Excelling Pinoy Education

Hi, my name is Mathieu Aguilar a senior in highschool currently attending Culver Academies.  As a Filipino American and the first in my family to go to a boarding school, I have gained a better understanding and a deeper appreciation of my origins.  Growing up, I have always been surrounded by people of the same race as me never making me question my roots.  However, when I arrived at Culver I was the only Filipino on campus causing me to step outside my comfort zone.  This one night during orientation, we were asked "What ethnicity we were and a brief summary of our origins."  This was supposed to be an easy exercise to break the ice.  Yet, the only thing I knew about my identity was that I was Filipino.  I thought I lost my identity and did not know who I was as a person.  Ever since that day I began to dig into the past and expand my knowledge of my background and culture.  Throughout the three years so far, I have made many new friends from different backgrounds as me.  That, I believe, would have never happened if I did not go to a boarding school.  Who knew that stepping outside my comfort zone and meeting new people would lead me to discover new paths of my culture and expanding my appreciation of my origins?  Having family that live in the Philippines allows me to keep in close contact with those oversees and updated on what's going on.  Recently, a massive typhoon hit the Philippines called "Haiyan" which is considered to be on of the most deadly natural disasters to affect the Philippines.  As a Filipino American, I want to give back to the place that holds my origins and culturally defines who I am as a person.  In addition, being the first in my family to go to a boarding school, education is something I believe everyone should have no matter what circumstances lay ahead.  With the money raised through this gofundme page I will be able to purchase school necessities for the under privileged children affected by the recent typhoons.  My goal is to raise at least $1000 by the end of September to help propel the education of the students for the following school year.  Achieving this goal would not only mean the world to me, but will also help the children of our future grow intellectually and culturally.