4217 North Monticello Avenue Chicago, IL 60618 773-732-0843 neilmiran@gmail.

com

NEIL MIRAN
OBJECTIVE To join the MAFA 2013-2014 Board as Vice President Internal and use the skills I have learned being a part of a Filipino Student Organization in order to help facilitate the growth and development of the MAFA/MFAS 2013-2014 conference as well as to further develop myself as a leader, a team member, and an academic learning about Filipino culture. Isang Hakbang, Member (From October 2009 to June 2012)
Performed Filipino Cultural Folk Dancing for various events Participate in social, cultural-awareness, and philanthropic activities/events Foster connections between other organization members as well as other members of organizations under the APAC umbrella organization Be involved with raising Filipino awareness and learning about Filipino -related events within and beyond the Philippines. To facilitate discussion within workshops, promote attendance for conference workshops and guide delegates across campus. To choreograph, teach, and educate to members about Filipino cultural dances Leading and being co-head of the Barkada sub-organization Assist and collaborate with other officers with their individual and collaborative events and goals Communicate between customers as well as other employees in order to deliver efficient and quality service. Display good customer service and promote a safe environment for customers and other employees

EXPERIENCE

Philippine Student Association, Member (From September 2012 to present)

Team FACT, Team Member (From October 2012 to present)

Philippine Student Association, Co-Cultural Chair (From June 2012 to May 2013)

McDonalds, Crew Member (From August 2011 to present)

EDUCATION

University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Expected Date of Graduation: May 2015 Working towards a Bachelor of Science degree with as a Biochemistry major with a minor in Chemistry

INVOLVEMENT IN THE MIDWEST

MAFA/MFAS DELEGATE: 2009, 2012, 2013 FACT DELEGATE AND TEAM FACT MEMBER: 2013 BATTLE OF THE BAMBOO PERFORMER: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

REFERENCES

Available upon request

1. Why is MAFA important to you? The reason the MAFA board, the individual road trips, and the MFAS conference are important is because they bring together several different people with a spectrum of different backgrounds. MAFA boards road trips, retreats, and MFAS conference bring together dancers, musicians, artists, scientists, writers, future nurses, intensive video game players, and tangerine lovers, among other types of people, under the name Midwest Association of Filipino Americans and allows the members and the workshop facilitators to interact, discuss things such as culture or hobbies, and share their stories and experiences with one another. These various perspectives can facilitate individual growth, as well as foster new and existing friendships. MAFA/MFAS, among other conferences, allows me to connect with people from all over the Midwest, as opposed to my single campus, and learn about their lifestyles, which in turn, can change me, my perspective, and allows me to question and challenge myself. I value each individual friendship I make because I never know which friendship could be the one that changes me for the better. The MFAS conference also provided me a means of learning about Filipino culture is simply not offered at my university, through the use of workshops. The summit, being centered around Filipino-Americans, also provided a space where I, as well as others, could openly talk about experiences with Filipino culture, whether it be personal attachment, how self-identity/selfawareness was discovered through Filipino culture, or simply how joining a Filipino cultural organization allowed me to meet new people, and unintentionally learn tidbits of culture along the way. MAFA provides members the opportunity to reach out beyond individual organizations and form connections with people throughout the Midwest as well as offers another outlet for communication about Filipino culture and discussion of Filipino issues. 2. Every PSA in MAFA has their own leadership structure and style. How do you plan on ensuring that your MAFA board is on an even scale/level at the beginning of your term? If elected as VP-I, one thing I would like to do is for each individual officer to explain their leadership style and how they go about executing things, such as social media posts and events, early on within the year. I believe that good execution comes about through understanding multiple perspectives and finding a compromise of each individual officers leadership style, which entails individual officers rising to the occasion when need be and stepping down to certain degrees in order to accommodate for other officers/officers needs; the board should be unified as one and should make decisions that reflect each officer's ideals and goals, while still staying true to the overarching goal of the board. I understand that to some extent, the ability to cooperate falls on the shoulders of the individual officers, and that dispute may arise at any time throughout the year, but if I, as well as any other officer, could offer perspective in order to nurture that ability to understand and come to a compromise then I would take it upon myself to initiate that discussion. 3. At this year's summit, the theme was Ano Ang Kwento Mo? As a member of MAFA, you are a unique person with your own story and personality, so what is your story?

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My story of how being Filipino helped me develop as an individual does not start with a tradition that my family passed down to me, or some innate sense that becoming culturally involved would make me a better person. My story starts with a member of a high school Filipino club passing by me on the stairwell while I was walking from one class to another, and then, when we were clearly past each other, him turning back towards me and saying, Youre trying out for Isang next year, and then walking away, leaving me awkwardly standing in a stairwell wondering what just happened. Honestly, at that point, my inclination level for joining was near zero for one simple reason: I did not have to do it. But, due to coercing from friends, and a feeling that learning more about the culture that my family comes from would help me understand my family and my roots more, I ended up trying out, and honestly to my surprise, was accepted into the group. From that point on my involvement with the Filipino culture snowballed into something uncontrollable. I learned what Tinikling was and even participated in Battle of the Bamboo as a high school student. Not only did the organization, called Isang Hakbang, provide me a means of learning more about Filipino culture through cultural dancing, but it catalyzed my friendships with the people who grew to be some of my closest friends. Save for sounding like a clich, but through Isang Hakbang, I was able to understand why my relationships with my family and friends would grow to be one of my most cherished values. Fast forwarding to college and the story changes slightly. I joined the Philippine Student Association at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign for two reasons. The first reason was because I feel like there was so much to learn about Filipino culture that I did not get from high school, which focused solely on dancing and the culture behind it. The second reason, which is equally as important as the first, was to make new friends. I knew for me personally, transitioning from a city full of people to a campus surrounded by corn, making friends would make this place feel more warm and welcoming. With college came along the idea of conferences, which was not publicized as much in high school. Thinking of these conferences as another opportunity that I will not be able to enjoy as much beyond college, I decided to tag along and see what the big deal was. Little did I know, I would have some of the best times of my college life at these conferences. At the FACT, MAFA, MFAS, and MAASU conferences, I was able to take classes on Filipino culture, both traditional and pop culture, and peoples experiences with that culture in the form of workshops, meet people from all over the Midwest (and to a certain extent the country), find people who shared my interests, and reconnect with old friends that I do not see very often. Through MAFA 2012, I was able to meet someone who was just as much of a Kingdom Hearts fan as I was. Through FACT 2013, I was able to reconnect with high school friends that were able to attend. Through MFAS 2013, I was able to connect with people who had a shared love in similar music and dancing as well as learn about the Filipino community in California and how an artist can express his love of Filipino culture through murals. The conferences made me realize that the world is a lot bigger than the sheltered comfort-circle I formed around my hometown and my school, and that it is full of people whose stories I would love to hear, in order to learn more about myself and about others, helping me develop as a leader, an scholar, and a friend.

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