On Saturday, September 4, 2009, Club Kaibigan of Whitney High School in Cerritos, CA celebrated their 25th Anniversary at the Sheraton Cerritos Hotel. The next day, the festivitie moved to Cerritos Parkfor a family-style potluck picnic.
As an organization that has deep ties in the Cerritos Pilipino community, Club Kai has been a strong institution for many young people in the area. Over the decades, leaders and members of the organization have gone on to become leaders in college organizations around the Southern California area, artists, performers, dancers, educators, librarians, and political visionaries.
Club Kai has played an exceptional role in fostering a culture of excellence. Many of the members of the past two or so decades gathered to celebrate this special community and the achievements they have made. And yes, there was a whole lot of partying going on, 80's, 90's, and 2000's style! What a multigenerational fiesta!
Below, I interview the organizers/emcees of the sold-out 25th Anniversary dinner, fellow Club Kai alumni Mark Pulido and Cathy De Leon. They talk about the significance of this momentous celebration and the impact Club Kai has made over the decades.
Introductions please!
My name is Mark Pulido and I attended Whitney High School, Class of 1987. I was also the Club Kaibigan Founder/President during the years 1984-1985.
My name is Cathy Serafica De Leon, and I went to Whitney, Class of 1993. I was the Club Kaibigan president during 1992-93. Currently I am a children's librarian at a public library.
What are Club Kai's goals?
Cathy: Mostly to bring high school students together to celebrate Pilipino culture & give folks a place to feel at home with their heritage. Usually this took the form of learning about food and dance, but in the 1990s included reaching out to other Pilipino high school clubs in the area to raise awareness of Pilipino community issues and history. In the 80s when the club was founded, it was important to celebrate Pilipino culture in a positive way. There was a need to show the larger community that young Pilipino Americans did more than just throw house parties and cause trouble at the mall and join gangs and get in fights.
Why is it important to celebrate Club Kai's 25th Anniversary?
Mark: Club Kaibigan is one of the oldest and most successful Pilipino high school youth organizations in the country. Its alumni have gone on to serve as leaders of many of the Pilipino student organizations at universities and colleges throughout California and the nation. Many Club Kaibigan alumni now serve as leaders in the Pilipino American community as well as within their respective professions. This 25th Annivesary Year also marks the founding of the Club Kaibigan Alumni Association, which was formed to give the hundreds of Club Kai alumni the opportunity to serve the community through coordinated efforts.
Cathy: Club Kaibigan broke ground in a lot of ways. I'm pretty sure (maybe Mark knows for sure?) that Club Kai was one of the 1st high school organizations to do a PCN and Club Kai along with the Filipino club at Carson HS were the first to do "Garage Talks" which later became "Sala Talks" with UCLA's Pilipino Recruitment & Enrichment Program (PREP).
Another more personal reason to celebrate this milestone, is just to give people a chance to reminisce about the good times they spent with the club. Many of us have memories of driving around town with bamboo sticks sticking out of your car windows, trying to get to this performance or another. For me, it gave me a chance to bond with my mom -- she would put my hair into the most awesome buns in the world for dance performances (I've been able to use her hair skills with my own daughter) & she taught me to sew so that we could make folk dance costumes together.
I think a lot of us also have fond memories of the fact that Club Kai was our "free pass" with our parents -- it was like, "Oh, you'll be with Club Kaibigan doing cultural dances at the old folks home? Ok, go ahead and stay out late." Not like we were lying or anything! But I mean, honestly, how many high school kids get to experience those kinds of things?
What kind of noteworthy professions, careers, and/or talents do Club Kai alumni boast?
Mark: Club Kaibigan has helped develop the leadership talent, organizing skills, cultural awareness and political consciousness of 25 years of leaders for our Pilipino American commiunity. Among Club Kaibigan members, there are teachers, librarians, attorneys, doctors, singers, actors, realtors, business owners, accountants, media professionals, designers, elected officials and so on.
Cathy: Does Mark Pulido's infamous backspin count? Ha! Our star is Emy Baysic Vales of Broadway Miss Saigon and Mamma Mia fame. I think lots of members have gone on to do all sorts of great things--doctors, engineers, teachers, pretty much the entire professional gamut. If anything, Club Kai either gave people a chance to shine creatively through the arts, or at least gave many their first taste of Pilipino community consciousness. At the bare minimum, it encouraged many of us to have self-confidence, something every high school student searches for. As a librarian, I wish we had more writers though.
WHS Club Kaibigan Founding Cabinet. Circa 1984.
Mark Pulido '87 - President
Wally Cosico '88 - Vice-President
Leah Cadavona '88 - Secretary
Roy Abacan '87 - Treasurer
William Aguila '87 - Director of Activities
How connected are Club Kai alumni with existing Club Kai members?
Cathy: Mark's been the best about staying connected with everyone. This reunion and other community events have made it possible for alumni from different generations to connect. Overall though, the alumni/member connection has ebbed and flowed. For some alumni, they were very good about helping out the younger folks with PCN and all that. Honestly, I regret not going back to help out more in the immediate years after I graduated. Hopefully with the new Club Kaibigan Alumni Association that is starting this year, this will give alumni more active opportunities to support current members. For some of us older alums, I think we're now finally reaching a point in our lives where we're more able to give back and support; we also really want Club Kai to be around for our own children.
Mark: Every year Club Kai alumni help current Club Kai members with their annual Pilipino Cultural Night. For the past 22 years, Club Kai has produced a PCN showcasing Pilipino culture through music, singing and folk dancing. This annual production, featuring 7th through 12th grade students from Whitney High School and several of the region's other high schools is comparable to many college-level performances in scope, attendance and production value. Not bad for 12-17 year olds!
Do you have any advice for other high school or college Filipino organizations so that they can be successful?
Mark: Come together to learn about your culture and heritage. Share it with others. Learn about the needs of our community. Engage in community service efforts to strengthen our community. Do well in school and pursue a college education. Once you graduate and start your career, always remember where you came from and come back to give back to the community.
Cathy: Remember that everyone comes from different experiences and that not everyone is passionate about the same things, even though most of us are ethnically Pilipino. Everyone's got something to bring to the table and everyone has more to learn; I think sometimes what tears organizations apart is when people insist that their agenda is more important than someone else's or insist that they have nothing else to learn. Keep it fun, maintain your integrity, and try to remember that the last thing our community needs is more division.
