Kapamilya Club, founded in 2021, is the Filipino-American student club at Mt. SAC. Their purpose is to celebrate Filipino heritage by educating attendees about the history of Filipino culture while hosting games and forming a sense of community along the way.
Mandy Ferrer serves as secretary on the club’s nine-member board. As someone who grew up in the Phillipines, the club has been a welcoming place that keeps her motivated to go to school.
“I moved here from the Philippines two years ago,” Ferrer said. “Kapamilya was kind of a place where I found community and where I was able to connect with people who understood what it was like to be Filipino or the immigrant experience. So I think being a part of it allowed me to serve that community.”
Ferrer’s roles include tracking attendance, sending emails, keeping agendas organized, and assigning tasks to other board members. This year the board expanded to keep up with growing attendance. There are few requirements to become an officer. If there is constant commitment and passion towards the club, officers will take that into consideration when positions are open.
“Community college can be super lonely,” Ferrer stated. “Everyone is super locked in. I think finding community and finding people who share similar experiences and similar values is really useful to kind of almost keeping you sane.”
Each meeting starts with computer check-in questions, followed by an icebreaker and a larger, more interactive game. Towards the end of meetings board members will have announcements regarding merch, collaborations with other clubs, or upcoming events with large Filipino student associations. Members emphasize that students don’t have to be Filipino to participate in club meetings and that the club welcomes anyone.
Mikalee-Jordane “Maui” Tagle, a first-year student, began attending meetings in fall 2024. She said the club is her favorite part of school and something she always looks forward to.
“Everybody has a connection with their culture,” Tagle said. “When I lived in the Philippines, everybody was always happy and excited. So being able to do that and play games with each other, the energy is just always there. I feel like for us to be in America, being able to find the people that are your own blood makes you feel at home.”
Kapamilya meets once a month on Wednesdays for about two hours, drawing about 70 attendees. The club posts vlogs of their meetings online for those interested in seeing what it’s like beforehand. Their next club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 22 in Building 12-1280 at 3:30 p.m.
