living in it are experiences I will never trade.

Before embarking on the trip, my knowledge of the Philippines was limited. I had a general understanding of the
country (where it was located on a map, common food dishes, and its national language) but did not know much
beyond that. However, this trip has now provided me with a rich understanding of the economical, historical,
political, and geographic landscape of the country. I was made keenly aware of the legacy of colonization that
plagued the Philippines and that still continues to this day during my visit to the Ayala museum, the vast
misinformation campaign that has impacted all facets of life through conversation with Maria Ressa and Leni
Robredo, and the historical legacy of the Sinulog festival and its connection to the Aeta people through witnessing it
firsthand during my time in Kalibo.

Although it’s hard to choose simply one, the most memorable moment of the trip was my conversation with two Aeta
women, Noella and Edeliane, during our medical service trip in Kalibo. There posed a significant language barrier
between Noella and I, but the three of us worked together to engage in a conversation with Edeliane serving as the
translator. During the interaction, I was able to learn about their childhood, academic interests, favorite musical
artists, and much, much more. I was blown away by their determination, perseverance, and fortitude. I left the
conversation feeling as if my entire worldview had shifted and how grateful I was for having the opportunity to
speak to them. Despite our interaction being brief, I will forever remember them.

During the rest of my time at Harvard, I hope to learn more and teach others about the misinformation crisis
occurring in the Philippines. This semester, I have already elected to take two classes to further this goal: one about
ignorance, lies, hogwash, and humbug that is largely centered around the United States as well as a course about
the dark side of big data. Within these courses, I hope to bring into the conversation a perspective that includes the
Philippines in the conversation, as it is often left out at Harvard in academics.

I want to eternally thank all of the donors and sponsors for helping me and 14 other incredible students embark on
this trip. Without your generosity, none of us would have been afforded the opportunity to partake in this
transformative journey of self-exploration, growth, and development.

Maia Alberts
Hong Kong & Newton, MA | Chemistry & Environmental Science and Engineering, Class of 2023

I am from Hong Kong, where the culture of domestic helpers is the norm;
women from the Philippines leave their country and work in Hong Kong
homes, raising Hong Kong children, and send money back home to the
Philippines. Such was the case with Adora. For the first ten years of my
life, Adora—then a 25-year-old Filipina woman—fed me, clothed me,
disciplined me, took me to the park, changed my diapers, and put me to
bed. I grew up on chicken adobo and polvoron, streams of Tagalog tangled
with Catholic proverbs, and a subtle yet so underdeveloped appreciation
for a culture and country I love through one person. When I was ten years
old, Adora moved back to the Philippines to raise her own family. I loved
her as family then and I still love her now. For the past decade, I have only
ever been able to call Adora on Facebook Messenger every once in a while
when she lets me know she has signal. This winter, through the generosity of
HPF’s sponsors, I finally had the chance to reunite with Adora and reconnect. Our reunion was incredibly emotional

24
and I am grateful to have been able to express my gratitude for her. While the few days I spent with her in no way
gave complete closure to years of care, immense and inequitable privilege, history, shame, yearning, and
connection, it was the start of something new. I am inspired to go back to the Philippines for an extended stay and
truly help and spend quality time with her family, as well as learn more about her tribe’s (Southern Kankanaey) way
of life.

After reuniting with Adora, I met up with the rest of the trip participants. The two weeks that followed were a
whirlwind of learning about colonial history and its modern-day reverberations, powerful conversations with
Filipino youth, meaningful displays of art and local heritage, and exploring incredible cuisines and natural beauty.
Travelling with Harvard students is always a delight, and I loved having the chance to engage with others’ identities
and experiences. It was a joy to watch Fil-Ams immerse themselves in the language they grew up with, see pre-meds
to launch into the medical mission, and learn alongside other first-timers to the country. I especially enjoyed our
group discussions breaking down what he had seen that day and reckoning with what our place—as Harvard
students in the Philippines—was in those two weeks.

While the service portions of the trip were short (this trip was no exception to the pitfalls of voluntourism), I did
leave the Philippines with a profound appreciation for the country and its people. This trip has galvanized me to
continue reconnecting with Adora and her community, and to continue developing my relationship with the
Philippines. None of this would have been possible without the generosity of HPF’s donors.

