Edward Manio interview
Item
Title
Edward Manio interview
Creator
Manio, Edward
Banh, Jenny
Relation
Central Valley Southeast Asian Successful Voices
Coverage
Fresno, California
Date
6/29/2017
Rights
Copyright has been transferred to Fresno State
Identifier
SCMS_casv_00014
extracted text
>> All right. And I'm basically going to -- I'm starting an archive at Fresno State.
>> Okay.
>> Let's see. So I'm starting an archive at Fresno State and where we're going to ask successful Southeast
Asians such as yourself about your barriers and bridges. And then in the end I ask you what do you suggest
or what advice you give for the third and fourth generation who come after you. So do I have your verbal
permission to interview you?
>> Yes, you do.
>> Great. Okay. Please say your name, the date, and give me verbal permission, and also spell your name.
>> Sure. It's Edward Manio. It is June 29, 2017, Thursday morning at 10:46 a.m. You have verbal
permission to record this interview for whatever purposes. And my name is spelled E-D-W-A-R-D, last name's
Manio, M-A-N-I-O.
>> Great. And do you give verbal permission to deposit your interview in the Henry Madden Library?
>> Yes, I give verbal permission to deposit my interview in the Henry Madden Library.
>> Okay.
>> No problem at all.
>> Great. Okay. I guess we'll start. What is your gender?
>> Male.
>> What is your -- not your birth date, but your year?
>> 1984.
>> What is your ethnic group?
>> Filipino.
>> Where were you born?
>> Guam.
>> What was your undergraduate major?
>> Undergraduate major was kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise science.
>> Oh. What was the generation that you are in the United States; first, 1.5, second or more?
>> Can you help me with that one? See, my parents immigrated here first and I was born on the U.S.
territory, so would that be first or second?
>> I guess you would be second generation ->> Second, right.
>> Yeah. What is your mother --
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>> Okay. Yeah, because my parents came here first then.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. So I'm second.
>> I guess you'd be second, yeah. What is your -[ Inaudible comment ]
>> What is your mother and father's highest education attainment?
>> High school.
>> What was your ->> Both of them.
>> For both of your parents?
>> Yeah, both of them was high school.
>> And what is your family composition, which means like how many siblings or did you grow up with
grandparents?
>> Oh, yeah. No. I just grew up with my mom and dad and my two older siblings, sisters. Yeah.
>> What is your GPA, if you can remember it?
>> Yeah. Undergrad was 3.47. And then my graduate degree actually a 3.9.
>> And graduate degree in what major?
>> Kinesiology with a specialization in sport administration.
>> Oh. What is your ultimate degree aspiration? You already have an M.A., so is M.A. your last degree?
>> I've been contemplating getting my Ed.D., but I'm not sure. So as of right now, yeah, the M.A., with a
doctorate as a maybe, but unlikely.
>> Okay. We have a new online Ed.D. at Fresno State actually, with Channel Islands.
>> No, don't tell me that. Serious; are you serious?
>> Yes. It's online, yeah.
>> Okay. We're going to have talk off line after that.
>> Okay.
>> Serious. Okay. Cool.
>> Great.
>> I didn't know about that. Cool.
>> Yeah.
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>> I should just start reading those newsletters.
>> Maybe I can send you something. Oh, great. Your socioeconomic background that you grew up in, was it
working class, middle class or affluent, which means wealthy?
>> No, no. Heck no. Middle class.
>> Okay. Was your high school public or private, and what was your high school?
>> Private, and that was St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo, California.
>> Was it a Catholic school?
>> Yes, private Catholic.
>> Oh, interesting. What was the racial and ethnic demographics of your high school?
>> Oh, gosh. The majority was Filipino.
>> Interesting.
>> And then I want to say maybe 60 to 65 percent were Filipino, and then maybe 20 to 25 percent white,
and the rest was mixed.
>> Oh, interesting. And then ->> But the majority was Filipino.
>> And what city was this in?
>> In Vallejo. Vallejo, California.
>> Where's Vallejo?
>> It's 25 miles north of San Francisco.
>> Oh, okay. Interesting.
>> It's on the Bay area.
>> Okay. Interesting. So in looking at your high school, did many Filipinos go to college; and if they did or
they didn't, why did they go and why did they not go?
>> Oh, wow. We had a very successful graduation rate from our high school. I can remember, I want to say
my senior year, I want to say about 96 to 97 percent were enrolled in some type of college.
>> Wow.
>> Most of the Filipinos entered into four-year institutions, state and UCs.
>> Wow.
>> And some did a junior college and a couple did military, but most of us went to college.
>> Why do Filipinos go to college overwhelmingly? I mean, why do they go?
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>> I would want to say, from my experience, is it's the family upbringing. I know my parents for sure -- no
one in my family ever went and what they did, they struggled in the Philippines. You know, my dad actually
joined the United States Navy to make it here. And my mom was petitioned here through her dad. Her dad
was a U.S. Army and he petitioned all of his children to come here. And so they did mostly labor work type
jobs. I mean, my grandpa used to pick grapes in Delano and my dad was, you know, in the military and my
mom did every odd/end jobs here until she became a secretary. And it was a struggle, so to avoid their
struggle they really pushed it on to me to want to go to a four-year institution to make it a little easier than
they had it. And I feel like a lot of other of my classmates [inaudible] same thing.
>> Did you go to Fresno State?
>> [Inaudible]. Yes, I did.
>> Great. And did you get your master's at Fresno -[ Inaudible comment ]
>> Did you get your master's at Fresno State?
>> Yeah. I stayed there for both, yeah, for both degrees.
>> And then when you came to Fresno State, did you find a lot of other Filipinos?
>> It took a while. It took a while. Well, I mean, in the first couple weeks, no, but I did run into the Filipino
Fraternity Expo.
>> Right.
>> Which I'm pretty sure you're familiar with. And actually, when I met them at a table, they introduced me
to the Filipino Club.
>> Oh.
>> I didn't even know that my Godbrother from Guam was actually one of the founding fathers of Expo.
>> Oh, my goodness. Wow, that's impressive.
>> Yeah. Well, small world.
>> That is a very small world.
>> Yeah. And then so when I met the fraternity and then I met the club, those were the only few Filipinos I
interacted with, which coming from, you know, a small high school -- I mean, our high school population
was just a little over 600 and with the majority being Filipino, I was surrounded by my people the whole
time.
>> Oh, wow. Okay. Were they first gen or second gen like you?
>> Second, just same like me, yeah.
>> Oh, interesting. So if you look at the numbers, there are way more Filipinos and, in fact, if you look at
the Southeast Asian numbers, Filipinos go to college the most amongst Southeast Asians in comparison to -[ Inaudible comment ]
in comparison to other Southeast Asians, such as Hmong or Min [phonetic] or Laos. Why is it that you see
this contrast that there is a larger population of Filipinos versus other Southeast Asians, including males?
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>> I want to just to say maybe it's the family upbringing. And then one thing I've noticed, too, maybe it's a
cultural thing. I know my mom and dad really -- you know, when it came to like learning about the culture, I
learned more about the culture with the Filipino Club and I really didn't learn more about it through my
parents. I want to say maybe my parents adapted more to the American lifestyle, trying to live the American
dream, so they did everything they can to push me towards that. Does that make sense?
>> It does.
>> But as far as putting me in a situation to wanting -- I mean, they put me in private school because they
[inaudible] public school, especially where I grew up, wasn't as successful, so they put me in a private school
setting and made sure I talked to certain counselors, made sure I followed the right way in order to get
there.
>> Interesting.
>> Like really helping with the guidance part. And, I mean, in my observation, you know, both of my
parents speak English pretty well.
>> Oh.
>> And I notice a lot of Filipinos my age, or at least in my generation, we don't speak Tagalog.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> So I feel like we're more Americanized in a certain sense that way.
