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Just got some info that I might be the first ever Filipino American full professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage - est. in 1954, largest university in a state where Filipinos are the largest ethnic group (after Natives), & where Filipino presence go back to the 1700s! 😳
As my Kapwatid & many "firsts" himself @kevinnadal often say, I don't say this to brag, but to point out how underrepresented (and forgotten) Filipino Americans have been and STILL are in higher level positions - in academia, government, health, business, entertainment, etc.
Combine this with the fact that only 1-3% of Filipino American children have a parent with a PhD, & even fewer of those parents are in academia or are professors, then my existence is VERY rare. So yes, I have to shout out that I exist so future generations know it's possible! 
When you're the "first", you can celebrate and appreciate it for a bit. You've earned it after all. But the important work is really to make sure you're not the last. Open doors for others. Lift others up. Use your earned status to bring others in with you. That's the Kapwa way.
