On Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, the Asian Filipino Club (AFC) at Elgin Community College held its second meeting of the year in Building B, Room 181. In the meeting, members of the AFC were first greeted by the AFC’s secretary/officer in training Branden Crespo with an electronic sign-in sheet and an array of treats such as cookies and brownies to make the members feel welcomed. 

Crespo and AFC President Julian Juarez have been friends with each other for quite some time and met here at ECC at a video game tournament. After the meeting, the two kept in touch, and later on when Juarez became president of AFC, he asked Crespo to help him run AFC and he agreed. 

“He kind of pushed me into this role,” Crespo said, “He’s a good guy though and I’m happy I joined.” 

Although ‘pushed into’ the role of officer, Crespo expressed how much the club has helped him in his academic progress. 

“A lot of the previous members are at Northern Illinois University right now and I still keep in touch with most of them,” Crespo said. “So when I’m done at ECC I’m going to transfer to NIU for computer science.” 

But before Crespo transfers, he wants to share one moment with the entirety of AFC.

“I just want to see a big picture of everyone together,” Crespo said. “Maybe on a field trip just having fun and smiling together.” 

Before getting into the main topic of the meeting, Juarez wanted to creatively break the ice to get the 2nd AFC meeting going. 

Juarez set up a collaborative playlist on Spotify and had all the members introduce themselves, name the song they added and explain a bit about why they chose that certain song. 

Juarez then played some videos on the history of origami and why it is an important aspect of Asian culture.  

As more and more Asian pop culture and media become mainstream in the West, the Asian Filipino club is helping to connect foreign Asian media to Western American eyes.

“It means bringing culture to people,” Crespo said when asked what AFC meant to him.  

Second-year student Mark Suarez shares a similar sentiment to the one Crespo had. 

“It means learning about our cultures and diversity and welcoming everyone in our history through Asian culture.” Suarez said. 

Although not being able to go to the second meeting of the year, Suarez expressed how much fun he had at the first and recommended the club to others. 

“Yes, I would definitely [recommend AFC],” Suarez said. “There are many fun and great meetings plus the people are very friendly!”

As the meeting went on, Juarez projected a step-by-step instructional photo on the big screen and allowed the members to use colored pieces of paper scattered around the tables in order to create their very own origami creation. 

While the members were crafting their own origami pieces, Juarez walked around and conversed with some of his peers.

One of those peers was 3rd year ECC student and President of the Strength And Wellness club, Rafael Manjarrez. 

Manjarrez saw how underutilized the fitness center was being treated and wanted to do something about it. 

Manjarrez and Juarez partnered up both of their respective clubs and were able to come up with “Open Gym Wednesdays,” where all students could go unwind with their friends while staying active at the same time. 

“This collaboration is just the first step,” Manjarrez said. 

Manjarrez’s SAW and Juarez’s AFC share a cubicle in the student life office.

“There’s not a better club to share a cube with,” Manjarrez said wholeheartedly. “AFC is an awesome club, very innovative and lots of people are involved.” 

AFC is set to hold their next meeting in the ECC Community room, on Oct. 3, 2023, in which they will be celebrating Sticky Bun Day. If students are interested in attending or have any questions regarding AFC, contact AFC@student.elgin.edu.