>> And do you think that ->> Where our parents adapted to English and they adapted towards, you know, more of the American
lifestyle and really pushed it. So that could be a factor.
>> Okay.
>> I know other Southeast Asians, there's like a language barrier between parents because I work in a
diverse area [inaudible].
>> Okay.
>> And so there's like a barrier where, you know, sometimes the parents don't understand the entrance to
college or they're confused, or what not, where our parents kind of learned and inquired more so they kind
of helped me with the application process, where maybe these other Southeast Asians don't have that
parental support maybe due to language barriers or a lack of knowledge of how to get there ->> And why do you ->> or lack of [inaudible] how to get there.
>> Jumping on what you said on the language barriers, do you think it had any difference that you are a
male? Because it's a skewed number in that Southeast Asian males are not going to college as much as
women, but if you look at the Filipino numbers, you have almost have a 50/50 -- or a 50/50 [inaudible]. Why
do you think Filipino males in particular are going to college and also graduating, being very successful,
versus other Southeast Asian males, in terms of talking about gender?
>> Wow, I didn't even know that. Maybe, for me, I mean, in particular, my parents [inaudible] me to be
dependent, so I learned not to depend on anyone else. So it was more of a I got to do it to support myself.
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>> Okay. Interesting.
>> And I feel like maybe other Filipinos feel the same way, too, so we had to go to school and to learn and
to survive and do it that way.
>> Do Filipinos ->> That could be it.
>> I think that's a good answer. Do Filipino students have strong relationships with administrators and
faculty?
>> I think so.
>> Okay.
>> I do. I mean, I still keep in contact with faculty members that I've worked with.
>> Great. What is your favorite subject and what is your least favorite subject?
>> Favorite subject. Wow, that's a good one. You know, my favorite subject has to be anything business
related, so anything related to sales, marketing, business, even business writing. Anything related to
business. That's why I switched majors into sport administration. My least favorite, I can easily name that
one, and that was organic chemistry.
>> You're not the first person to say that, by the way. How funny.
>> Okay. I mean, basic chemistry, cool. Organic chemistry, no, that wasn't a fan of mine.
>> Okay. What makes a good professor and what makes a bad professor for you to pass a class?
>> Oh, a good professor for sure is one that has good interaction with the students, one who doesn't just
present material, but engages. You know, I like one that actually talks to -- like talks with the student, not to
the student. Because I've had tons of professors who would just simply come in, read off their notes,
lecture, and that's it, where other professors ask questions, engage and engage in thought and engage in
conversation. So I like more of a conversational type professor and that makes them more successful than
the others.
>> Okay. Have you ever been mentored?
>> Mentored, as in -- can you define that a little bit more? I mean, I've had mentors, but a mentor.
>> Oh, like you're in college, did anyone give you advice?
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely.
>> Okay. You talked about your high school was predominantly Filipino. Were the teachers predominantly
Filipino? And then what were the teacher expectations of you guys? Did they expect you to go to high school
-- I mean, did they expect you to go to college?
>> Oh, well, no, the teacher population was not Filipino.
>> Oh.
>> It was mostly white.
>> Okay.
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>> And maybe there were a few Filipinos. Actually, I can count the Filipino teachers on my hand.
>> Interesting.
>> So most of the teachers were actually white. Their expectation, their expectation was to go to college.
>> Oh, interesting. For all of you?
>> Right, right. Graduating high school was -- yeah, all of us. It was either go to college or -- yeah, actually
that was the main expectation, was to go to college, whether it was a two-year or a four-year, or do
something. But their expectations were high, and I remember going to class and they would say you think
this is hard, college will be harder, or I'm preparing you for college, this is how they do it at the university.
That was their preparation. Graduating high school wasn't even a goal. It was an expectation.
>> Interesting.
>> Like you're going to finish, your goal is to get into school. So that was how we were all approached.
>> Do you think your high school actually academically prepared you for college; were you prepared coming
from high school?
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Interesting.
>> Definitely. I mean, work ethic wise, definitely. You know, it was harder. Of course, the shock was, wow,
I only went to school four hours a day or less. So managing the time I wasn't prepared for it because I had
so much free time, but for the workload I was definitely prepared. Matter of fact, some of my classes that I
took, general ed classes, were exactly the same or a very similar curriculum to what I took in high school, so
some of those classes I breezed right through.
>> Interesting. What was your high school called again? Can you spell it?
>> Oh, my school -- the name?
>> Hu-huh.
>> Yeah. St. Patrick ->> St. Patrick.
>> dash, St. Vincent High School.
>> Interesting. Okay. Thank you. That's a very successful high school. I always like to note that.
>> Yeah.
>> So we're on the second part of the interview, and the last part is I'll ask you advice, but did you find any
barriers to your higher education success? And, I mean, I can define barriers and you can define it any way
you want, but it could be financial, it could be health, it could be gender, it could be structural, could be
working, could be taking care of parents or racism, or anything. Did you have any kind of barriers in finishing
college?
>> Nothing like major. One of the things I would maybe have liked to learn was how to schedule classes.
>> Oh, how to schedule classes. [Inaudible].
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>> Yeah. Because when I first -- like no one in my family ever went to college, and in my high school our
classes were given to us.
>> Okay.
>> Or if we wanted a certain class, our counselor made our schedule for us.
>> Okay.
>> So it was easy. And then when I went to go apply to Fresno State, and this was back in 2002'ish -- yeah,
2002, so they had just transitioned to the online application or online registering. And I'm glad I didn't have
to do the phone registering because lots of people told me they had to register by the phone back in the
day.
>> Oh, wow.
>> [Inaudible] I didn't -- I had no guidance going in because I remember clicking I want to be a kinesiology
major, and no one from the kinesiology department really contacted me. They said, oh, you're a kines major,
open the catalogue and take those classes, but I wasn't sure, I wasn't really clear on, okay, there's all these
GE classes, are there specific ones I have to take or can I take any one of them. So it would have been nice
to have guidance to know which ones to take. And I ended up taking -- not knowing how to do it, in my final
semester of undergrad, I forgot one GE class so I had to take that my last semester, which I could have
knocked out in the beginning. So that was one of the biggest barriers, was not knowing which classes to
take and in what order. I mean, I figured it later on.
>> Okay. Great. That's important to know.
>> But that was one. Yeah. Another thing that could have helped and, you know, I just want to mention,
too, barrier wise, there's a lot of -- my close friends now are all from the Filipino Club that I helped to build
and start -- or restart, and it's going great right now. Like how you saw, they're doing great.
>> Yes.
>> But it took a while for some of us to find each other. I remember joining the club and the numbers were
so small and I remember at one point a group of only 19 to 20 [inaudible], and now they're like in the sixties
and seventies.
>> Yes.
>> But it was kind of intimidating in the beginning coming on campus and not feeling -- like, I felt welcome,
but I didn't feel at home until later on and when I met people I could engage with. So if there was more,
you know, interaction or diversity or awareness of different clubs and organizations out there, that would
have been nice.
>> Awareness of clubs.
>> I know they're doing a better job now. Just an awareness of different, you know, things that are
happening, especially cultural wise. I know, I remember being a senior and meeting a good friend of mine.
We had run-ins at class together and he asked me, are you Filipino, and I'm like yeah. He goes, dude, I've
had a class with you for the past four years, I thought you were Hmong. I'm like, dude, I thought you were
Chinese. We didn't know. And he and I are like great friends now. And then he goes -- I go, hey, man, I'm
president of the Filipino Club. He goes, there's a club here. I'm like, yeah, we've been going on for a long
time. I go, dude, we even have a Filipino cultural night. He goes you guys have one of those. And it's kind of
-- it's sad because some people don't recognize that there are organizations out there. I mean, I understand
Fresno State is a big school, but yet we are small and there should be at least more awareness out there.
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>> Good point. Good point.
