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SINIGANG Group Aurora University

Ryan-Tejero

By: Ryan Tejero

 

Rarely, we encounter a younger group of Filipino Americans or Asians who are in college, and yet, they are able to organize themselves as a group to create their own support system. This is the case of the newest, young college freshmen students at the Aurora University (AU), calling their group – SINIGANG. Aurora University is a private university nestled in the heart of suburban city of Aurora, Illinois. It is the home of the Spartans, and the home of a diverse community of over 5,500 students. It offers online programs on top of its bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs.

Just like every Filipino’s favorite dish, Sinigang stands out because of the great mix of vegetables in a sour-y soup base. The vegetables in the soup can be pretty standard, with eggplant, green leaves, string beans, radish or gabi (taro), but with Filipino creativity, Sinigang can be prepared in so many ways. The meat that we use in Sinigang may vary from fi sh, beef, pork or chicken. Of course, when Sinigang is served hot, it gets your palate excited and it surely makes a wonderful meal experience.

Translating the food Sinigang in to a group of promising freshmen college students is not hard at all. All members of the Sinigang Group come from different family backgrounds. They came from different high schools, but when they found each other at AU, they just clicked, they got excitement and now they are all in one group. The Sinigang Group is composed of Kim Gamalo, Aaron Vitug, Kayla Bumalay, Carla Esmane, Josh Deogaygay, Kyle Paas, Andy Nguyen, Dasha Pates, Kayla Tejero and Tiffany Pongco. Everybody in the group, except for one are college freshmen majoring in Nursing. Dasha is majoring in Political Science with emphasis on Pre-Law. On the first day of school, these young Fil-Am students just bonded right away. Following any typical Filipino conversations, each one of them started talking about their favorite Filipino food, they asked if everyone do karaoke, and they talked about what they want to become in the future. It was not surprising to know that every member of the group has a parent or both parents who are in the healthcare field – that is either being a nurse or physical therapist.

College is fun and adventure for these young people, who transitioned themselves from high school. They get excited about their taste of independence. And because they now have access to their cars and can drive alone, they can easily go places and have fun. Sinigang’s first adventure was a trip to Round One’s Karaoke shop located at the Westfield Mall in Naperville, IL. The group had well-spent time of bonding, singing their hearts out and strutting their favorite crazy dance moves.

College is also challenging. For the members of the Sinigang Group, they found their study partners and peer support among themselves. This group gives each member an opportunity to connect and deepen their friendship, and to put more focus on working hard and achieving their day to day educational goals while in college. It is amazing how each one of them takes the time to be with one another. One time, Carla Esmane’s grandmother showed up in school with a tray of pancit, and to everyone’s delight, they shared the food like it was a fi esta. There was also one Friday this month, that the group went to Keller’s Farm in Oswego, IL just to have a fun get-together and an exciting time to end a week-long of school work.

Sinigang is on the right track. The members vow to reach out to more Filipino Americans and Asians in AU to build a strong peer support group. For its long term plan, the Sinigang group wants to participate in various student activities within the university or get involved in community volunteer opportunities to help promote Filipino and Asian cultures.

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(Back) Carla, Tiff any, Kim, Dasha, Kayla B. & Kayla T. (Front) Aaron, Kyle, Andy & Josh

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Aaron, Jackson, Andy, Kyle, Josh

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Tiff any, Kyle, Carla, Aaron, Kayla, Josh, Dasha, Andy, Kim

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Tiff any, Carla, Kayla, Dasha, Kim

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Carla, Kim, Kayla, Dasha, Tiff any

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