“Pamayan”
Jhanessty Vaye Bautista | Maui High School, Class of 2024
Maui High School’s Filipino Club existed long before the year 2022. The current version of the club, however, differs from the one that existed many years ago. During the spring of 2022, Roxelle Trisha Mae Magliba and many of her friends embarked on a journey to re-establish the Filipino Club. In September of that year, the club became a reality and the version it is today: the Filipino Cultural Club.
Roxelle is the founder and President of Maui High School’s Filipino Cultural Club. Roxelle has significantly impacted the school’s cultural identity in the past two years. In her Filipino community, she has helped students participate in the traditional folk dance of Tinikling, introduced language workshops, and held a Cultural Festival with various other cultural groups from Maui High in collaboration with Kahului Elementary School.
Starting the club came easy to Roxelle. “What inspired me to restart the Filipino Cultural Club at Maui High School was my friends. Many of us are Filipino but not all of us were too knowledgeable about the beauty of our culture. And as the time went on, I kept meeting new people that are just like my friends: Filipino but don’t know our culture. At that point, I knew I wanted to do something about it,” she explains. Seeing the Filipino club that existed years ago solidified Roxelle’s decision as she was inspired to bring the Filipino community closer together.
Roxelle would like to give a special shout-out to her mentor and club advisor, Mary Jane Butac, “Without her, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The Filipino Cultural Club has helped shape me to become the person that I am and it all wouldn’t be possible without Miss Butac’s support and guidance. Her passion in teaching and spreading cultural awareness have helped the club flourish and grow every single day.”
As Roxelle pursues a higher education, she takes what she learned from the Filipino Cultural Club. “The club has taught me how to become a leader. With over a hundred members, I had to work with my council to develop activities, projects and more. Moreover, I had to implement what the members wanted to see. I plan to use what FCC taught me for future projects and for my future career,” Roxelle declares.
Kealen Coloma served as the club’s Advertiser in the 2023 to 2024 term but has been around on the club’s officer board since its founding. Kealen would also like to give a massive shout-out to club advisor Mary Jane Butac. “It goes without saying that having Ms. Butac as a club advisor was the best decision made by us as a council. Despite most of us on the council who have not actually had her as a teacher in our eyes she is all our favorite teacher. Ms. Butac does so much for our club and many don’t realize that she usually provides for our club as well using her own funds. So huge props to Ms. Butac—we, the Filipino Cultural Club council, wouldn’t want it any other way,” Kealen says. As Kealen attends the University of Hawai‘i Maui College, she plans to continue her journey in the cultural club. “From everything that I learned from the Filipino Cultural Club I plan to implement as well when I join Kabatak Club in UHMC. From communication, volunteering, involving myself with the community, creating lasting bonds and being a leader. All things I want to not just carry with me into college but for the rest of my life.”
A few of the club’s predecessors are Vice-President Raven Bugtong and Cultural Representative Angel Alba. Raven Bugtong would like to thank Angel Alba for her devotion to the club. “She took the initiative to spread knowledge about our club to the rest of the community, showed leadership on multiple occasions such as during our Tinikling practices and continued to show commitment by becoming our club’s cultural representative. We are sincerely grateful for Angel’s contributions to the Filipino Cultural Club,” Raven explains. Angel would like to thank all the members and the officers. “Without all of our officers and members, the Filipino Cultural Club wouldn’t have made it this far and without their support we would have fallen,” Angel voices.
As Vice-President and Cultural Representative for the 2024 to 2025 term, Raven and Angel hope to use the knowledge the Filipino Cultural Club has taught them to educate others with a different understanding. Raven further explains “I have learned many valuable lessons and gained insightful knowledge that have helped shape my identity, not only in the club but as a person in general. I understood the importance of participation and being an active member in our club’s activities, as I was able to create lasting connections with not only my fellow club members but also those outside of our club. Being in the Filipino Cultural Club also helped me take pride in my work and become comfortable with being myself. I plan to use these lessons to influence my decision-making skills to create satisfaction for everyone in the club.”
Serving as vice president since the club’s founding and having the opportunity to write for the Fil-Am Voice this year is a memory I will cherish forever. The skills I have gained are ones I will take with me in the future as I plan to pursue Psychology at Gonzaga University. My cultural identity has never felt more seen and accepted, and I hope a legacy lives on where many other students and people will get to feel the same. To put it simply, let us practice pamayanan. Wherever we end and wherever we go, let us keep our cultures close and embody them everywhere.
Google® Is Not Everything … is a monthly column authored by high school students. The title of the column emphasizes education is more than just googling a topic. Google® is a registered trademark. This month’s guest columnist is Jhanessty Vaye Bautista, a Senior at Maui High School. She is a President of Maui High’s Key Club, Vice President of Maui High’s Filipino Cultural Club, Executive Secretary of Maui High’s Student Government, and a member of the National Honor Society and Creative Media Club. Jhanessty is in the ACOM Pathway at Maui High, focusing on graphic design and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she reads books of all genres, sketches outlines for her new graphics project, sings karaoke alone or with a group of her close family and friends, and loves anything involving the popular video game Minecraft Bee. She is the daughter of Vanessa and Jhon Boy Bautista.