>> So that was like one of the -- because financially I was okay. I had scholarships and I had benefits and
my parents, and my dad was in the military so I have military benefits. Housing, I was fortunate to live with
family for a moment and then meet friends and live with them. So that wasn't much of a barrier at all. But
just the social wise, all the barriers to be able to socialize with people I'm comfortable with.
>> Okay.
>> And then classes, that was the hardest one, too, knowing which classes to take and how to take -- I
even had people from other majors that I made friends with ask about GE classes because it was unclear. I
don't know if it's been clarified by now, but I'm pretty sure there's still confusion. And then one thing, too, I
don't know if Fresno State still requires this, but I was luckily informed by friends to take a writing class, a
class with a W at the end. I don't know if this still applies.
>> They still have it.
>> Yeah. And you have to take one before you graduate, right?
>> Uh-huh.
>> Yeah. And I know that was a barrier for a lot of my friends because I had one friend who was applying
for graduation and finished all his courses, but realized he had to come back the very next semester because
he [inaudible] to take a W class and it wasn't clearly explained to him. And because of his experience, all of
us took W classes the next semester.
>> That is great. So you all helped each other, actually?
>> So that's one advice -- yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> That's advice we started passing on to each generation. So hopefully they keep listening. But, I mean,
had I not known that would have been a huge barrier to me, just waste money on another semester just to
take a class that I should have known to take [inaudible]. So those are the biggest ones that I encountered.
>> Great. So now I'm on the last part of the interview, which is on success. So you are part of ->> Okay.
>> the 6 percent global -- there's only 6 percent in the world who have a B.A., actually, globally.
>> Really?
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, shoot. Okay.
>> In the world, yeah. But in America ->> Okay.
>> it's like 30 percent, but for Southeast Asians ->> Okay.
>> it's only 14 percent. But if you disaggregate -file:///C/...Valley%20Southeast%20Asian%20Successful%20Voices/Files%20for%20upload/14_Edward_ManioFiloM__6-29-2017.clean.txt[3/10/2022 9:08:27 AM]
>> Really?
>> Filipinos ->> Have more.
>> have more, actually. But if you take out -- if you disaggregate, then Filipinos have higher than 14
percent. But ->> Okay, okay.
>> But they're within the average of the Southeast Asians. So ->> Okay.
>> in a sense you are kind of a rarity. What did you make it? So why are you successful? Like what are the
personal enablers about you that made you successful and graduate in college, when there have many -particularly Southeast Asian males who did not graduate?
>> This is the thing for me, and this goes back to the original question of why do you think we're more
successful. My parents, I did it for them. That was the biggest push for me because I had seen how hard
they worked for me to finish this degree, and I have seen friends, too, who were beneficial -- I mean, many
of my friends' fathers were in the military, too, so they've had the same military benefits, so they have their
tuition pretty much paid for, and I've seen them fail. I don't know why they failed, whether they got involved
with working or doing something else. But luckily for me, my parents made the goal of finishing school my
priority. So when it came to money and work, they supported me quite a bit and I didn't have to worry about
working and I didn't worry about housing. So my only concern was school, and because they made that the
only concern of mine, that's all I had to worry about, was finishing. So that's what really pushed me to finish.
And though classes were hard, because I wasn't required to work -- I mean, I did have a job, but that was
for my monetary gain, for my, you know, expenses, my own personal expenses. But since that was the only
priority I had -- and then to realize, you know, I didn't have a family, I didn't have to worry about a car
payment or rent or anything like that, my main concern was to finish school. So that's what pushed me to
finish my bachelor's.
>> Was there any kind of cultural ->> My bachelor's, yeah.
>> Thinking back, were there any like community -- like sometimes people will say like they're a b-boy, or
something. Was there any community pushing or cultural things that pushed you to succeed as well? You
talked about your parents and yourself.
[ Inaudible comment ]
What is it that made you keep going? I mean, I'm sure sometimes you wanted to quit, or something.
>> Oh, yeah. You know, besides my parents, the City of Vallejo, if you look it up, there's a higher Filipino
population in the entire city, and we even have city leaders, I mean, our mayor's Filipino now.
>> Oh, wow.
>> My uncle, or my dad's friend, who actually served on city council, so I didn't just see -- my parents
haven't just, you know, pushed me, but I have family members and their friends and I actually have people
to look up to who also finished.
>> Wow. Okay.
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>> So seeing their success, you know, like my uncle who graduated from college and became an officer in
the Navy, you know, seeing his success inspired me to go finish. Seeing actually, you know, friends that I
have met in the Filipino Club, because the club was so small, but to see their success, knowing that they
could make it, made me realize I could do it, too.
>> Interesting.
>> So that's what pushed me forward, you know, and seeing, you know -- but, I mean, that club means a
lot to us and seeing how they succeed and become successful and make money and how to support
themselves because they finished school really pushed me to finish as well.
>> So you talk a lot about the ethnic clubs.
[ Inaudible comment ]
What did it give to you? I mean, you said you ->> What's that?
>> You talked a lot about your ethnic clubs that you're in. What ->> Yeah.
>> You talked about the W and you talked about social life. I mean, what drew you there and what made
you want to like create it, and what do you think of the other ->> Well, what drew me there was -- you know, because that's actually one thing I saw on Oprah, where
most kids hang out with people that look like them.
>> Oh.
>> So it was just nice to be around people who could understand where I came from, who can understand
the same similarities, you know, how we eat the same food, how we act a certain way, how we do things
that are fun together. We karaoke, we barbecue. Like it was nice to be around people with the similar, you
know, likings as you, the similar, you know, things I do for fun. So that's what drew me to the club, is that
some people just -- other, you know, cultures or groups just didn't understand how we express each other,
how [inaudible] the food we like. So it was just nice to be around not only friends that [inaudible] us, but
then we have become a family.
>> Great.
>> So much that ten of us meet together on a regular basis monthly.
>> You're kidding me?
>> To this day.
>> You're kidding me?
>> No, I'm not.
>> That's excellent.
>> I want to say half of us live here in the Bay area and half of them still live in Fresno, and we still -- as a
matter of fact, we're in a mass thread.
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>> Oh, my God. Wow. That's excellent.
>> We text each other weekly.
>> And did they all ->> And people think we're crazy, but, hey.
>> Did they all graduate?
>> And we all graduated, all -- actually, there's 14 of us. Yeah, all 14 of us graduated.
>> Wow, that's impressive.
>> Yeah, yeah. And all 14 of us graduated. And we all support each other, too. Like when one of us was
down, like, hey, you need to finish that, you need to graduate, you can hang out with us.
>> Oh, wow. Okay.
>> A couple of them got their master's, too. I kind of set the bar high.
>> Wow.
>> And a couple of them followed [inaudible] and got their master's, too, so.
>> Excellent.
>> Of course, I like to say I was the first one who got it.
>> In your kind of friend group were there anyone that did not graduate?
>> No.
>> Wow. Okay. Interesting.
>> No. Yeah. We all pushed each other, actually.
>> So the last part of the interview is what do you want at Fresno State? Because we do have an issue now
with Southeast Asian males not graduating. They're accepting, but they're not staying. We also have the
same issue with African American males.
[ Inaudible comment ]
>> They're coming in, but they're not finishing, for whatever reason. What do you think we can do at Fresno
State to encourage graduation among Southeast Asians, but in particular Southeast Asian males? Like, if you
had a million dollars, what college success workshops would you want? Like do you want -- like, for example,
do you want some more classes, do you want co-ethnic professors, do you want more co-ethnic classmates,
more clubs? What workshops do you want?
>> Wow, that's a good one, because I'm actually a workshop facilitator here in the Bay area.
>> Oh, my God, that's perfect. Oh, my God, that's great.
>> That would be -- one of them, actually, one that really helped me out quite a bit was when someone told
me to take University I. Do they still offer that?
>> What is it?
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>> University I, the Introduction to University.
