Filipino American History Month

Filipino American History Month

This month, we honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Filipinx Americans to the United States.

Filipino American History Month (FAHM)*, established in October 1988, commemorates the first recorded presence of Filipinxs in the continental U.S. On October 18, 1587, "Luzones Indios" came ashore from the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Esperanza, landing at what is now Morro Bay, California. As the third-largest AAPI group in the U.S. and the second-largest in California, Filipinx Americans have shaped and enriched this nation over generations.

At UC Berkeley, we celebrate the vibrant and diverse Filipinx community. This year’s theme, set by the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), is From Quotas to Communities: Filipino American Migration and Movement.

*We refer to the month as Filipino American History Month to align Congress' resolution that officially recognized October as "Filipino" American History Month and use "Filipinx" when addressing individuals and the community. We acknowledge the use of multiple “umbrella” terms, such as Filipino/Filipinx/Pilipinx and the many intersectional identifying terms people embrace. We respect and appreciate how community members choose to self-identify.

Spotlight: AA & PI Thriving

At UC Berkeley, AA & PI Thriving works to build a more inclusive future by centering student voices, strengthening support systems, and celebrating cultural presence on campus. We invite you to learn more about our initiatives, connect with AA & PI communities, and take part in shaping a thriving Berkeley for generations to come.

Learn more about AA & PI Thriving

Student Groups

Units and Departments

APASD Satellite Advising Services flyer

The Asian Pacific American Student Development (APASD) office resumed its Letters & Sciences virtual advising services and expanded their schedule to every day of the week:

  • Mondays 1-4pm (with Madalyn Morris Huerta)
  • Tuesdays 9am-12pm (with Mei-Chen Pan)
  • Tuesdays 1-4pm (with Arman Liwanag-Orpilla)
  • Wednesdays 1-4pm (with Riri Shibata)
  • Thursdays 1-4pm (with Kelsey Owyang)
  • Fridays 9am-12pm (with Humah Bargzie)

If you meet with L&S students who wish to deepen their connection to UC Berkeley's Asian American, Pacific Islander, South Asian, Southwest Asian, and North African (AA/PI/SSWANA) communities, please refer them to the calendar to book an appointment

Staff and Faculty Resources

Task Forces/Advisory Bodies

Read and Watch

Meet Gave, one of the Pilipinx Academic Student Services (PASS) executive directors

Gavriel Curameng, one of the executive directors of the Pilipinx Academic Student Services (PASS)

Meet the Pilipino Association for Health Careers (PAHC) Org

Members of PAHC after their new member orientation meeting holding a poster and all dressed professionally

Gavriel Curameng speaks at 2024 commencement

commencement 2025 22000of people sitting in the stands

With a 63-by-30 foot art installation, Stephanie Syjuco explores education and activism at BAMPFA

A photo of Stephanie Syjuco's installation of "Present Tense (Roll Call)" at BAMPFA.

Diana J.S. Martinez, historian of American architecture, joins CED faculty

Diana J. S. Martinez headshot

Welcoming Aileen Zerrudo—Comparative Literature alum—back to Berkeley as Associate Vice Chancellor

headshot of Aileen Zerrudo

Research

The Filipinx and Philippine Studies Working Group

continues to foster scholarship, dialogue, and community around Filipinx and Philippine studies. Recent and forthcoming Publications by UC Berkeley Filipinx/Filipino Faculty include Concrete Colonialism by Diana J. S. Martinez and The Profligate Colonial by Lisandro Claudio

Through the Fronds There Were No Stars (2021) - by Maia Cruz Palileo

Catherine Ceniza Choy

Professor of Ethnic Studies

She is the 2025-26 Los Angeles Times Distinguished Fellow at The Huntington. She will be researching and writing a book-length biography on Filipina food scientist Maria Ylagan Orosa who is most well known for inventing banana ketchup.

