The Cultural Inside Scoop: UDFSA’s 2021 Ate Kuya Ading Program

Julia: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for coming to my interview. Today I wanted to get the scoop of UD Filipino Student Association’s first Ate/Kuya/Ading Event this past September. But before we get into it, feel free to introduce yourselves!

Abby: Hi, my name is Abby Diaz and I’m a sophomore Nursing Major with a Public Health minor and I’m from Hockessin, Delaware. I am currently the Event Coordinator for the Filipino Student Association at the University of Delaware. What my responsibilities entail include planning all of the non-philanthropic events for General Body Meetings (GBMS) and facilitating the flow of activities. In the past, I’ve had experience on the FSA eboard as Freshman Representative, where I was able to see the inworkings of the executive board’s hard work, dedication, and passion to the FSA organization!

Daniella: Hi my name is Daniella Avisado and I’m from Sayreville, NJ. Currently, I’m majoring in Fashion Design and Product Innovation. I’m an active general member of UDFSA, and was recently named UDFSA’s September Filipino of the Month! I’m related to Abby through the AKA program, which is similar to the big/little program in sororities and frats. 

Julia: Great! Thank you so much. From my personal experience, I’ve always loved AKA because of the relationships I’ve strengthened with my ate (Queenie Badiang) and my twin (Sarah Rata) over the past year. But I want to talk about the logistics and planning of the event as a whole. Abby, how long have you been planning for this Ate/Kuya/Ading Event? 

Abby: To start off, the event is basically a big/little program that sororities and frats partake in. “Ate” means older sister, “Kuya” means older brother, and “Ading” means little one, all of which derive from the Tagalog dialect. I started planning for the Ate/Kuya/Ading program ever since I earned this position in the spring of my freshman year. Bernadette Bautista, who was the previous Event Coordinator, guided me through the planning as she initially planned this event in a virtual setting due to the pandemic. I went into full detail starting June, where I drew detailed diagrams in terms of the placement of the ates/kuyas, to ensure that everyone remained anonymous. After figuring out the basic layout of the event, I coordinated with the President and Vice President to book rooms so I wouldn’t be too stressed out during the fall semester. I needed to know a long time in advance to plan, considering it was not only one, but two events for this program, which include the speed-dating round and reveal day.

Julia: That’s cool. I thought everything was an efficient layout and could tell you put a lot of effort in making sure it was successful. But when comparing it to the past AKA events, what made this in-person event so special?

Abby: Unfortunately, I never attended an in-person AKA event, since I only attended virtually last year. According to Bernadette, in the past, most people filled out a form based on their interests. After filling out the form, they would immediately be matched afterwards based on the present similarities. For 2 years, the ates and kuyas and the adings would have paper between them. Some pieces of paper would have an English word and the other pages would have a Tagalog word. Everyone would be paired based on their word matchings. So basically, they’d find similarities in each other, but would never meet beforehand. That’s something I wanted to change this year, which is why I went through with the “speed dating” round.

Julia: I actually love your idea. I think it’s fun for people to go through “speed dating” but for it is among friends. What were your goals in making AKA successful?  

Abby: Definitely for the ates, kuyas, and adings to form genuine connections and expand their social circle. By ringing in anonymity with these events, I felt that the anticipation of meeting someone new was so thrilling, especially in getting to learn more about everyone’s individual experiences with life, school, or themselves. I matched people based on their personal interactions with each other, along with their interests, passions, and hobbies and wanted to make sure that the freshmen felt part of a family, which is a sense of feeling I experienced when I was new to college.

Julia: In my opinion, you did an amazing job Abby. I couldn’t have been more impressed by your hard work. It seemed like everything went smoothly and that everyone was happy. But Daniella, I know you’ve been incredibly active in FSA. Can you tell me a little bit about why you wanted to be a part of this organization? And if you never partook in AKA, would it have changed anything in your life?

Daniella: I try to stay active because I heard a lot of good things about FSA from friends and family. I made sure to come along because I wanted to have similar experiences to what all my close family friends had in the past. I was really excited and I encouraged my friends to join, since I knew it would be fun and exciting. But when AKA came around, that’s when I knew I wanted to get an Ate, or older sister in my life to look up to. I’d like to say I’m more of a quiet person. Thus, in participating in the AKA program, it forced me to get out of my comfort zone and meet more people from every grade. If i didn’t partake in this program, I probably wouldn’t have had as many close friends as I do now. 

Julia: That’s so sweet, Daniella! I’m so happy that you’re able to be a part of such an inclusive community. What were your guys’ favorite parts of reveal day and how is your relationship now?  

Abby: Since I had a part in picking the pairings, I think the most exciting part was seeing Daniella come through that door. It means a lot to me that everyone was satisfied with their pairings/lineages because all of my work benefitted someone in some way, shape, or form.

And in meeting Daniella, I now have a little sister to care for. I see myself in her and I can see a lot of growth. 

Daniella: I look up to Abby like a big sister, especially someone that I can go to for advice or if I want to hang and chill. I’ve already learned so much from her, and I know that she will always be there for me.

Julia: Thank you guys for taking the time to talk to me in this interview. I hope to hear from you guys soon on many upcoming events for FSA. 

Daniella & Abby: Thanks for having us, Julia!