>> I have never heard of it.
>> Oh, wow. Really? Okay.
>> Maybe they still have it. I don't know.
>> University I was a class that I took.
>> Okay.
>> University I was a class I took freshman year, it was called Introduction to University, and I had it with
Dr. Cheryl Hickey. She's actually in the physical therapy department. And she's the one who inspired me to
actually get my master's back in 2002. I really didn't listen to her, but it stuck in my head. But that class was
actually the one that guided me to what to expect the next four or five years.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> You know, and the nice thing was she laid out realistic expectations. Maybe pressure in the Southeast
Asian community, where, you know, you have to finish in a certain amount of time, when in reality most
college students finish within five or six years [inaudible].
>> Right.
>> So she made it a reality for me. Like, okay, some people don't finish within four years and that's okay, as
long as you finish. She gave us guides on how to apply for -- you know, register for classes. She gave us
information on internships that are available to learn about different majors because maybe -- you know, I
actually went into Fresno wanting to become a physical therapist.
>> Oh, wow.
>> And then I interned with a physical therapist my freshman year and realized quickly I didn't have
patience or patients, so I switched majors early.
>> Okay.
>> You know. So maybe having more classes and workshops about the realistic -- you know, real
expectations of college up front, maybe guiding students to take GE classes related to their major, but not
just the easy ones.
>> Okay.
>> You know how a lot of people take the easy classes because, you know, they're easy. Everyone wants to
take, you know, Music 187 or Drama 62, but maybe you can take a different class more interested in their
major, and then take it early because you might find out early, hey, this isn't what I want to do, switch
majors now before it's too late.
>> Is there ->> Another one, too, is -- go ahead.
>> Well, in terms of gender, do you think that -- since you are a workshop facilitator, that's great talking to
you, really, and also as a Southeast Asian male it's interesting to talk to you. But do you think that we should
have a workshop just for the Southeast Asian males? Like do you think that would make a difference or -what do you think?
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>> It could. It could. I mean, if that's where we're lacking, so bring them in together, you know, so that way
they could bond and maybe support each other. That might be helpful. I mean, without the workshop
setting -- you know, the 14 of us who actually bonded and got together, we were able to support each other
and guide each other and help each other finish. So if we could do that, maybe they can develop their own
bond and encourage each other.
>> Interesting. Would a ->> So maybe like having a workshop with [inaudible], bring them together and encourage them and have
them, you know, take care of themselves afterwards, that would be great.
>> What are you thinking about male peers to -- a peer to a Southeast Asian male mentoring another
Southeast Asian male, or does it matter, gender? Do you think a woman can mentor a Southeast Asian
male?
>> I think it would be more comfortable if it was male-to-male.
>> Okay.
>> Like a big brother type.
>> A big brother. Okay.
>> It's just the comfort level, a more understanding thing, yeah, that you can relate to. I mean, I can, for
sure, I mean, I can honestly say that I've mentored at least two or three of the younger generation Filipinos,
two of whom both attended graduate school and one of them just graduated two weeks ago.
>> Oh, great.
>> At Cal State [inaudible] out here.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> Well, actually, he invited me to his graduation. It was good to see the younger generation finish and
actually go through what I went through. And they -- it was constantly, even when I moved, they constantly
called me, hey, bro, what class should I take, do you recommend a professor, what do I do, how do I apply,
how do I study for the GRE. And I'm like, okay, no problem, I'm going to guide you. So it does help. I was
like a big brother to them. So if it was male-to-male, I think it would be a little easier ->> Okay.
>> for them to relate to someone and just talk to.
>> Excellent. Do you have any advice -- let's say in the future the third generation or the fourth generation
students, Filipino or other Southeast Asians, listen to your interview. Do you have any advice to the third and
fourth generation to stay in school or any things that you would have done differently to graduate? Well,
you're a successful graduate, and graduate school as well, but do you have any advice for them?
>> Yeah. My advice is definitely anybody can do it. [Inaudible] just to stick to it. I mean, yes, I'm a
successful graduate and on paper it looks like I was, you know, straight on paper a book nerd, like, you
know, a high GPA, all my classes, finished my bachelor's in five years, got my master's in two years, but I
also had a very social life in school. One of my biggest advice is, people, is to relax a little bit and have fun,
too, and enjoy your time, but balance it well and surround yourself with positive people who will also
encourage you. You know, it's okay to go out a couple nights here and there and when you're of age have a
drink or two, but also have that support to say, okay, let's stop tonight so we can study tomorrow because
we have a test the next day.
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>> Good advice.
>> So to have that balance, you know, is there. Because if you're just stuck in the books, I tried it when I -my first semester in the master's program I decided, hey, I need to -- you know, I need to really step up and
just study, and when I forced myself to study too much, I actually was too frustrated. I needed to relax a
little bit. So you got to have some -- you have to have a balance. It's good to have fun, and the trendies and
the clubs and social events are great, but that can't be the main reason to go to school. That has to be an
[inaudible]. So I would study and do well on exams, and I would reward myself with a frat party.
>> Okay.
>> Study too well and then reward myself with a club event. I actually became a DJ while I was in college ->> Great.
>> because of all the fun I was doing. So, yeah, you know, interact with people, have fun, but prioritize
your studies and then incorporate the social aspect as well and then you'll have a successful college life.
>> Is there anything that you want to ->> Oh, and ->> any advice ->> Yeah.
>> sorry, specifically to males, like in terms of gender? Because we've noticed that ->> Yeah.
>> And we're going to have actually at Fresno State, you may want to come back for this ->> Yeah.
>> but we're going to have -- because we have noticed the gender ->> I will.
>> disparity. We might -- it's ->> Okay.
>> not at my level, but at the highest level, President Castro is actually going to have either a symposium or
a conference for something for males, the Southeast Asian males in particular.
>> Okay.
>> And is there any advice that you can tell, particularly on a gender level? Because we have found that ->> Sure.
>> excluding Filipinos, a lot of Southeast Asian males don't feel comfortable with asking questions. Is there
any advice ->> Yeah.
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>> that you could ->> Yeah, I was just going to say that.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. I was just going to say that. Yeah. Dr. Ying, I don't know if he's still around.
>> He is around, yeah.
>> Is he? Oh, I love Dr. Ying, man.
>> Yeah, yeah, he's still ->> He had mentioned something I won't forget in Asian American Studies class, and it actually resonated
with me, how Asians in particular are afraid to ask questions in class due to the fact they fear that they're
going to be ridiculed or they're going to be embarrassed, so they typically ask questions afterwards.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah. And I was the same type. Like I would hate to ask a question in class because I felt like maybe it
was a dumb question, but as soon as the class was over, I would go to my professor and ask the question at
that point. Maybe that's why we have a good relationship with professors because we ask questions so much
after class. Then I realized when other people would ask the questions, they would ask the same questions I
had, so I developed the courage to ask questions in class. So my biggest advice for Southeast Asian males is
we have a pride, we're very prideful people, and as males in general, and we tend to not want to show
weakness, so don't be afraid to ask questions even if you think they're dumb or they're silly or maybe you
missed it. Just go ahead, raise your hand and don't be afraid to ask questions. The biggest thing, don't be
afraid to ask for help. And if you're afraid to ask for help from a different gender, a different person, ask
someone who's like you, you know, look for someone similar to you and they can guide you. So that's the
biggest advice I can give you, is don't be afraid to ask for help.
>> Okay. Great. Thank you so much.
>> Yeah.
>> And that's the last of the interview.
>> You're welcome.
>> Thank you for your time.
>> Okay.
>> Is there anything you want to ->> No problem.
>> add to it at all or -- that's pretty much all my questions.
>> No. If you just -- yeah, if you guys have that symposium or a conference with President Castro, if I could
be a part of it, please let me know.
>> Okay. Let me turn this -- so let me turn off the ->> Okay.