Marcky Antonio
Dumaguete City, Philippines | Integrative Biology, Global Health & Health Policy, Mandarin Citation
Class of 2025
HPF Cultural and External Relations Director

I grew up in a small city in the Philippines that was given the rather
charming epithet, “The City of Gentle People”. As gentle as I may claim
myself to be, this trip has shaken me, such that I seek to disavow the
nickname bequeathed by my hometown onto me. I don’t think that the world
needs a gentle breeze, but rather, a strong gust of wind looking to effect
change.

I thought I had a good grasp of the issues plaguing the Philippines—a

corrupt and inconsiderate government, poverty, and climate change. Yet,
little did I know that these were the tip of the iceberg; moreover, without
proper context, I had never truly grasped the severity of these problems. In
that way, the first day of the trip was enlightening, although the amount of
information we received was overwhelming and laden with facts and
statistics that would put any biology lecture to shame. Jun Neri’s economic lecture helped me understand how the
Philippines’ consumption-driven economy was both a bane and a boon, how it affected the recovery rate of Filipinos
through COVID and was not conducive to foreign investment. And in statistics on the current state of the economy, I
saw glimpses of history—the continuing ramifications of the Marcos dictatorship. This snapshot of history slowly
developed into a reel of photographs, as we visited the Ayala museum, and witnessed the rich history of the Filipino
people. The same history that reveals an implicit, yet rather palpable, colonialist influence on Filipino culture.

The foundation of knowledge we gained in the first few days, I feel, paved the way for the greater reflections we had
made midway through the trip. For one, I had learned that I knew so little about a country I had held so dear. While

25
that made me feel frustrated, it also made me feel ever so closer to my own country, knowing that I was embarking
on a journey that would redefine how I came to look at the Philippines. This sense of intimacy was further
strengthened by meeting the people that continue to make history today: high school and college students, high-level
government officials, entrepreneurs, and those that I can only describe as heroes. I felt especially connected and
inspired by the Silliman students in my hometown, most of whom were heavily involved with school events, including
student council, and who were outspoken in their voices when it came to lobbying for the issues they cared about the
most. While ostensibly we were there to serve as their personal and academic mentors, in reality, they taught me
much about the current state of affairs in the Philippines in a way that was genuine, honest, and perhaps much more
reliable than what we learned from high-level persons. It was fascinating to see the sentiments of the Filipino youth
deconstructed in what they said and motivating to hear how thoughtful their responses were with regard to solutions
to these complex issues. I remember mentioning that I had hoped that this event would help demystify what a
“Harvard student” is in their eyes, but I believe that that demystification goes both ways. I, too, now have a better
grasp of what it means to be a youth in the Philippines.

One aspect that struck me from our countless conversations was the loss of hope they felt due to the outcome of the
recent elections. In the group’s countless reflection sessions, I, we, shared the same feeling, except this was
regarding our own sense of impotence. As I talked to the students, and even members of the communities we did
service in (Barangay Banilad and the Ati tribe), I felt useless myself. How was I going to enrich their lives if I did
not even fully know the extent of the issue or the historical context behind it? How was I going to enrich their lives if
I wasn’t even qualified to tackle the issue? I did not have the skills to figure out how to properly lobby for more
freedom in the school dress code or in establishing a better water supply. Moreover, at times, it felt as if I did not
have to be there. During the medical service, in packaging the food and hygiene items, in taking vitals, I felt that
volunteers could have just as easily been hired to fulfill our role.

So, why were we there? I would be lying if I continued to use the pronoun, “I,” because in reality, answering that
question required the thoughtfulness and open-mindedness of our collective group. Although I still don’t fully know
the answer myself, I did come away with a few takeaways that aim to at least tackle a part of the question. Firstly,
the key to long-standing and sustainable community service is to fully immerse yourself in the community you’re
working for—learn about who they are, what issues they care about, what problems are plaguing the community,
and how you can help, considering their perspectives as a guide for your actions. Members of a community who
have experienced the community’s problems themselves are best fit to give their viewpoints on what solutions should
be. We did not need to know immediately the best ways to make an impact in these communities, especially with the
two weeks we had. We, therefore, did the best that we could, by being there, on-the-ground, talking to people and
learning as much as we can about the issues that plague them and thinking critically on the context behind them.
Secondly, the goal of the trip was not to do service. After all, how can one do service if they don’t answer the
questions I established above? The goal of the trip was to nurture a love and appreciation for the Philippines and its
people, such that those who participate in the J-term trip will want to return to the country to make their own waves
of impact in their own ways. And I saw that goal accomplished firsthand. A few members of the trip are already
planning their return to the Philippines, whether it be for an internship there or to perform academic research. And
I’m certain that most, if not all, of us are etching out ways we can continue to use this trip as a guiding star for our
career goals in the future.

