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Dear Fellow UP Alumni in the Bay Area and on Linkedin:

1. UP President Danilo Concepcion Dialogue With UP Alumni in The Bay Area,Nov 1, 2017at the Philippine Consulate from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The UP Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) will be hosting a general meeting with all UP Alumni in the Bay Area. Our newly installed President of the University of the Philippines, Attorney Danilo Concepcion will join us at this meeting on November 1, 2017 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Philippine Consulate located at 447 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94108.

On behalf of UPAASF President Richie Dira, I am inviting each one of you to participate in this meeting,  and give our new UP President a very warm welcome in the Bay Area. Kindly pass on this invitation to your other UP friends or classmates. There is no fee to attend this event.

Please RSVP on or before October 28, 2017 by Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/upaa-sf-reception-dialogue-with-up-president-danilo-concepcion-tickets-39148873334

I also encourage you, your organization, or your corporation  to send proposed programs or projects for UP ( if any), in advance to President Richie at ricardo.dira@outlook.com

2. Upcoming Activities of UPAASF

• Christmas Party and General Meeting 2017-2018. To be scheduled for December 2017, 2018. For volunteers in organizing this event, please email President Richie at ricardo.dira@outlook.com.
• First Filipino Billiards Tournament, San Francisco 2018. To be scheduled first quarter of 2018. For volunteers in organizing this event, please email Dr. Sheryl Casuga at sheryll.casuga@gmail.com.
• Filipino Cultural Heritage Summer Camp K-12, July 2018. To be scheduled summer of 2018. For volunteers in organizing this event, please email Ana Segovia at asegovia.personal@gmail.com.
• UPAASF Monthly Mixers/Fellowship 2018. To be scheduled every month of 2018. For volunteers in organizing these mixers or speakers, please email John Valdezco at  john.valdezco@gmail.com.
• 2018 Golf Tournaments. To be scheduled for 2018. For volunteers in organizing these tournaments, please email Roger Diaz at roger.diaz@gmail.com

3. Call for All Bay Area Alumni to be Active Participants/Project Proponents in UPAASF activities/projects

As your board secretary, I am inviting all UP alumni in the bay area to actively participate in running UPAASF. There are more than 1500 UP alumni in the Bay Area. Each one’s input is priceless.

Membership in UPAASF is open to all UP alumni in the Bay Area. There are two types of membership, namely:

1. Regular members:  Every person who is a holder of any degree, title, or certificate, or who is a former regular student of the University having earned at least sixty (60) academic units and not having been dismissed for misconduct or scholastic deficiency,  is a regular member.
2. Honorary members:  Members of the faculty and administration of the University, parents who have sent at least three (3) children to the University, or other persons who have shown special interest in the University and the Alumni Association, may be nominated to become honorary members by any regular member in good standing of the Association,  and may be elected as such by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

( Note-those who studied at UP but did not complete 60 units or did not earn any degree, title or certificate may apply for honorary membership)

Members in Good Standing:

Every member, regular or honorary, who shall pay the annual fee is a member in good standing. However, in years when the Board waives the annual fee, every member, regular or honorary, is considered as a member in good standing.

Membership Fee Waived for 2017 

For this year, your board waived the annual fee. Thus, all alumni within the Bay Area are welcome as presumed members when you attend any of its activities or have shown intent.

Please visit www.upaasf.org for more information about UPAASF.

I am continuously trying to connect with all alumni on LinkedIn so as to bring each one as active participant in all UPAASF activities. This is your association and your active participation is of utmost importance to UPAASF. So please respond positively to my LinkedIn invite.

Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing you on November 1, 2017.

Clod Gomez
Board Secretary, UPAASF
email: clodgomez@aol.com

Milpitas, CA — Fifty four (54) avid and talented golfers braved the summer heat and played at the Lydia C. Fontan Golf Tournament this 26th of August at Summitpointe Golf Course in Milpitas. The tournament was sponsored by three San Francisco Bay Area Associations: the UP Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF), UP Los Banos Alumni of Greater America (UPLBAGA) and the Pilipino Seniors Resource Center (PSRC).

The men’s winners were:

Gross Score
a. John Magpantay — 1st Place
b. Jess Dela Pena & Miguel Camitoc — tied for 2nd Place
c. Howard Santos — 3rd Place

By Ana Segovia

The UP Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF) held its 4th Filipino Cultural Summer Camp at St. Justin’s School in Santa Clara, CA from July 17 to July 28, 2017.