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>> tape recorder. Hold on.
>> Oh, sure.
>> Turn off.
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>> Okay.
>> Let's see. So I'm starting an archive at Fresno State and where we're going to ask successful Southeast
Asians such as yourself about your barriers and bridges. And then in the end I ask you what do you suggest
or what advice you give for the third and fourth generation who come after you. So do I have your verbal
permission to interview you?
>> Yes, you do.
>> Great. Okay. Please say your name, the date, and give me verbal permission, and also spell your name.
>> Sure. It's Edward Manio. It is June 29, 2017, Thursday morning at 10:46 a.m. You have verbal
permission to record this interview for whatever purposes. And my name is spelled E-D-W-A-R-D, last name's
Manio, M-A-N-I-O.
>> Great. And do you give verbal permission to deposit your interview in the Henry Madden Library?
>> Yes, I give verbal permission to deposit my interview in the Henry Madden Library.
>> Okay.
>> No problem at all.
>> Great. Okay. I guess we'll start. What is your gender?
>> Male.
>> What is your -- not your birth date, but your year?
>> 1984.
>> What is your ethnic group?
>> Filipino.
>> Where were you born?
>> Guam.
>> What was your undergraduate major?
>> Undergraduate major was kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise science.
>> Oh. What was the generation that you are in the United States; first, 1.5, second or more?
>> Can you help me with that one? See, my parents immigrated here first and I was born on the U.S.
territory, so would that be first or second?
>> I guess you would be second generation ->> Second, right.
>> Yeah. What is your mother --
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>> Okay. Yeah, because my parents came here first then.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. So I'm second.
>> I guess you'd be second, yeah. What is your -[ Inaudible comment ]
>> What is your mother and father's highest education attainment?
>> High school.
>> What was your ->> Both of them.
>> For both of your parents?
>> Yeah, both of them was high school.
>> And what is your family composition, which means like how many siblings or did you grow up with
grandparents?
>> Oh, yeah. No. I just grew up with my mom and dad and my two older siblings, sisters. Yeah.
>> What is your GPA, if you can remember it?
>> Yeah. Undergrad was 3.47. And then my graduate degree actually a 3.9.
>> And graduate degree in what major?
>> Kinesiology with a specialization in sport administration.
>> Oh. What is your ultimate degree aspiration? You already have an M.A., so is M.A. your last degree?
>> I've been contemplating getting my Ed.D., but I'm not sure. So as of right now, yeah, the M.A., with a
doctorate as a maybe, but unlikely.
>> Okay. We have a new online Ed.D. at Fresno State actually, with Channel Islands.
>> No, don't tell me that. Serious; are you serious?
>> Yes. It's online, yeah.
>> Okay. We're going to have talk off line after that.
>> Okay.
>> Serious. Okay. Cool.
>> Great.
>> I didn't know about that. Cool.
>> Yeah.
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>> I should just start reading those newsletters.
>> Maybe I can send you something. Oh, great. Your socioeconomic background that you grew up in, was it
working class, middle class or affluent, which means wealthy?
>> No, no. Heck no. Middle class.
>> Okay. Was your high school public or private, and what was your high school?
>> Private, and that was St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in Vallejo, California.
>> Was it a Catholic school?
>> Yes, private Catholic.
>> Oh, interesting. What was the racial and ethnic demographics of your high school?
>> Oh, gosh. The majority was Filipino.
>> Interesting.
>> And then I want to say maybe 60 to 65 percent were Filipino, and then maybe 20 to 25 percent white,
and the rest was mixed.
>> Oh, interesting. And then ->> But the majority was Filipino.
>> And what city was this in?
>> In Vallejo. Vallejo, California.
>> Where's Vallejo?
>> It's 25 miles north of San Francisco.
>> Oh, okay. Interesting.
>> It's on the Bay area.
>> Okay. Interesting. So in looking at your high school, did many Filipinos go to college; and if they did or
they didn't, why did they go and why did they not go?
>> Oh, wow. We had a very successful graduation rate from our high school. I can remember, I want to say
my senior year, I want to say about 96 to 97 percent were enrolled in some type of college.
>> Wow.
>> Most of the Filipinos entered into four-year institutions, state and UCs.
>> Wow.
>> And some did a junior college and a couple did military, but most of us went to college.
>> Why do Filipinos go to college overwhelmingly? I mean, why do they go?
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>> I would want to say, from my experience, is it's the family upbringing. I know my parents for sure -- no
one in my family ever went and what they did, they struggled in the Philippines. You know, my dad actually
joined the United States Navy to make it here. And my mom was petitioned here through her dad. Her dad
was a U.S. Army and he petitioned all of his children to come here. And so they did mostly labor work type
jobs. I mean, my grandpa used to pick grapes in Delano and my dad was, you know, in the military and my
mom did every odd/end jobs here until she became a secretary. And it was a struggle, so to avoid their
struggle they really pushed it on to me to want to go to a four-year institution to make it a little easier than
they had it. And I feel like a lot of other of my classmates [inaudible] same thing.
>> Did you go to Fresno State?
>> [Inaudible]. Yes, I did.
>> Great. And did you get your master's at Fresno -[ Inaudible comment ]
>> Did you get your master's at Fresno State?
>> Yeah. I stayed there for both, yeah, for both degrees.
>> And then when you came to Fresno State, did you find a lot of other Filipinos?
>> It took a while. It took a while. Well, I mean, in the first couple weeks, no, but I did run into the Filipino
Fraternity Expo.
>> Right.
>> Which I'm pretty sure you're familiar with. And actually, when I met them at a table, they introduced me
to the Filipino Club.
>> Oh.
>> I didn't even know that my Godbrother from Guam was actually one of the founding fathers of Expo.
>> Oh, my goodness. Wow, that's impressive.
>> Yeah. Well, small world.
>> That is a very small world.
>> Yeah. And then so when I met the fraternity and then I met the club, those were the only few Filipinos I
interacted with, which coming from, you know, a small high school -- I mean, our high school population
was just a little over 600 and with the majority being Filipino, I was surrounded by my people the whole
time.
>> Oh, wow. Okay. Were they first gen or second gen like you?
>> Second, just same like me, yeah.
>> Oh, interesting. So if you look at the numbers, there are way more Filipinos and, in fact, if you look at
the Southeast Asian numbers, Filipinos go to college the most amongst Southeast Asians in comparison to -[ Inaudible comment ]
in comparison to other Southeast Asians, such as Hmong or Min [phonetic] or Laos. Why is it that you see
this contrast that there is a larger population of Filipinos versus other Southeast Asians, including males?
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>> I want to just to say maybe it's the family upbringing. And then one thing I've noticed, too, maybe it's a
cultural thing. I know my mom and dad really -- you know, when it came to like learning about the culture, I
learned more about the culture with the Filipino Club and I really didn't learn more about it through my
parents. I want to say maybe my parents adapted more to the American lifestyle, trying to live the American
dream, so they did everything they can to push me towards that. Does that make sense?
>> It does.
>> But as far as putting me in a situation to wanting -- I mean, they put me in private school because they
[inaudible] public school, especially where I grew up, wasn't as successful, so they put me in a private school
setting and made sure I talked to certain counselors, made sure I followed the right way in order to get
there.
>> Interesting.
>> Like really helping with the guidance part. And, I mean, in my observation, you know, both of my
parents speak English pretty well.
>> Oh.
>> And I notice a lot of Filipinos my age, or at least in my generation, we don't speak Tagalog.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> So I feel like we're more Americanized in a certain sense that way.
>> And do you think that ->> Where our parents adapted to English and they adapted towards, you know, more of the American
lifestyle and really pushed it. So that could be a factor.
>> Okay.
>> I know other Southeast Asians, there's like a language barrier between parents because I work in a
diverse area [inaudible].
>> Okay.
