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My Family's American Story
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🇺🇸 My Family's American Story 🇵🇭
That’s
Me !
FINDING HOME IN INDIANA.
Fifty years ago, my grandparents came to the United States during a time of martial law in the Philippines, seeking safety and opportunity.
My family’s immigration story begins with my grandfather’s courage and a one-way ticket from Manila to Indianapolis. A mechanical engineer for the Philippine National Railways, he left the Philippines at age fifty-two to start over in America and pave the way for the rest of our family to follow. He took a job as a valet at the downtown Indianapolis Hyatt as he studied for his American engineering license, fueled by the belief that hard work and hope could forge a better life.
➝ My grandfather and I celebrating our shared birthday together in downtown Indianapolis in 2017 (I was born on his 60th!)
In 1975, my parents met while studying at the University of the East in Manila. Two years later, my father joined my grandfather in Indiana, taking over that same valet job while attending IUPUI. My mother, a finance graduate, left Manila and moved to Hong Kong, working as a flight hostess for an international airline. After five years of separation, she joined my father to start a new life in the U.S. They married in 1982 and soon moved to California, where I was born.
We returned to Indianapolis in 1994 to care for my grandfather after he fell into a coma. Miraculously, he recovered and lived another twenty-five years, and we never left. That return to Indiana became the foundation of our family’s roots and deepened our enduring love for the Hoosier state that has made our story possible.
service to the people and staying devoted to community have always been at the heart of my family.
➝ Dancing with my dad at a family wedding (1989).
➝ My mother and I at our home in California (1990).
My grandparents first met singing in a church choir in Manila, and that love of music carried through their entire lives. After settling in Indiana, they joined Southport Presbyterian Church and, once again, found their place in the choir. Years later, I had the privilege of singing alongside them, honoring the legacy of harmony, connection, and community they built so that my family could thrive.
For five decades, my family has been part of Indiana’s story. My grandfather worked for the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, building bridges and ditches across the state. My grandmother served as a librarian at the Indiana State Library, with a master’s degree from IU. My father went on to work for the Indiana state government, and my mother served as a bank examiner. They instilled in me a belief in dignity, opportunity, and hard work, the same values that shape who I am and how I serve today. Together, we’ve helped build the cultural and economic fabric of Indiana alongside so many other immigrant families who proudly call this land home.