Catherine Ceniza Choy headshot

Diana J.S. Martinez

Architectural historian and assistant professor of Architectural History and Theory at the College of Environmental Design

Her research examines the architecture of the U.S. empire, with a focus on the built environment of the Philippine Islands. Her new book,Concrete Colonialism: Architecture, Urbanism, and the United States’ Imperial Project in the Philippines (Duke University Press, 2025), reveals how a single hybrid material—concrete—shaped the trajectory of America’s colonial project in the Philippines.

Diana J. S. Martinez headshot

James Nuñez

Assistant professor in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, a Hanna Gray Fellow of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and an Investigator of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub

Nuñez studies epigenetics — the chemical tags on DNA that can control which genes are turned on or off in human cells. He has pioneered CRISPR technologies that allow researchers to change epigenetic patterns on DNA. He aims to apply his tools in neurons, which encode highly specialized epigenetics that are altered in many neurological diseases. Most recently, he was awarded theSloan Research Fellowship and Vallee Scholars Award

Nunez lab text with sather tower in the background

James Olzmann

A proud Filipino American scholar, his research explores the regulation of cellular lipid homeostasis, with discoveries on lipid droplets, lipotoxicity, and ferroptosis. The Olzmann Lab  investigates the role of lipid metabolism in diseases such as fatty liver disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer, with the goal of developing new therapeutics for these devastating diseases. He is an ASCB fellow and has received many awards, including the Günter Blobel Early Career Award, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and the Avanti award in Lipids.

James Olzmann headshot

Stephanie Syjuco

Full professor and co-director of the Undergraduate Program in the Art Practice Department 

Her work critically engages archives of American colonialism in the Philippines,martial law–era photojournalism, and Filipino American histories, most recently in hermonograph The Unruly Archive and a collaboration with the Filipino American National Historical Society. She recently unveiledPresent Tense (Roll Call), a 63 × 30-foot installation at BAMPFA exploring education, activism, and contested histories - on view through June 28, 2026.

Stephanie Syjuco headshot

Filipino American History Month 2025

A message from leadership to the campus community.

Events

A note from Abigail Anne Verino, 2025-26 ASUC President —

Abigail Anne Verino headshot posing in behind a desk

‘Daly City is basically Manilatown’- words that my white classmates said in the school hallways. I looked down in shame, but as I stared out the window and saw Karl the fog rolling in, I remembered the anecdote my parents shared with me that ‘the fog is all the Filipinos cooking rice’. I no longer felt shame in being surrounded by a community that looked like me. 

As a first generation Filipina American born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am incredibly lucky to have been exposed to Ethnic Studies and social justice work that is rooted in the community. Through volunteering as a translator for elderly manongs and manangs as they share their stories in Tagalog at Bayanihan Equity Center in San Francisco, and showing younger Filipino American students that higher education is attainable by being a program lead for the non-profit AAMPLIFY, the stories these younger and elderly Filipinos shared the same sentiments and dreams that my parents had, to give back to our family, back to our kapwa, and back to our community; all upon the driving purpose of love.

Filipinos are resilient, and I choose to be resilient by leading with love. Being able to pay homage to the servant leaders who came before me in my work, such as Larry Itliong, has allowed me to be part of something greater than myself. Itliong, a Filipino American labor movement leader in the Delano grape strikes, proved that making noise and centering leadership around the people ensures that community remains in the hands of the community. Inspired by the movements towards intergenerational healing and solidarity work, my work in public service is rooted in leading with love; because of my love for my family, my love for Ethnic Studies, my love for my community, and my love for my Filipino identity.

- Abigail VerinoASUC President 25-26, Pilipinx & Southeast Asian Community ASUC Senator 24-25

Support PCN’s 50th Anniversary: Help bring it back to Zellerbach Hall

As we celebrate Filipino American History Month this October, we’re also excited to share that the Pilipinx American Alliance (PAA) community will be participating in the University’s October Cohort Crowdfunding campaign. All funds raised will go toward our 50th Annual Pilipinx Cultural Night (PCN), with the hopes of bringing it back to Zellerbach Hall—a historic stage for our community’s stories, creativity, and resilience. Your support will help make this milestone celebration possible!

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