>> And so there's like a barrier where, you know, sometimes the parents don't understand the entrance to
college or they're confused, or what not, where our parents kind of learned and inquired more so they kind
of helped me with the application process, where maybe these other Southeast Asians don't have that
parental support maybe due to language barriers or a lack of knowledge of how to get there ->> And why do you ->> or lack of [inaudible] how to get there.
>> Jumping on what you said on the language barriers, do you think it had any difference that you are a
male? Because it's a skewed number in that Southeast Asian males are not going to college as much as
women, but if you look at the Filipino numbers, you have almost have a 50/50 -- or a 50/50 [inaudible]. Why
do you think Filipino males in particular are going to college and also graduating, being very successful,
versus other Southeast Asian males, in terms of talking about gender?
>> Wow, I didn't even know that. Maybe, for me, I mean, in particular, my parents [inaudible] me to be
dependent, so I learned not to depend on anyone else. So it was more of a I got to do it to support myself.
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>> Okay. Interesting.
>> And I feel like maybe other Filipinos feel the same way, too, so we had to go to school and to learn and
to survive and do it that way.
>> Do Filipinos ->> That could be it.
>> I think that's a good answer. Do Filipino students have strong relationships with administrators and
faculty?
>> I think so.
>> Okay.
>> I do. I mean, I still keep in contact with faculty members that I've worked with.
>> Great. What is your favorite subject and what is your least favorite subject?
>> Favorite subject. Wow, that's a good one. You know, my favorite subject has to be anything business
related, so anything related to sales, marketing, business, even business writing. Anything related to
business. That's why I switched majors into sport administration. My least favorite, I can easily name that
one, and that was organic chemistry.
>> You're not the first person to say that, by the way. How funny.
>> Okay. I mean, basic chemistry, cool. Organic chemistry, no, that wasn't a fan of mine.
>> Okay. What makes a good professor and what makes a bad professor for you to pass a class?
>> Oh, a good professor for sure is one that has good interaction with the students, one who doesn't just
present material, but engages. You know, I like one that actually talks to -- like talks with the student, not to
the student. Because I've had tons of professors who would just simply come in, read off their notes,
lecture, and that's it, where other professors ask questions, engage and engage in thought and engage in
conversation. So I like more of a conversational type professor and that makes them more successful than
the others.
>> Okay. Have you ever been mentored?
>> Mentored, as in -- can you define that a little bit more? I mean, I've had mentors, but a mentor.
>> Oh, like you're in college, did anyone give you advice?
>> Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely.
>> Okay. You talked about your high school was predominantly Filipino. Were the teachers predominantly
Filipino? And then what were the teacher expectations of you guys? Did they expect you to go to high school
-- I mean, did they expect you to go to college?
>> Oh, well, no, the teacher population was not Filipino.
>> Oh.
>> It was mostly white.
>> Okay.
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>> And maybe there were a few Filipinos. Actually, I can count the Filipino teachers on my hand.
>> Interesting.
>> So most of the teachers were actually white. Their expectation, their expectation was to go to college.
>> Oh, interesting. For all of you?
>> Right, right. Graduating high school was -- yeah, all of us. It was either go to college or -- yeah, actually
that was the main expectation, was to go to college, whether it was a two-year or a four-year, or do
something. But their expectations were high, and I remember going to class and they would say you think
this is hard, college will be harder, or I'm preparing you for college, this is how they do it at the university.
That was their preparation. Graduating high school wasn't even a goal. It was an expectation.
>> Interesting.
>> Like you're going to finish, your goal is to get into school. So that was how we were all approached.
>> Do you think your high school actually academically prepared you for college; were you prepared coming
from high school?
>> Oh, yeah.
>> Interesting.
>> Definitely. I mean, work ethic wise, definitely. You know, it was harder. Of course, the shock was, wow,
I only went to school four hours a day or less. So managing the time I wasn't prepared for it because I had
so much free time, but for the workload I was definitely prepared. Matter of fact, some of my classes that I
took, general ed classes, were exactly the same or a very similar curriculum to what I took in high school, so
some of those classes I breezed right through.
>> Interesting. What was your high school called again? Can you spell it?
>> Oh, my school -- the name?
>> Hu-huh.
>> Yeah. St. Patrick ->> St. Patrick.
>> dash, St. Vincent High School.
>> Interesting. Okay. Thank you. That's a very successful high school. I always like to note that.
>> Yeah.
>> So we're on the second part of the interview, and the last part is I'll ask you advice, but did you find any
barriers to your higher education success? And, I mean, I can define barriers and you can define it any way
you want, but it could be financial, it could be health, it could be gender, it could be structural, could be
working, could be taking care of parents or racism, or anything. Did you have any kind of barriers in finishing
college?
>> Nothing like major. One of the things I would maybe have liked to learn was how to schedule classes.
>> Oh, how to schedule classes. [Inaudible].
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>> Yeah. Because when I first -- like no one in my family ever went to college, and in my high school our
classes were given to us.
>> Okay.
>> Or if we wanted a certain class, our counselor made our schedule for us.
>> Okay.
>> So it was easy. And then when I went to go apply to Fresno State, and this was back in 2002'ish -- yeah,
2002, so they had just transitioned to the online application or online registering. And I'm glad I didn't have
to do the phone registering because lots of people told me they had to register by the phone back in the
day.
>> Oh, wow.
>> [Inaudible] I didn't -- I had no guidance going in because I remember clicking I want to be a kinesiology
major, and no one from the kinesiology department really contacted me. They said, oh, you're a kines major,
open the catalogue and take those classes, but I wasn't sure, I wasn't really clear on, okay, there's all these
GE classes, are there specific ones I have to take or can I take any one of them. So it would have been nice
to have guidance to know which ones to take. And I ended up taking -- not knowing how to do it, in my final
semester of undergrad, I forgot one GE class so I had to take that my last semester, which I could have
knocked out in the beginning. So that was one of the biggest barriers, was not knowing which classes to
take and in what order. I mean, I figured it later on.
>> Okay. Great. That's important to know.
>> But that was one. Yeah. Another thing that could have helped and, you know, I just want to mention,
too, barrier wise, there's a lot of -- my close friends now are all from the Filipino Club that I helped to build
and start -- or restart, and it's going great right now. Like how you saw, they're doing great.
>> Yes.
>> But it took a while for some of us to find each other. I remember joining the club and the numbers were
so small and I remember at one point a group of only 19 to 20 [inaudible], and now they're like in the sixties
and seventies.
>> Yes.
>> But it was kind of intimidating in the beginning coming on campus and not feeling -- like, I felt welcome,
but I didn't feel at home until later on and when I met people I could engage with. So if there was more,
you know, interaction or diversity or awareness of different clubs and organizations out there, that would
have been nice.
>> Awareness of clubs.
>> I know they're doing a better job now. Just an awareness of different, you know, things that are
happening, especially cultural wise. I know, I remember being a senior and meeting a good friend of mine.
We had run-ins at class together and he asked me, are you Filipino, and I'm like yeah. He goes, dude, I've
had a class with you for the past four years, I thought you were Hmong. I'm like, dude, I thought you were
Chinese. We didn't know. And he and I are like great friends now. And then he goes -- I go, hey, man, I'm
president of the Filipino Club. He goes, there's a club here. I'm like, yeah, we've been going on for a long
time. I go, dude, we even have a Filipino cultural night. He goes you guys have one of those. And it's kind of
-- it's sad because some people don't recognize that there are organizations out there. I mean, I understand
Fresno State is a big school, but yet we are small and there should be at least more awareness out there.
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>> Good point. Good point.
>> So that was like one of the -- because financially I was okay. I had scholarships and I had benefits and
my parents, and my dad was in the military so I have military benefits. Housing, I was fortunate to live with
family for a moment and then meet friends and live with them. So that wasn't much of a barrier at all. But
just the social wise, all the barriers to be able to socialize with people I'm comfortable with.
