December 13, 2006

  • I was talking to a former high school teacher about social economics. He mentioned how some people do not want to put forth the effort to succeed because they do not think that they can. It is not because they lack the skills, but it is because they do not think that they are in a situation and environment to do so. He said that this is the culture in lower socioeconomic communities. That is what I am trying to combat. One can succeed from the desire to succeed and then putting forth the effort to succeed.

    My lobby display on Filipino American history has been up since December 1, 2006. I have gotten such a positive response from it, not only from people in the California Department of Education, but people in the Capitol as well. Part of it is because of an e-mail that went out about it. The text read:

    300 Years of Filipino America Display

    Every chance we get, we share and promote the rich history and culture of Filipino Americans. Another opportunity has risen again at the California Department of Education (CDE) building. Located in teh lobby of the CDE building at 1430 N Street in downtown Sacramento, Bobby G. Roy has developed a 6' tall by 9' wide display entitled "300 Years of Filipino America," chronicling iconic moments and groups in the Filipino American experience - from the landing in Morro Bay to the current status of Filipino Amerca.

    "My ultimate dream would be the inclusion of the history of Filipino Americans and other ethnic minorities to the social science frameworks and curriculum. I came to the CDE in March of 2005 and the first step was to include Filipino American history month in the Calendar of Events, which is sent to all public schools in California. This display is another step toward that end," commented Roy. The display will be up for the entire month of December 2006, so be sure to visit. Building hours are between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. For more information, contact Bobby G. Roy at (916) 319-0800, or by e-mail at broy@cde.ca.gov.

    A wonderful realization I made was that the display was up today during the CDE Holiday Party. Most of the 1,500 Department staff came down to the lobby to be part of the festivities. The result was a lot of exposure for the display. As head of the food sub-committee for the Holiday Party Committee, I arranged to ahve students from different Home Economics/Culinary/Vocational Education programs to cater the event. They came from high schools in Antioch, Sacramento, and Chico. The delectable delights they made included cranberry turkey cups, chicken cream puffs, and white and milk chocolate fondue fountains. We should have foreseen the 30-yeard line for the fondue. The only setback was that 24 gallons of fruit punch was not enough. My committee head and I had to go buy punch. We bought six more gallons, but ended up only needing three more.

    While we were away, the Department did a drawing for different holiday baskets. I had bought 40 tickets to enter to win one of the 14 baskets. Lo and behold, I won one! The basket was worth over $550 and I had bought the 40 tickets for $25. Not bad if I do say so myself.

    After lugging and loading the basket into my car, I went to a Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) meeting. We were doing a premiere screening of "Strange Land" about a Filipina war bride. She actually attended and it was great seeing her story on film and then being able to ask her questions. After the question and answer session, there was a drawing for different prizes. I ended up winning two! I got a nice set of two picture frames and then one fruit cake.

    Hopefully my luck continues on. I have a particular want in my life right now that remains unfulfilled. To avoid jinxing it though, I will not acknowledge it out loud. It is a deep, inner desire. If it were to come true, it would truly be a blessing.