On May 3, 2016, the Tinalak Filipino Advisory Council in the UH Mānoa College of Education (COE) held a recognition ceremony for the 2016 Landas Ng Tagumpay Scholars. Hosted by Leeward Community College’s (LCC) Associate of Arts in Teaching (AAT) program, the event was attended by the COE Dean, the LCC Chancellor and AAT faculty, Honolulu City Council Members Brandon Elefante and Ron Menor, two statewide Filipino newspapers, and 10 of the 14 students who were awarded certificates and stipends.
Landas Ng Tagumpay, which means “success pathway” in Filipino, is the result of a partnership between the AAT and Tinalak. The $170 stipends, which will help to defray COE admission exam costs and study materials, are for students of Filipino ancestry who are enrolled in the AAT and intend to transfer to the COE. Funding for the awards was provided by a Student Equity, Excellence, and Diversity IDEAS grant.
“As the second largest ethnic group in our state and the second largest student group in our public schools, Filipinos only represent about six percent of our teaching force,” Director of the COE Office of Student Academic Services Niki Libarios said. “Filipino DOE teachers and COE students are severely underrepresented and do not reflect the community being served. So each of these LCC students are treasures who we are trying to nurture and support.”
Co-directed by Libarios and LCC Education Program Counselor Erin Thompson, Landas Ng Tagumpay’s goal is to strengthen the transfer pathway between the AAT program and the COE in order to produce more Filipino teachers in the state of Hawai‘i. Financial support is one of two key components of the project. The second is guidance and support, which includes academic advising and mentorship by a Filipino faculty role model from Tinalak.
“I have witnessed the quality care and support that the COE has provided to our transferring students,” Thompson said. “The partnership that we have developed over the years in terms of articulation agreements, tandem advising support, and innovative proposals such as Landas Ng Tagumpay, has had a direct impact on the strength of our transfer pathway which can only grow over time.”
