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Filipino Americans: Shining in their Fields

WHAT do World Boxing Council light flyweight champion Brian Villoria, American Idol contestant Jasmine Trias and actors Rob Schneider and Lou Diamond Phillips have in common? They are all Filipino Americans who have managed to make a name for themselves in their chosen fields.

Other noted Filipino Americans in the field of the arts, entertainment and music are Apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas; pianist Cecile Licad; actresses Phoebe Cates, Victoria Principal and Tia Carrere and actor Billy Joe Crawford. Filipino American singers who have made a name for themselves include Enrique Iglesias, Bernardo Bernardo and Mig Ayesa.

In the field of sports, baseball players Benny Agbayani, Chris Aguila, Bobby Balcena and Bobby Chouinard; Olympic gold medalist swimmer Natalie Coughlin and figure skater Tai Babilonia are also Filipino Americans by descent.

Over the years, Filipino Americans have been able to make a name for themselves in fields ranging from the arts to politics, from the entertainment world to business. There is no explanation for this but this phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that Filipino Americans tend to be highly educated and thus tend to be achievers.

A good example of this is the American Medical Association which has deemed medical and healthcare education in the Philippines to equal that of training in the United States. Only Japan shares that distinction among the Asian nations.

It is also relatively easy for Filipino nationals to enter the American healthcare workforce, inspiring them to settle and seek United States citizenship upon arrival. With the shortage of American nurses beginning in the 1980s, clinics and hospitals in the United States have been hiring directly from the Philippines offering substantial salaries. According to the United States Census Bureau, 60,000 Filipino nationals migrated to the United States every year in the 1990s to take advantage of such professional opportunities.

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