April Shower is here!

By: Kayla Tejero

 

This time of the year is something that we always expect a lot of changes to happen. For one, winter is over, and Spring is here. This month is also the middle of Spring Semester for those who are in college, if not, it signals that the semester is about to end. For some, it is the month before their May college graduation. When it comes to Spring, a lot of good memories cross our minds. As a young person, I always thought of Spring as an opportunity to embrace more blessings in life.

Just this first week of April, I was involved in a cultural fashion show where I walked the runway with two Filipiniana-inspired gowns from the Philippines. I would like to thank my designers, Alfie Desamparado and Tata Pinuela. I also had the chance to wear an ethnic Filipino costume which is inspired by the world-famous festival called Dinagyang Festival celebrated in my parents’ province, Iloilo. Thank you to my designer, Jeomel Jaleco. I am very proud to be part of this fashion show because I was able to share the stage with other young Filipinos. While I have experienced walking on the runway before, it is such an amazing experience to see young FilAms walking on the runway and proudly promoting Filipino culture at its finest. I hope that this is not the first and last time that organizations in the Chicago FilAm community will organize events that promote Filipino culture and heritage and involve the younger generation of Filipino Americans.

The following are my featured young Asian-Americans on campus for this month who share their dreams and aspirations in life to the world!

Bilguun Maintsogt says, “As an Asian American college student, I’m on the path to earning my Bachelors in Nursing degree and I’m hoping to graduate with honors. After graduation, I will gain experience working as a nurse to find the specialty that I enjoy. I plan on furthering my education/career by becoming a nurse practitioner in a specialty I fall in love with.”

Doug Hui says, “During school, I would like to accomplish finishing each quarter strong since physical therapy school is overwhelming at times with numerous amounts of studying and research groups I’ll have to manage. After graduation, I hope to find a solid starter job at an outpatient PT clinic while trying to discover different specialties that may peak my interest.”

Alayna Gumabong says, “I plan on becoming a published researcher in the field of Microbiology and Bioinformatics, as well as gain more hands-on experience in a hospital setting. Also, as a Resident Assistant, I would like to create a sense of community, and ensure that each resident who lives on campus can feel like they are home, despite being far away from their actual home.”

Dimitri Huitron says, “As an Asian American college student, my goal is to graduate college on the high honor roll and pursue a career as a Human Resource Manager. Both of these goals require a high level of dedication and commitment, especially while playing on the Varsity soccer team at Lewis. In our society, it is important to inspire the next generation of students to never settle for less than their dreams and to teach them that everyone else’s expectations are irrelevant to what makes them happy.”

Bilguun Maintsogt, Senior
BS Nursing
Aurora University

Doug Hui, Year 1
Doctorate Physical Therapy
Midwestern University

Alayna Gumabong, Freshman
BS Biochemistry and Natural
and Applied Sciences
Florida International University

Dimitri Huitron, Freshman
BA Business Administration
Lewis University