Hannah Lacaste is a second-year Filipnx-American student at University of California Santa Barbara majoring in Biology. As an immigrant from the Philippines to America, she strived to attain the “American dream.” Transitioning to an American school system that differed in language from her mother tongue and culture was a struggle. Also, navigating her way and applying for college was challenging. Despite having limited knowledge and resources, her resilience is continuing to bear fruit. At the time, she was part of an Executive Board Committee called FIERCE+, a Filipinx-American high school outreach program. Through FIERCE+, she was able to give back to her community since her days in high school. Furthermore, she also started an organization that concentrated on funding low budget organizations in the Philippines during the COVID19 pandemic and was successful in raising funds. As an immigrant, she understood the situation in the Philippines. With the help of the Gabler Promise Scholars Writing Program, she plans to reach out to more Filipinx/Filipinx Americans both in America and the Philippines through journalism.
Creative writing
This creative writing is a poem that starts with a dream about finding something or someone that the narrator has lost. In reality, it is the narrator who is lost.
Year-long Project
For my creative project, I created a website about my experience as a student in the Philippines and the transition here in America. To promote diverse ideas, I included excerpts from six oral histories I collected of my closest friends who shared their experiences through interviews. I describe our stories as diverse because we come from different islands in the Philippines which have different dialects and cultures. The website has eight tabs that are composed of short stories, poems, and prose. Not only did my website talk about high school experiences in two different countries, but it emphasized the importance of friendship, resilience, and courageousness. My goal for this website is to provide a safe place for immigrants and future immigrants. I want to give comfort to those who are concerned about immigrating and provide a testimony of victory.
