History of FASA

author(s) unknown
Written for the 10^th Culture Night (1998)

How It All Began…

“It was that first meeting with FSA, the graduate Filipino Association, remember?”
“Yeah, it was so cool how they all got together to meet, eat and hang-out with Filipinos their own age.”
“But they’re older, have families, and a different lifestyle.”

“Hey, did you meet with the new guy? He’s Filipino.”
“I saw a whole bunch of them at Shultz.”
“Why don’t we all meet at Gary’s tonight? I’ll bring the adobo!”
“I’ll bring the new guy!”

It was the first meeting with FSA, the graduate Filipino association. Older alumni, with families and good Filipino homecooking. Fun, laughter, stories and friends, what more could a young group of Filipino undergraduates ask for? Well, the age difference kicked in. FSA had their own memories & lives. This group of Filipinos wanted something else, something more in their league.

Ten years ago, in the Fall of 1988, this small group of tight-knit Filipino friends started the tradition. Potlucks and gatherings of their own. As they met more and more Filipinos, the events got bigger and better. It seemed that the only question that came up every week at the gatherings were,

“Where’s the next meeting, Hunters Ridge or Terrace View?”

And someone comes out with,

“Why don’t we come up with a club of our own? An undergraduate Filipino Student Organization.”

If FSA could be an organization doing all the things this undergraduate group wanted to do, like hang-out, eat home-cooked food, and play basketball, then why couldn’t we do the same? At this point, FASA was already a club, it was just a matter of getting it down on paper and coming up with the actual name – FASA.

Here Comes FASA

One evening, Gary Encarnacion called a meeting at Hunters Ridge. It was time. Gary wanted input on what the name of the organization should be, what the constitution should be comprised of, and of course, should there be dues? The following people who came to this meeting and helped in the planning process were the original founders of FASA:

Gary Encarnacion, Elaine Castillo, Darlene DeVera, Randy Padilla, Kim Nicdao, Hedssen Serrano, and Marlene Mangosing.

Through these founders, FASA officially became a club at Virginia Tech by January of 1989. It became full-force meetings, events, and officers. From hanging-out at different apartments, to organizing meetings in classrooms to plan such events. One big event was the International Fair. Food, fun, articles of culture, the fair incorporated it all, and gave FASA the chance to present it’s club to the public at Virginia Tech.

1st Annual Cultural Night

In the Fall of 1988, FASA had it’s First Annual Cultural Night. It was held in the Baptist Student Union and was funded by the initial FASA members themselves. There was no stage, people sat on the floor, and people in the back had to stand up to see what was going on. Costumes for the guys consisted of sweat pants rolled up, white T-shirts, and bandanas around the neck. But even with these constraints, this was their show, and they just wanted to make it happen. It was the first show, and it turned out a success! The hard work and dedication led to the tradition that it is today. With Cultural Night being such a big hit, it was a symbol that FASA was definitely here to stay.

And the Club Grows…

FASA’s second year came around and with it came a full load of new ideas. Elaine Castillo introduced fundraising as a means to raise money for the club, ten dollar dues just wouldn’t cut it! The FASA basketball tradition started here. Eventually, FASA created a FASA library, full of educational and fun Filipino books for the members to have access. Unfortunately, it was in the closet of Dr. Ballweg, but just last year it was moved to the Virginia Tech MultiCultural Center. Through such people as Trixie Bantug, Bobby Casumbal, and Hercy Hernandez, the workings of the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND) was introduced and embedded into FASA. Thanks to Dr. Ballweg, the club’s faculty advisor, FASA was lucky enough to get Filipino classes here at Tech through the Faculty Exchange Program. These activities and events further developed into what FASA is today.

Along with all the previous events listed that have become tradition, FASA has come along so far as to add even more exciting events. Events such as the annual Mr. FASA Pageant, FASA Semi-Formal, Alumni vs. Undergraduate Basketball Tournament, and FASA Service Auction have joined the list. It is truly invigorating to see what has been accomplished through the years by officers and members, past and present.

The Hang-Outs

Throughout the ten years that FASA has been an organization, there has always been hang-outs and central places that the members went to outside of normal FASA meetings. Beginning with the various apartment complexes, Hunters Ridge being one of them, and moving into Shenandoah, Foxridge, and Collegiate Suites. But somewhere in that ten years, a major location that is taken to heart was the old FASA house located on Main Street. Originally rented by four FASA members, it became the center of the universe for the members. When there was nowhere to go and nothing to do, the FASA house was always welcoming to the members with food, fun and memory-making. In fact, this is where the Culture Night after parties used to be. Unfortunately today, we no longer occupy the original FASA House, but there is a dream out there that a new permanent FASA House will be established someday.

FASA Today

That evening of the 3rd Annual Culture Night was a very emotional one. It was the last Cultural Night for the founders of FASA. Amazingly, the rumor has it that they were scared, scared of what might happen to FASA. What was going to happen when those people who were so dedicated to create this organization left? Absolutely everything they couldn’t even imagine has happened! As scared as the original founders were, they had a feeling, they knew, that FASA was going to get bigger than just them. FASA would carry on and make it bigger and better every year, and it has.

From Cultural Night being in a church to being in Commonwealth Ballroom. From 10 members to 130 members. From an executive board alone to one with 8 committees.

From being pulled into FASA with a struggle sometimes to expecting to be in the club. FASA has come a long way. The list of achievements, accomplishments, and rewards proves that FASA is more outstanding as each year passes. And with these changes and improvements, the original and most important reasons for FASA still exists today: FRIENDS AND FAMILIA.

Thank you to Bobby Casumbal, Gary Encarnacion, Rhonyll Seballos, and Edgar Tolentino for taking the time out to enlighten me with what the true story behind FASA really is.