To encapsulate this trip into words is something I hope to never accomplish. Every conversation I have about those
two weeks, every attempt at reflection, every run-in with a member of this tight-knit community we created
engenders an additional takeaway and a wave of nostalgia, as if I’m reminded of a cherished memory. It is truly
special to have had the experience we did, and I remain endlessly grateful to those who made this trip possible.

Miggy Antonio

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Dumaguete City, Philippines | Economics and Philosophy, Class of 2025
HPF Service Director

My biggest takeaway from the trip was how the Harvard Philippine
Forum is at a pivotal point in its organization’s history today. Upon
joining HPF’s board in my freshman year, I admit that I was not as
committed as I should have been to the club, as there did not seem much
(yet) to be excited about. HPF was at a crossroads; we were stagnant,
doing the same things year by year, with this J-Term Trip being our
trademark. Yet, I think I can speak for all of our board members when I
say that the trip emboldened a passion within us to do more. We found
ourselves speaking for hours about HPF’s future and how this trip is the
start of something bigger within us. From our exposure to key individuals
enacting change in the Philippines, like Maria Ressa and Leni Robredo,
we were shown the harsh reality of the Philippines - a country plagued by
corruption, greed, and inequality. Yet, we were enlightened by the thought
that people are fighting for what is right, even if they would be prosecuted for it. From meeting bright student
leaders in colleges like Ateneo de Manila and Silliman University, we were exhilarated to see that the future of the
Philippines is indeed in good hands. All of these realizations, coupled with the huge network of the Harvard Club of
the Philippines Global that made this trip possible, have opened our eyes that some kind of change needs to happen
within HPF. One that allows the club to become a true force of change within the community. The trip was indeed
life-changing not only for the HPF board members but for the other 10 students as well. Being exposed to the
realities of a developing nation and the many problems they face has led to a serious reflection within all of us on
the career and personal goals of our lives. We hope to provide this same opportunity for exposure in events held by
HPF during the year, other than just the J-Term Trip. Specifically for Filipino-Americans, being born in a developed
country like the US, it is very easy to become isolated to the many issues on-ground that the Philippines is facing
and the culture that they inherited. With the three pillars of HPF being education, culture, and service, HPF can do
more within the Filipino-American community for them to experience what we did in the J-Term Trip that has made
us proud to say that we are Filipino. Looking to the future, we hope to collaborate with organizations both in the US
and the Philippines to invigorate that same passion within the broader Filipino community to give back and help
enact real change within the Philippines. All-in-all, these are just a few of the many goals that HPF hopes to fulfill
within the coming years. It is an understatement to say that this trip has had a profound impact on my goals for the
future, and I hope to influence the same for others.

Naomi Hegwood
Bismarck, ND | Integrative Biology, Class of 2023

When I first saw the application for this trip, I wasn’t sure if I would
apply. I knew nothing about the Philippines and had never considered
doing service abroad. I do enjoy volunteering, though- I grew up in
poverty and dealt with housing insecurity throughout my whole life. I
wouldn’t be where I am today without all of the help I received along the
way. After seeing that previous trips had helped build homes for the poor,
I decided to apply.

I was expecting to get my hands dirty building houses or help with

medical missions for a few days, but instead, I experienced a whole new
culture and learned to love the Philippines. While I honestly would not

27
describe this as a service trip, it was an effective cultural excursion that made me appreciate all the Philippines has
to offer. I met wonderful and inspirational college students who have accomplished so much more than I have. I
learned about the country’s history through museum excursions. I gained an understanding of current issues through
conversations with people like Maria Ressa and Leni Robredo. I went in knowing absolutely nothing about the
Philippines other than its geographic location. I left with a love for the country and a desire to come back.

