Our KAPWA

Andrew Arevalo

Andrew is a Filipino-American, first-year student at San Diego Mesa College. He is currently majoring in Environmental Engineering and hopes to later transfer to UCSD or UCI after community. Last semester, he attended the SpeakOut Youth Summit, a virtual summit focused on fighting racial injustice and furthering leadership development in students and young adults. From the event, he became inspired, which led him into creating a Teach-In presentation on Inclusion and raising awareness on the importance of providing equal access, opportunities, and resources for people and students with Special Needs/Learning Disabilities.

Project: "APIA Voices"

Panel: "Amplifying Voices"

George Buchanan

George is a student at Mesa College. He is a member of Kapwa.

Frank Arrogante

Frank is from Yokosuka, Japan, and he is a Filipino-American student currently attending San Diego Mesa College as a freshman. His major as of right now is Social Science; however, he plans on switching it to something related to Information Technology or Business and then transferring to San Diego State University.

Project: "Home - A Feeling"

Jay Banda

Jay is an ally to the AAPI community. His goal is to uplift voices and use the privileges that he has to do so. He is Mexican-American and my family are immigrants from Mexico. Jay wishes to support and work to better himself as an ally and a person overall. He loves movies and comic books. He is thankful for this opportunity to learn and be a part of KAPWA, as it has been such a wonderful experience. Jay hopes to share what he has learned with more people.

Project: "Building Better Allyship"

Panel: "Cross-Community Solidarity"

Joey Cruise

Joey is a Filipino-American student at San Diego Mesa College who wants to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona as an architecture major. He has been a part of the Kapwa community since last semester and has enjoyed being in the community ever since.

Project: "The Life of a Banana"

Amerie Davis

Amerie Cezanne is a Fashion Merchandising Major at Mesa College. In the future, she wants to continue her studies abroad with rich history. Other than her love for fashion, she is passionate about the arts. Currently, she will be showcasing her painting dedicated to visually understanding how expectations around race/ethnicity can feel. Out of school, she is a tattoo apprentice, furthering her purpose in the creative arts.

Project: "Art Piece on the Silver Lining of Self Identity"

Eric Flores

Eric is a student at Mesa College. He is a member of Kapwa.

Michelle Flores

Michelle Flores is a first-year college student majoring in Interior Design at Mesa College. One of her career goals is to design sustainable eco-friendly homes for the homeless & people in need. She is passionate about advocating for the mental health community as she is very vocal with her own anxiety disorder- in hopes of empowering those around her who may be going through their own struggles with mental illness. Michelle is fervent & expressive about a variety of social movements, including but not limited to the Black lives matter movement, Anti-Asian hate movement, & the environmental movement.

Project: "Mental Crisis Calls Should NOT End in Bloodshed"

Panel: "Mental Health Stigma"

Rosela Mae Gallardo

Rosela was born in the Philippines, but immigrated to the U.S two years ago. Being the former lead student researcher of the investigatory project entitled “PoCaRice (Pork fat, Avocado pits, and Rice husk) Biodegradable Plastic Sheet” and a 2018 Metrobank-MTAP-Math Challenge Regionals Finalist, she is aiming to utilize her skills in Research and Mathematics to design innovative medical devices and machines for the development of the healthcare industry. Currently, she is a first-generation engineering student at San Diego Mesa College. She aspires to transfer to UC Berkeley and major in Bio/Biomedical Engineering.

Project: "Mental Health Stigma in Asia (especially the Philippines)"

Panel: "Mental Health Stigma"

Grizelda Garcia

Grizelda is a student at San Diego Mesa College. She enjoys everything that could be seen as art, and in her free time, she enjoys anything that could be considered crafts. Her main goal is to become a comic book artist, so she could share her stories with the world because you never know if someone may need to hear a story like yours. She hopes to learn more skills like animation and storyboarding in the future and plans to transfer to CalArts to learn these skills.

Project: Drift (A Comic about Mental Health and Trauma)

Maritza Garcia

Maritza is a student here at San Diego Mesa College. This is her first year here and hopes to one day transfer to CSUSM with a major in Nursing. She is a first-generation student and strives to one day be able to give back to her family who has sacrificed everything for her. During her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, baking, and spending as much time as she can with her family. She is very family-oriented and she loves helping others whenever she can.

Project + Teach-In: Environment and Personalities

Yuritzy Garcia

Yuritzy is a Mexican-American student at San Diego Mesa College. She is passionate about uplifting others and trying new things. She joined KAPWA which is a community where she is learning more about struggles within the APIA community, and how to become a better ally. She is currently majoring in Elementary Education with hopes of transferring to SDSU. She wants to one day teach a classroom where everyone feels comfortable and is accepting of each other's differences. She lives by the quote “start each day with a grateful heart.” <3

Project + Teach-In: Environment and Personalities

Rebeca Gaxiola

Rebeca Valeiras is a student at San Diego Mesa College. She was born and raised in Mexico and moved to the United States when she turned 15. She is passionate about speaking out against injustice and standing up for what is right. In her free time, she enjoys learning and talking about music and pop culture. She hopes to transfer to SDSU as a Communications major and go into a job in the media, specifically radio.

Michelle Guiterrez

Michelle is a proud Cachanilla and Californian from Mexicali, Baja California, and Calexico, California. This is her first year at San Diego Mesa Community College, and she is planning to transfer to a four-year to finish as a Biomedical Engineer to help children with disabilities. She enjoys helping others and raising the voices of those who can't, which is what got her into the medical field. Michelle loves to drink coffee, read, watch movies and go on walks. She also loves hanging out with friends and spending a lot of time with family.

