As members laughed and mingled with an obvious sense of community, Pierce College’s Filipino club, Sampuso, offered friendship and culture to students attending Club Rush on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mall.
And many students reciprocated.
“We’re all about community, academics and culture,” Michael Pammit, 19, Sampuso Academic Chair, said. “We want to help people around us and create community within us.”
About 150 new students signed up for Sampuso during the Club Rush event, surpassing their membership of about 100 students last semester, Pammit said.
Sampuso members learn about Filipino culture and history, practice Tagalog and address popular academic topics, all while promoting an overall message of friendship.
“It’s a great place to make friends and make a difference in our community,” Pammit said.
To incorporate community service, Sampuso members provide purchased or donated food to local homeless people as part of their service hours, Pammit said.
“It’s quite an experience,” Pammit said of delivering the food.
Sampuso offers several events throughout the year to further their goals of friendship and community.
Each year, Pammit anticipates the Friendship Games, a student-run Filipino American event at California State University, Fullerton that gathers groups from campuses all over California on Oct. 27.
Sampuso and Circle K, a Pierce College community service group, will host a picnic with new members at the Green Warner Center Park on Topanga Canyon Boulevard Sept. 28 at 4 p.m.
Amanda Quimpo, the Sampuso Community Chair, is excited to see the new people coming in this semester.
“I was new here, and they took me under their wing,” Quimpo said.
This is Quimpo’s second year participating in the Kuya Ate Ading Program, a program that connects Sampuso big brothers and sisters with new members of the club.
“That’s how I got started,” Quimpo said. “I was the new ading, a little sibling, and my kuya, a big brother, took me in.”
Sampuso meets weekly on Tuesdays at 3 p.m., though they have not yet secured a designated meeting room.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/piercesampuso.
“Culture is this biggest thing (in Sampuso),” Jay Repollo ,22, lead designer for Sampuso, said.
“Everybody treats each other as friends. There’s no hate between us,” Pammit said.
Club Rush is a campus-wide, week-long event designed to bring students together through a variety of interest-oriented clubs at Pierce College.
For the latest club activity, check out The Roundup’s “Club 411” section.