Timpuyog: An Ilokano Language Student Organization
The Timpuyog Organization aims to bring together students enrolled in various Ilokano Language and Philippine related Indo-Pacific Literature courses in the effort to equip them with linguistic and cultural competencies. The organization also intends to make them aware of the importance of the Ilokano language in the State of Hawai’i and the history of Philippine diaspora in particular, with Ilokano itself as historically the language of Filipino diaspora in the United States of America.
Members of the Timpuyog Organization are students enrolled in the various courses offered by the Ilokano Language and Literature Program at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. These courses cover up to 400-level of Ilokano language, on Philippine critical discourses, on popular culture, on Philippine drama and performance, on Philippine cinema, and on the translation and interpretation studies in Ilokano.
Timpuyog works in tandem with the Ilokano Language and Literature Program (ILLP) and holds fundraisers for the Ilokano B.A. Scholarship and for its members as they train for more responsible roles in the community. Recently the organization has been involved in a number of civic and social causes in Hawai’i through active participation in fiestas, cultural festivals, and relief drives. The students involved in this organization are trained to assume leadership roles, and to acquire skills that are of importance in their professional careers and civic roles as residents of Hawai`i.
Its current officers are President–George Oliveros; Vice President of Administration– Jensine Domingo; Vice President of Public Relations–Benedict Juliano; Recording Secretary–Channara Bugarin; Corresponding Secretary–Allyson Arrieta; Treasurer–Jethro Casinas; Sergeant at Arms–Erna Alonzo and Aprilei Ramirez; Web Administrators–Christian Caluya and Mary Basig. Timpuyog’s Advisors are Clemen Montero, Julius Soria, and Dean Domingo. For more information about the organization, please call 808 956-2226 or email timpuyog@hawaii.edu or visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/timpuyog.ilokano; or instagram at timpuyogilokano. Its website is at timpuyogilokano.wordpress.com.