Perhaps the most meaningful moment of the trip for me was seeing the hope on high school students’ faces as I
explained how to apply to school in the US. One student told me that she had considered trying to go to school in the
US before but had become afraid and decided not to. Throughout the mentoring session, she asked question after
question, taking full advantage of my knowledge, and I was more than happy to answer. By the end of our group’s
conversation, she said that she was going to start filling out college applications again.

This event sticks with me because it made me feel like I was actually making a difference and showed me just how
much where you are born influences your life and opportunities. These students were so accomplished, yet felt they
had no chance at attending an American college. It saddened me, but also made me all the more grateful to be there.

Another moment that sticks with me is helping the Aita people during our medical mission. Seeing how
malnourished and small the children were made me deeply saddened. I felt bad that I could not help more. It also
served as a reminder of how lucky I am to have had resources readily available to help me when I was younger.
Without food pantries, soup kitchens, and food stamps, I would not have had food to eat.

Before this trip, I had never considered doing work in, or even about, the Philippines. Now, I would love to return to
the Philippines and help in some way. I am pursuing a career in ecology and currently plan to work in academia. I
also would like to work for or create an organization that helps impoverished people. While I am unsure of how
exactly I will continue my relationship with the Philippines, I know now that part of my future lies there.

Overall, I am so thankful to have been a part of this trip, and it would not have been possible without our donors. As
a first-generation, low-income student, I would not have been able to attend without assistance. I will forever be
grateful for all that I have learned and experienced on this trip, and the Philippines will hold a special place in my
heart. I would have never gained this appreciation and knowledge without this trip, and I am so grateful for your
generosity.

Henry Meakem
Pittsburgh, PA | Government, Class of 2023

I applied to the HPF J-Term trip because I saw it as a perfect

opportunity to learn first hand about a country I had explored in
different classroom settings over the years. I had never been to Asia
before despite having studied the comparative political history of
the region for many years at Harvard and in high school.
Furthermore, I saw the chance to do this learning with a group of
similarly-curious peers from Harvard as can’t miss. These goals
were met and exceeded on the trip. Between all three legs (Manila,
Dumaguete, and Kalibo), I learned a tremendous amount about the
economy, sociology, and outlook of the Philippines, and became
cognizant of the fact that this learning was only a small piece of
what could be learned if we spent more time there.

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Beyond the base level knowledge that we all acquired through events like the meeting with the BPI economist or
historical learning at the Ayala museum, my biggest learning moments came from all of the impactful conversations
we had with people both in Manila and in Dumaguete. I learned about the relationship between optimism and
pessimism many Filipinos, young and old, have about the current state and future of the country. I learned about the
legacies of US and Spanish colonialism throughout countless facets of the country. I learned about the relative
strengths and weaknesses of civil society at many different levels of Filipino society.

The most meaningful part of the trip for me would be a combination of all of the conversations we had. This includes
both conversations with the amazing speakers we met with (members of Harvard Club of the Philippines, Martin
Romualdez, Leni Robredo, etc) and with Filipinos our age in Dumaguete (these were really some of my favorite
moments). I feel like I was able to get the best insight into the country just from chatting casually with those we met.

I certainly hope so. Pertaining to my experience at Harvard, I’m looking forward to spending my last semester here
speaking out about my experience in the Philippines and bringing attention to issues occurring there both in my
classes and in casual conversation with friends. I’ve already had this happen many times. Beyond graduation, I’m
looking into seeing if I can return to the Philippines this fall to pursue a variety of opportunities (should my start
date be delayed as I requested). Longer-term, I really do know feel a strong love for the Philippines, and I’m certain
that this will play into decisions I make both personally and professionally in the future.

I cannot share enough thanks to those who helped make this trip happen financially and through utilizing the many
network connections that made the HPF J-Term trip so special. This trip was easily a highlight of my whole college
experience and my life as a whole. Without their help, we wouldn’t have had nearly as impactful an experience as we
did.

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III. Looking to the Future HPF Board 2023
Co-Presidents: Eleanor Wikstrom and Marcky Antonio

Director of Partnerships: Miggy Antonio

Co-Director of Events: Keagan Yap and Francis Puente

Finance Director: Anjeli Macaranas

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