Personal Stories
Celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage
We're celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month for 2024 with three videos featuring Sushini Chand, a program coordinator in General Counseling, talking about her own heritage as an Indo-Fijian American.
Growing Up as Indo-Fijian American
CAN/DID Personal Stories are short videos in which members of the De Anza community share their personal insights and experiences, as part of the CAN/DID Inclusion project. In addition to these new videos, you can scroll down this page to find more videos celebrating Filipinx American History Month in 2023 and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2023 and 2022.
Indo-Fijian History
My Great-Grandfather
Filipinx American History Month: October 2023
We're celebrating Filipinx heritage with videos featuring Erick Aragon, counselor in De Anza's Office of Outreach, talking about his experiences growing up and working as a Filipinx American educator.
Why AAPI Representation Matters
Spain Sold the Philippines to the USA
Asian American, Filipinx and Pacific Islander Experiences
As part of the CAN/DID Inclusion Series, we launched "CAN/DID Personal Stories" in 2022 to share additional personal experiences and insights from members of the De Anza community.
In May 2022, to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, CAN/DID released these videos featuring members of the Asian and Asian American communities at De Anza. More videos were released in October 2022 for Filipinx American History Month.
The Impact of Ernie Reyes Jr.
Fondest Memories
How College Changed My Life
Experiences as an Indo-Fijian American Scholar
How Did You Feel About Learning About Filipinx History?
When Did You Learn About Filipinx History?
What Makes You a Proud Filipinx Person?
Experiences as a Korean American
More Personal Stories
Sharing Experiences As a Black Person
Students and others spoke about Black heritage for this new series celebrating Black History Month in 2024. A previous series in 2022 featured speakers who shared their "Experiences as a Black Person."
Honoring LGBTQ+ History and Coming Out
Members of De Anza's LGBTQ+ community shared their personal stories in these videos. They were released in October 2022 to commemorate LGBTQ+ History Month and National Coming Out Day.
Celebrating Latinx Heritage and Experiences
CAN/DID released a new series of Personal Stories videos to celebrate Raza Heritage Month, from Sept. 15-Oct. 15, 2023. Look for these videos featuring students, faculty members and classified professionals!
Previously In the CAN/DID Series
Previous installments in the CAN/DID series have explored perspectives on the Black Lives Matter movement, provided context and strategies for countering anti-Asian racism, explored De Anza's unique Intercultural Studies program and celebrated LGBTQ+ Pride at the college.
What Is Black Lives Matter?
What does this important movement mean to De Anza's Black students, faculty members and classified professionals?
Intercultural Studies at De Anza
What are the vision and goals behind the creation of De Anza's ethnic studies program – and what makes it unique?
Countering Anti-Asian Racism
What is the history behind anti-Asian racism and scapegoating during the pandemic – and how can we confront it?
Celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride
How would members of De Anza's LGBTQ+ community describe their views on love, coming out and other questions?