Project: "Let's Talk About The LatinX Feminist Movement"

Panel: "Amplifying Voices"

Steven Harrijanto

Steven is a student pursuing a Kinesiology degree, hoping to become a physical therapist. He hopes to be able to transfer, either to San Diego State or Arizona State University. He enjoys basketball, hiking, and trying all foods. Passionate about peace and togetherness, he has spread awareness and attended rallies to promote unity and end hate. Through his words and actions, he hopes to be able to bring awareness to current issues and be a positive role model for society.

Project: "Subsiding Hate, Creating Peace"

Panel: "Cross-Community Solidarity"

Kaileykielle Hoga

Kaileykielle is a Filipina-American student at Mesa College. She is passionate about music, theater, sound design, and sharing stories. She currently works as the main editor for Illuminating Diversity, a podcast dedicated to empowering women of color in every episode. This semester, her short documentary theater play "How We Talk About Racism" was produced in City College's New Play Festival. In her free time, she enjoys being co-captain of Hestia Winterguard. She hopes to transfer to UCSD to major in Interdisciplinary Computing Arts for Music Technology.

Project: "The Meaning of Kapwa"

Panel: "Amplifying Voices"

Christina Kwan

Christina is a first-year student at Mesa College. She is passionate about learning the stories, history, and the varied perspectives of other people. Growing up, she was exposed to diverse communities of people with very different views on other people and life itself. While she could not always agree with their perspectives, she became interested in why people had such distinct interpretations of the world and the psychology behind their actions. Today she continues to be interested in people's differing perspectives and their reasonings for their own actions.

Project: "Scapegoating Through Disease"

Panel: "Mental Health Stigma"

Helene Lara

Helene is a student at San Diego Mesa College majoring in Biology. Her long-term goal is to be a veterinarian. With that, she aims to transfer to SDSU, where she will focus more on Zoology. Being a Filipina immigrant, she spends most of her time attending to her duties as the eldest daughter of the family. At her leisure, she likes to cook and try out food from different cuisines. Aside from food, she is also passionate about writing poems.

Project: "Purpose"

Panel: "Cross-Community Solidarity"

Ethan Pham

Ethan is a student at Mesa College. He is a member of Kapwa.

Mena Phommarine

Mena is 19 years old. She was born on February 21 and is an INFP. She is Laotian and grew up in San Diego, California for the majority of her life. She graduated from a school for Entrepreneurship and Technology in 2020. Mena's hobbies and interests include art, anime/shows, video games, animals, nature, and spending time with friends.

Project: "Mental Health During Quarantine"

Maya Angelene Poblete

Maya is a Filipina-American Culinary Arts Major at Mesa College. She is a first-year with hopes to transfer to a 4-year institute after obtaining an associate degree. Throughout the pandemic, she has spent most of her time exploring Filipino culture through cooking and baking. While her dream is to travel the world and explore different cultures through culinary experiences, her main goal is to one day own a successful Filipino bakery and eatery to honor and give back to her family and the community she grew up in.

Project: "AAPI Representation on the Big Screen"

Alisandra Ramirez

Alisandria, who usually goes by “Ali”, is a Brazilian, Mexican, and Filipina first-year college student. This is her second semester at Mesa where she is getting her general ed credits. She is planning to transfer to SDSU or UCLA after her second year at Mesa. Ali is studying cinematic arts in hopes of becoming a film editor for the big screens. She used to attend a film program called the Cymer Youth Institute where she created her first official short films. Her hobbies include editing, skateboarding, listening to music, art, hanging out with friends, and adventuring.

Willow Relf-Discartin

Willow is a student at San Diego Mesa College and a former intern for Ammar Campa-Najjar for Congress, CA50. Majoring in Sustainability, she hopes to transfer to UCSD to study Environmental Systems, emphasizing in Policy. She aspires to be able to impact both the policy to prevent corporate abuse of the environment as well as the marginalized groups within the environment. During her internship with Campa-Najjar, she worked one on one with the voters of the 50th district to put people before politics; patients above profits; fight to reward work, not just wealth; and stand up to the fossil fuel industry to save our planet.

Jewel Rodriguez

Jewel is an Asian Pacific Islander student at San Diego Mesa College. She is currently majoring in Journalism and plans on transferring to San Francisco State University next spring. She enjoys expressing her creativity through writing, painting, and fashion. Last semester Jewel had volunteered at PATH San Diego, a residential community downtown. This was one step closer to reaching her aspirations of being more involved in the community, as well as becoming a part of nonprofit organizations.

Project: "A Good Day to Reflect...on Mental Health"

Nara Sagale

Senara is a first-year college student at San Diego Mesa College. She is currently majoring in Business Administration with the long-term goal of working in the hospitality industry. Senara plans to transfer to finish my Bachelor’s degree at California State University, Long Beach. Her inspiration for why she is furthering my education comes from those who came before her who did not get to live out their dreams. Senara is a part of K2 of the Kapwa Learning Community and a member of the Asian Pacific Diversity Club at Mesa.

Project: "Shaping the Motherland"

Panel: "Cross-Community Solidarity"

Marielle Salarda

Marielle Salarda is a freshman at Mesa College where she is majoring in Biology. Her interest in becoming a medical scientist started when she heard stories from her mother when she was a student. Marielle grew up under the nurturing care of her parents and wants to return the favor by being a good student. When she is not busy reading educational books, she spends her time with her family and cat, watches anime, and reads manga.

Angelique Sison

Angelique is a first-year college student at San Diego Mesa College majoring in Business Administration - Management Information Systems. Some of her favorite hobbies are traveling, dancing, exploring new places, and hanging out with her loved ones. She is working hard right now in hopes to become an IT Manager in the future. She works really well with technology and problem-solving. In about a year from now, Angelique's goal is to be able to have successfully transferred to San Diego State University.

Project: "The Golden Rule"