Students Immigrate from the Philippines to America

According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), the Philippines has been one of the top five origin countries of immigrants every year since 1990. MPI also states that 45 percent of all Filipino immigrants coming to the United States move to California. Reflecting this statistic, Peninsula’s Filipino student population consists of many immigrants or children of immigrants.

Until this school year, junior Charles Liu lived in Cebu, one of the largest provinces in the Philippines. Despite visiting family in California every summer, moving to California was a big step for Liu and his family.

“It was scary to uproot [myself] and start over,” Liu said. “However, [I am happy that] the people at Peninsula have made this a fun experience.”

Liu’s family made the decision to leave the Philippines after Liu’s older brother, who began attending the University of California, Irvine last year, had trouble integrating his way into friend groups and adjusting to American culture. Liu felt that it would be easier to attend an American high school and then transition into college.

While Liu feels like the move was a good choice, he admits that the process has been difficult, especially for his parents. Liu’s father owns a business located in the Philippines, forcing him to stay there while Liu, his mother and siblings came to live in America.

“My dad and my mom balance each other out,” Liu said. “When the power is only to one parent, it is difficult, but I have to adjust.”

Junior Allyson Ee moved from the Philippine capital, Manila, this August. According to Ee, starting a new life across the world has been both an incredible and frightening experience. The sudden change of cultures both overwhelmed and excited her.

“From the way Americans speak English so smoothly to the way girls paint their nails, color their hair and show their bums in those booty shorts, culture shock had me astounded and embarrassed at the same time,” Ee said.

When she was in the seventh grade, Ee signed a contract with her school in which she committed to study the sciences all throughout high school. She then attended the Philippine Science High School (PSHS), one of the top schools in the Philippines, for four years.

As a student of PSHS, Ee had already secured admission in the top science university in the Philippines. However, Ee gave up that opportunity to seek acceptance into an American university. She feels that not succeeding here would be a disappointment to both her and other Filipino immigrants.

“Taking the risk of moving here will either [prove to be] the most disappointing or wisest decision,” Ee said. “I am also setting an example for other science high school scholars in the Philippines to show that studying in the United States is not as impossible as they think it is.”

Like Liu, Ee and her family also faced difficulties when she came to California. Due to financial reasons, Ee had to move to the United States without her parents.

“I currently live with a host family,” Ee said. “It was a painful choice [to part with my family]. After all, I have lived with [them] my whole life.”

When comparing the United States to the Philippines, Liu claims that life in the Philippines was much easier than it is in the United States, one of the reasons being that his old community was very tight-knit.

“You do not have to do everything yourself,” Liu said. “You study and do good things for your college applications and that is it. I went to a small school with only 300 students, so I could participate in all the extracurriculars [offered].”

Though not missing the heat of the Philippines, Ee misses the food and friendly attitude of its people. She is hopeful that participating in Peninsula’s Pinoy Club will help her experience Filipino culture and spread it to others here.

“Filipinos are known to be some of the happiest and most hospitable people in the world,” Ee said. “Being Filipino is in my blood, and I want to show these traits by sharing my knowledge and being welcoming to those around me.”

In the future, Liu hopes to attend one of the Universities of California and eventually become a businessman. He has thought about joining his family’s business, but he wants to first prove himself credible by his own right.

Ee wishes to study chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition, she hopes to one day inspire people to take risks to achieve their goals.

“Regardless of which university I [attend], I dream that someday I will inspire others to never let anything stop them from achieving their dreams,” Ee said.