It is pretty stereotypical in movies that take place in school to have a “club rush” scene. One of the more famous scenes that comes to mind is the scene from Pitch Perfect where Bella walks through a variety of clubs during her first week of college. Some of the normal clubs include Black Student Alliance, DJ club, and the Barden Bellas (an acapella group). Some of the not so normal ones were the Deaf Jews club, the Christian Mingle club, and the Sock Puppets Club! Yorba Linda High School may not have as extreme clubs as the later ones mentioned, but we do still have a fair share of clubs where any student could  find their place in! Today, we are going to shed a light on one of Yorba Linda High School’s clubs: The Filipino Cultural Club!

It all started with three best friends who met freshman year, and they all happened to be Filipino! Myself, my sister Jennalyn Urquico , and one of our best friends Giana Mejia  all decided to start this club last year during the 2023-2024 school year. We were all juniors at the time, so it was a lot to put on our plates, but we were and still are very passionate about this club. Club president, Jennalyn Urquico (12), shared with the Wrangler on why she wanted to form the club, “Ever since [she] was a freshman, [she has] always wanted to make a Filipino Cultural Club. Growing up, [she] never really knew many other Filipinos outside [her] family, so when [she] became friends with Giana Mejia during freshman year, [they] knew that [they] really wanted to start a Filipino Club to meet more Filipinos. [Jennalyn], Lauren, and Giana wanted to start this club to

The club’s main goal is to create a community surrounded by the culture that they love so much. If you are not aware, the Philippines is a set of islands in the pacific ocean just a bit east from Asia and south of Japan. Its culture is heavily influenced by Spanish culture because the country was colonized by Spain in the 1800s. 

In their club, they love to have fun meetings where they can share their love of Filipino food, culture, and Filipino events! The club offers many ways for their club members to serve their community whether that be through donating money to Filipino charities, volunteering at church, and even packing boxes for children of third world countries. This club is not only for Filipinos, but welcomes  everyone and is an amazing way to serve the community.