>> Okay.
>> And then classes, that was the hardest one, too, knowing which classes to take and how to take -- I
even had people from other majors that I made friends with ask about GE classes because it was unclear. I
don't know if it's been clarified by now, but I'm pretty sure there's still confusion. And then one thing, too, I
don't know if Fresno State still requires this, but I was luckily informed by friends to take a writing class, a
class with a W at the end. I don't know if this still applies.
>> They still have it.
>> Yeah. And you have to take one before you graduate, right?
>> Uh-huh.
>> Yeah. And I know that was a barrier for a lot of my friends because I had one friend who was applying
for graduation and finished all his courses, but realized he had to come back the very next semester because
he [inaudible] to take a W class and it wasn't clearly explained to him. And because of his experience, all of
us took W classes the next semester.
>> That is great. So you all helped each other, actually?
>> So that's one advice -- yeah.
>> Yeah.
>> That's advice we started passing on to each generation. So hopefully they keep listening. But, I mean,
had I not known that would have been a huge barrier to me, just waste money on another semester just to
take a class that I should have known to take [inaudible]. So those are the biggest ones that I encountered.
>> Great. So now I'm on the last part of the interview, which is on success. So you are part of ->> Okay.
>> the 6 percent global -- there's only 6 percent in the world who have a B.A., actually, globally.
>> Really?
>> Yeah.
>> Oh, shoot. Okay.
>> In the world, yeah. But in America ->> Okay.
>> it's like 30 percent, but for Southeast Asians ->> Okay.
>> it's only 14 percent. But if you disaggregate -file:///C/...Valley%20Southeast%20Asian%20Successful%20Voices/Files%20for%20upload/14_Edward_ManioFiloM__6-29-2017.clean.txt[3/10/2022 9:08:27 AM]
>> Really?
>> Filipinos ->> Have more.
>> have more, actually. But if you take out -- if you disaggregate, then Filipinos have higher than 14
percent. But ->> Okay, okay.
>> But they're within the average of the Southeast Asians. So ->> Okay.
>> in a sense you are kind of a rarity. What did you make it? So why are you successful? Like what are the
personal enablers about you that made you successful and graduate in college, when there have many -particularly Southeast Asian males who did not graduate?
>> This is the thing for me, and this goes back to the original question of why do you think we're more
successful. My parents, I did it for them. That was the biggest push for me because I had seen how hard
they worked for me to finish this degree, and I have seen friends, too, who were beneficial -- I mean, many
of my friends' fathers were in the military, too, so they've had the same military benefits, so they have their
tuition pretty much paid for, and I've seen them fail. I don't know why they failed, whether they got involved
with working or doing something else. But luckily for me, my parents made the goal of finishing school my
priority. So when it came to money and work, they supported me quite a bit and I didn't have to worry about
working and I didn't worry about housing. So my only concern was school, and because they made that the
only concern of mine, that's all I had to worry about, was finishing. So that's what really pushed me to finish.
And though classes were hard, because I wasn't required to work -- I mean, I did have a job, but that was
for my monetary gain, for my, you know, expenses, my own personal expenses. But since that was the only
priority I had -- and then to realize, you know, I didn't have a family, I didn't have to worry about a car
payment or rent or anything like that, my main concern was to finish school. So that's what pushed me to
finish my bachelor's.
>> Was there any kind of cultural ->> My bachelor's, yeah.
>> Thinking back, were there any like community -- like sometimes people will say like they're a b-boy, or
something. Was there any community pushing or cultural things that pushed you to succeed as well? You
talked about your parents and yourself.
[ Inaudible comment ]
What is it that made you keep going? I mean, I'm sure sometimes you wanted to quit, or something.
>> Oh, yeah. You know, besides my parents, the City of Vallejo, if you look it up, there's a higher Filipino
population in the entire city, and we even have city leaders, I mean, our mayor's Filipino now.
>> Oh, wow.
>> My uncle, or my dad's friend, who actually served on city council, so I didn't just see -- my parents
haven't just, you know, pushed me, but I have family members and their friends and I actually have people
to look up to who also finished.
>> Wow. Okay.
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>> So seeing their success, you know, like my uncle who graduated from college and became an officer in
the Navy, you know, seeing his success inspired me to go finish. Seeing actually, you know, friends that I
have met in the Filipino Club, because the club was so small, but to see their success, knowing that they
could make it, made me realize I could do it, too.
>> Interesting.
>> So that's what pushed me forward, you know, and seeing, you know -- but, I mean, that club means a
lot to us and seeing how they succeed and become successful and make money and how to support
themselves because they finished school really pushed me to finish as well.
>> So you talk a lot about the ethnic clubs.
[ Inaudible comment ]
What did it give to you? I mean, you said you ->> What's that?
>> You talked a lot about your ethnic clubs that you're in. What ->> Yeah.
>> You talked about the W and you talked about social life. I mean, what drew you there and what made
you want to like create it, and what do you think of the other ->> Well, what drew me there was -- you know, because that's actually one thing I saw on Oprah, where
most kids hang out with people that look like them.
>> Oh.
>> So it was just nice to be around people who could understand where I came from, who can understand
the same similarities, you know, how we eat the same food, how we act a certain way, how we do things
that are fun together. We karaoke, we barbecue. Like it was nice to be around people with the similar, you
know, likings as you, the similar, you know, things I do for fun. So that's what drew me to the club, is that
some people just -- other, you know, cultures or groups just didn't understand how we express each other,
how [inaudible] the food we like. So it was just nice to be around not only friends that [inaudible] us, but
then we have become a family.
>> Great.
>> So much that ten of us meet together on a regular basis monthly.
>> You're kidding me?
>> To this day.
>> You're kidding me?
>> No, I'm not.
>> That's excellent.
>> I want to say half of us live here in the Bay area and half of them still live in Fresno, and we still -- as a
matter of fact, we're in a mass thread.
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>> Oh, my God. Wow. That's excellent.
>> We text each other weekly.
>> And did they all ->> And people think we're crazy, but, hey.
>> Did they all graduate?
>> And we all graduated, all -- actually, there's 14 of us. Yeah, all 14 of us graduated.
>> Wow, that's impressive.
>> Yeah, yeah. And all 14 of us graduated. And we all support each other, too. Like when one of us was
down, like, hey, you need to finish that, you need to graduate, you can hang out with us.
>> Oh, wow. Okay.
>> A couple of them got their master's, too. I kind of set the bar high.
>> Wow.
>> And a couple of them followed [inaudible] and got their master's, too, so.
>> Excellent.
>> Of course, I like to say I was the first one who got it.
>> In your kind of friend group were there anyone that did not graduate?
>> No.
>> Wow. Okay. Interesting.
>> No. Yeah. We all pushed each other, actually.
>> So the last part of the interview is what do you want at Fresno State? Because we do have an issue now
with Southeast Asian males not graduating. They're accepting, but they're not staying. We also have the
same issue with African American males.
[ Inaudible comment ]
>> They're coming in, but they're not finishing, for whatever reason. What do you think we can do at Fresno
State to encourage graduation among Southeast Asians, but in particular Southeast Asian males? Like, if you
had a million dollars, what college success workshops would you want? Like do you want -- like, for example,
do you want some more classes, do you want co-ethnic professors, do you want more co-ethnic classmates,
more clubs? What workshops do you want?
>> Wow, that's a good one, because I'm actually a workshop facilitator here in the Bay area.
>> Oh, my God, that's perfect. Oh, my God, that's great.
>> That would be -- one of them, actually, one that really helped me out quite a bit was when someone told
me to take University I. Do they still offer that?
>> What is it?
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>> University I, the Introduction to University.
>> I have never heard of it.
>> Oh, wow. Really? Okay.
>> Maybe they still have it. I don't know.
>> University I was a class that I took.
>> Okay.