The program was very successful. The class of 33 kids, ages 6 to 13 years old, started each day by greeting each adult in the room with “Mano po”, and learned to address everyone as Auntie or Uncle and Ate or Kuya. At 9 am they would all stand up and sing Lupang Hinirang. During the first few days, they had difficulty pronouncing the words and needed to read the lyrics. But by the second week, after learning Philippine history and all the struggles the Filipinos went through to gain independence, they sang the national anthem from the heart! The last verse, “Ang mamatay ng dahil sa yo!” was sung with so much passion, Jose Rizal would have been proud. They also had Filipino (language) lessons in sync with the history lessons. For example, while discussing the Filipino flag and its meaning, they learned how to say the colors in Filipino, such as pula, dilaw, and asul.

Culture

Subject matter experts came in to talk about different aspects of Filipino culture:

• Filipino Hilot and Wellness with Dr. Jas
• Filipino Martial Arts (Eskabo Daan) with Master Joseph Bautista
• Filipino Games with Dr. Sheryll
• Filipino Arts and Fabrics with Auntie Mariluz
• Filipino Songs and Dances with Auntie Evelie
• Filipino Children’s Stories with Auntie Neni
• Filipino Cuisine with Chef PJ

In addition to the subject matter experts, Filipino community leaders shared how Filipinos contribute to the improvement of their surroundings. The Mayor of Milpitas, and the Principal of Reed Elementary in San Jose, encouraged the students to study well and get a good education.

Food

There were daily taste tests. The first was something very tame – barquillos! After class, many parents asked where they could buy barquillos because the kids wanted more than one piece. In the following days it became increasingly daring with crispy dilis, spicy pusit and balut! Each child was given freshly hard boiled balut. Ana’s brother demonstrated how to crack the balut, suck the juice, sprinkle some salt and slowly peel the egg. Half of the class actually liked it but the other half decided to bring theirs home. And yes, they knew it was a duck embryo.

But probably the most exciting taste test was Magnolia ice cream. The lesson for the day was Filipino fruit and the President of Ramar Foods, Susie Quesada, brought 4 flavors, ube, langka, mango, and lychee. The kids were asked to rate the 4 flavors according to taste, smell, looks, and texture. To their quiet disappointment, each flavor only came in very tiny cups. But after their rating experiment, to their surprise, each child was given a large scoop of their favorite flavor.

Field Trip

The field trip to the Asian Art Museum (picture, left) and the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco (picture, right) was another fun day. The kids were excited to see the exhibit on Philippine Art. They were proud to be part of that history. The Philippine Consulate surprised the class with lunch from Jollibee which the kids thoroughly enjoyed. They also liked telling everyone they visited the Philippines that day.

Graduation

After two weeks of Filipino cultural immersion, the students dressed in barongs and sayas, went up on stage one by one, and introduced themselves in Tagalog. “Ako si Lilith Fuhr, Labing isang gulang po. Ang Lola ko ay taga Bacolod Negros. Salamat po.” They sang Lupang Hinirang and danced the tinikling! They ended the program with their most favorite song, Pen pen de sarapen! The day ended with a sumptuous potluck of lumpia, Filipino spaghetti, pancit, adobo, and leche flan.

History

The first Camp was held at the Bessie Carmichael School in San Francisco. It was the brainchild of 3 women, Letty Quizon and Sonia Delen from UPAASF (pictured below), and Susie Quesada representing their company Ramar Foods International. Susie taught history and developed the original curriculum. Ana Segovia was involved with both the second and third Camp held in Daly City. She made changes to the curriculum and added other activities. Susie got busier running her family business so Ana became the home room teacher (in class everyday with the students from 8 am – 4:30 pm), the history teacher, and the substitute Filipino (language) teacher. It was a full time job not just for two weeks of class but also for the months prior, preparing visual aids and lesson plans. In 2016, the Camp was cancelled due to low enrollment. This year, Ana had help from Myke Gonzales. Myke helped Ana put together a new and improved curriculum and also helped teach history and Tagalog for 2 weeks.

Future

UPAASF plans to hold Filipino Immersion classes on a more regular basis, especially for those students who already graduated from the Basic Camp. There is a growing need in the Filipino community for these classes. The annual 2-week Camp is a big project that will continue to grow.

In The Press

http://opinion.inquirer.net/106093/beyond-pinoy-food-yearlong-summer