The first Filipino Student Association is welcomed on Langara Campus

By JEAH DINO

The first Filipino cultural club at Langara College is now being established since the college was founded in 1994. 

Almost 30 years later, club founder Armor Valor Corrales, said that while there has long been a community of Filipino students at the college, 2022 saw a significant increase from 217 to 440 students – enough to justify creating a club especially for them. 

Corrales is currently serving as a re-elected member to the Langara Board of Governors, this is where he saw “that [Langara] had a huge increase in Filipino students and a lot of students were asking about starting a Filipino club at Langara.” 

The Philippines has been ranked second overall for the number of international students by country since 2022 at Langara College. The population of Filipino students at Langara has grown from being ninth overall from 2019-2021.  

The rapid growth of Filipino students prompted Corrales and other founding members to establish the Langara Filipino Student Association, which aims to build a network for both Filipino international students and Filipino-Canadian students.  

Community away from home

Bridging the gap for cultural identification and community for first- and second-generation Filipinos is a goal for the club. “There’s a huge group of international students that are looking for community and to reconnect with their culture,” Corrales said. 

The club welcomes people from all cultures as there is a population of international students who are not ethnically Filipino but grew up in the Philippines. The association hopes to hone the identities that students have with Filipino culture and be a place where they can find a community.  

Interim Vice President of Langara Filipino Student Association, Punam Dhillon, is Indian but was born and raised in the Philippines. “The culture has been an essential part of my upbringing. I actively sought that when I came to Canada, I believe that sharing my experience can open dialogues about identity and I hope to foster a sense of belonging for others like me,” said Dhillon. 

Langara’s landscape

Currently, there are six cultural and identity clubs in Langara, the Langara Filipino Student Association will be the seventh. Each club has contributed to helping students find a community away from home. 

Japanese Association Langara President, Shion Omichi, feels that the clubs have widened her understanding of diverse cultures. “Sometimes you don’t really feel like you belong in those communities, or you don’t even have one,” said Omichi.

The Langara Filipino Student Association hopes to increase a sense of belonging for students and add to building Langara’s mosaic community.  

Armor Valor Corrales talks about the clubs goals and aspirations as well as growth for the Langara College community.

The growing Filipino community in Canada is rising in student populations

According to Statistics Canada, the Philippines is the third largest source country for immigration to Canada. In the 2021 Census of Population, the metropolitan area of Vancouver had 141,230 Filipino residents. 

Colleges in the lower mainland such as Douglas, SFU and UBC have already established Filipino clubs to promote and celebrate the Filipino culture.  

External and Internal Director of SFU-Filipino Students Association, Ben Luchina stated that their club was founded in 2021 with a vision to promote Filipino culture within the university space to both Filipinos and non-Filipinos.  

“It allowed me to explore my Filipino identity more. So, I think I bring that experience as a Filipino-Canadian, alongside other international student Filipinos. We share this identity, and cultivate togetherness,” Luchina said.  

This club aims to expand beyond the local university space and start getting recognition from other businesses and participate in other community events outside of SFU. 

Joshua Antonio, a member of Langara Filipino Students Association, hopes to see the same for Langara. 

Antonio said that they have a diverse group of members and executives which builds a community within Langara that welcomes all Filipinos regardless of their background. 

“Having a space to connect with fellow Filipinos and our Filipino heritage would be beneficial to develop a stronger sense of identity and pride,” Antonio said.