"I want to make sure that when I do get a job ... it will make enough so I can live comfortably and take care of my family of the future."
Alyssa Calasicas | 17, Iolani School student and Kaimuki resident
"My mom, she's the one that drives me. I see her working so hard, and I want to work as hard as I can so I can take care of her."
Lester Orsino | 18, Waipahu High School graduate, who wants to be a pilot in the Air Force
Young "people should visit the Philippines and really see what their families ... were like when they grew up there."
Christianne Liongson | 15, Maryknoll School student and 'Ewa Beach resident
"There are more opportunities here than in the Philippines."
BJ Ibe | 16, of Waipahu. Ibe, who immigrated to Hawai'i when he was 13, hopes to make the United States his permanent home.
"Education is very, very important to me. I believe education will take you further in life."
Carrie-Ann Agag | 17, Waipahu High School graduate, who plans to major in pre-medicine at Notre Dame de Namur University in California
"I always give props to Filipinos for making names for themselves. I'm always saying to myself, 'Yeah, right on, Filipinos are getting out there.' "
Abe Lagrimas | 23, of Waipahu, a musician who recently earned a degree in music education from the Berklee College of Music in Boston
"If I want to pursue something, I always pursue it with passion. Not because my parents expect me to or anybody (else), it's because I love it."
Brandon Tucay | 18, Iolani School graduate and Waipahu resident
"... make lumpia and pancit as popular as garlic bread and pasta — (making Filipino culture more mainstream so) the positive aspects of our culture are featured, and not so much the negative."
Brandon Dela Cruz | 26, director of marketing for L&L Hawaiian Barbecue and resident of Salt Lake
"I see a lot of our youth going into 'helping' professions, whether it's education, nursing or social work. I think Filipinos are just wanting to help people. It's in our nature."
Michael Esquibil | 35, Social worker and 'Ewa Beach resident
"I really want to give back to the community. And after having so many aunties and relatives doing that (working in the medical field), and seeing them enjoy it, I want to do that, too."
Michelle Pablo | 18, Iolani School graduate who plans to major in nursing at UH-Manoa
"My grandmother is the only person who speaks Filipino in our house. ... I love to learn different languages ... but for me to not know my native tongue kind of disturbs me."
Jeremy Ramos | 16, Maryknoll School student and Kalihi resident
"We all have different stories to tell, unique stories to tell, which is a combination of the Filipino experience (and) local Filipino-American experience."
Rouel Velasco | 23, who's pursuing a master's degree in administration in higher education at UH-Manoa