>> University I was a class I took freshman year, it was called Introduction to University, and I had it with
Dr. Cheryl Hickey. She's actually in the physical therapy department. And she's the one who inspired me to
actually get my master's back in 2002. I really didn't listen to her, but it stuck in my head. But that class was
actually the one that guided me to what to expect the next four or five years.
>> Oh, interesting.
>> You know, and the nice thing was she laid out realistic expectations. Maybe pressure in the Southeast
Asian community, where, you know, you have to finish in a certain amount of time, when in reality most
college students finish within five or six years [inaudible].
>> Right.
>> So she made it a reality for me. Like, okay, some people don't finish within four years and that's okay, as
long as you finish. She gave us guides on how to apply for -- you know, register for classes. She gave us
information on internships that are available to learn about different majors because maybe -- you know, I
actually went into Fresno wanting to become a physical therapist.
>> Oh, wow.
>> And then I interned with a physical therapist my freshman year and realized quickly I didn't have
patience or patients, so I switched majors early.
>> Okay.
>> You know. So maybe having more classes and workshops about the realistic -- you know, real
expectations of college up front, maybe guiding students to take GE classes related to their major, but not
just the easy ones.
>> Okay.
>> You know how a lot of people take the easy classes because, you know, they're easy. Everyone wants to
take, you know, Music 187 or Drama 62, but maybe you can take a different class more interested in their
major, and then take it early because you might find out early, hey, this isn't what I want to do, switch
majors now before it's too late.
>> Is there ->> Another one, too, is -- go ahead.
>> Well, in terms of gender, do you think that -- since you are a workshop facilitator, that's great talking to
you, really, and also as a Southeast Asian male it's interesting to talk to you. But do you think that we should
have a workshop just for the Southeast Asian males? Like do you think that would make a difference or -what do you think?
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>> It could. It could. I mean, if that's where we're lacking, so bring them in together, you know, so that way
they could bond and maybe support each other. That might be helpful. I mean, without the workshop
setting -- you know, the 14 of us who actually bonded and got together, we were able to support each other
and guide each other and help each other finish. So if we could do that, maybe they can develop their own
bond and encourage each other.
>> Interesting. Would a ->> So maybe like having a workshop with [inaudible], bring them together and encourage them and have
them, you know, take care of themselves afterwards, that would be great.
>> What are you thinking about male peers to -- a peer to a Southeast Asian male mentoring another
Southeast Asian male, or does it matter, gender? Do you think a woman can mentor a Southeast Asian
male?
>> I think it would be more comfortable if it was male-to-male.
>> Okay.
>> Like a big brother type.
>> A big brother. Okay.
>> It's just the comfort level, a more understanding thing, yeah, that you can relate to. I mean, I can, for
sure, I mean, I can honestly say that I've mentored at least two or three of the younger generation Filipinos,
two of whom both attended graduate school and one of them just graduated two weeks ago.
>> Oh, great.
>> At Cal State [inaudible] out here.
>> Wow. Okay.
>> Well, actually, he invited me to his graduation. It was good to see the younger generation finish and
actually go through what I went through. And they -- it was constantly, even when I moved, they constantly
called me, hey, bro, what class should I take, do you recommend a professor, what do I do, how do I apply,
how do I study for the GRE. And I'm like, okay, no problem, I'm going to guide you. So it does help. I was
like a big brother to them. So if it was male-to-male, I think it would be a little easier ->> Okay.
>> for them to relate to someone and just talk to.
>> Excellent. Do you have any advice -- let's say in the future the third generation or the fourth generation
students, Filipino or other Southeast Asians, listen to your interview. Do you have any advice to the third and
fourth generation to stay in school or any things that you would have done differently to graduate? Well,
you're a successful graduate, and graduate school as well, but do you have any advice for them?
>> Yeah. My advice is definitely anybody can do it. [Inaudible] just to stick to it. I mean, yes, I'm a
successful graduate and on paper it looks like I was, you know, straight on paper a book nerd, like, you
know, a high GPA, all my classes, finished my bachelor's in five years, got my master's in two years, but I
also had a very social life in school. One of my biggest advice is, people, is to relax a little bit and have fun,
too, and enjoy your time, but balance it well and surround yourself with positive people who will also
encourage you. You know, it's okay to go out a couple nights here and there and when you're of age have a
drink or two, but also have that support to say, okay, let's stop tonight so we can study tomorrow because
we have a test the next day.
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>> Good advice.
>> So to have that balance, you know, is there. Because if you're just stuck in the books, I tried it when I -my first semester in the master's program I decided, hey, I need to -- you know, I need to really step up and
just study, and when I forced myself to study too much, I actually was too frustrated. I needed to relax a
little bit. So you got to have some -- you have to have a balance. It's good to have fun, and the trendies and
the clubs and social events are great, but that can't be the main reason to go to school. That has to be an
[inaudible]. So I would study and do well on exams, and I would reward myself with a frat party.
>> Okay.
>> Study too well and then reward myself with a club event. I actually became a DJ while I was in college ->> Great.
>> because of all the fun I was doing. So, yeah, you know, interact with people, have fun, but prioritize
your studies and then incorporate the social aspect as well and then you'll have a successful college life.
>> Is there anything that you want to ->> Oh, and ->> any advice ->> Yeah.
>> sorry, specifically to males, like in terms of gender? Because we've noticed that ->> Yeah.
>> And we're going to have actually at Fresno State, you may want to come back for this ->> Yeah.
>> but we're going to have -- because we have noticed the gender ->> I will.
>> disparity. We might -- it's ->> Okay.
>> not at my level, but at the highest level, President Castro is actually going to have either a symposium or
a conference for something for males, the Southeast Asian males in particular.
>> Okay.
>> And is there any advice that you can tell, particularly on a gender level? Because we have found that ->> Sure.
>> excluding Filipinos, a lot of Southeast Asian males don't feel comfortable with asking questions. Is there
any advice ->> Yeah.
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>> that you could ->> Yeah, I was just going to say that.
>> Yeah.
>> Yeah. I was just going to say that. Yeah. Dr. Ying, I don't know if he's still around.
>> He is around, yeah.
>> Is he? Oh, I love Dr. Ying, man.
>> Yeah, yeah, he's still ->> He had mentioned something I won't forget in Asian American Studies class, and it actually resonated
with me, how Asians in particular are afraid to ask questions in class due to the fact they fear that they're
going to be ridiculed or they're going to be embarrassed, so they typically ask questions afterwards.
>> Okay.
>> Yeah. And I was the same type. Like I would hate to ask a question in class because I felt like maybe it
was a dumb question, but as soon as the class was over, I would go to my professor and ask the question at
that point. Maybe that's why we have a good relationship with professors because we ask questions so much
after class. Then I realized when other people would ask the questions, they would ask the same questions I
had, so I developed the courage to ask questions in class. So my biggest advice for Southeast Asian males is
we have a pride, we're very prideful people, and as males in general, and we tend to not want to show
weakness, so don't be afraid to ask questions even if you think they're dumb or they're silly or maybe you
missed it. Just go ahead, raise your hand and don't be afraid to ask questions. The biggest thing, don't be
afraid to ask for help. And if you're afraid to ask for help from a different gender, a different person, ask
someone who's like you, you know, look for someone similar to you and they can guide you. So that's the
biggest advice I can give you, is don't be afraid to ask for help.
>> Okay. Great. Thank you so much.
>> Yeah.
>> And that's the last of the interview.
>> You're welcome.
>> Thank you for your time.
>> Okay.
>> Is there anything you want to ->> No problem.
>> add to it at all or -- that's pretty much all my questions.
>> No. If you just -- yeah, if you guys have that symposium or a conference with President Castro, if I could
be a part of it, please let me know.
>> Okay. Let me turn this -- so let me turn off the ->> Okay.
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>> tape recorder. Hold on.
>> Oh, sure.
>> Turn off.
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