Name: Jazmin-Jean Fuertes
Year: Senior
Major: Health Science
Hometown: Fair Lawn, New Jersey
How and why did you get involved with PUSO (Philippine United Student Organization)?
Jazmin: “Like most Filipinos, we grow up having a lot of Filipino pride and a strong sense of family because that’s just values that our family raised us on. I have a small group of Filipino friends that I grew up with and they became my absolute best friends because our families knew each other and we would spend almost every weekend together during my elementary and high school years. However, my actual group of friends in elementary school and high school weren’t relatable to me. Not because they weren’t Filipino, but because they didn’t have the strong sense of friendship and familial values that I shared with my best friends so it was hard for me to become close to them. Going to college, I wasn’t sure what it would be like. I wasn’t sure who I would be friends with or where I would find my place, but I knew there was a Filipino club and I really wanted to meet other Filipinos my age in a school setting. When two eboard members from PUSO (shout out to Adinah Lagud and Tim Magalona) messaged me the summer going into my freshmen year, I was completely caught off guard because I’ve never experienced someone actually reaching out to me to come and hangout. I was really unfamiliar with people from your school trying to reach out and be your friend; I was used to a free-for-all environment when it came to school so just having that first impression of PUSO and the alumni being so welcoming to me, it really attracted me to PUSO and made me want to know more about this club.
I remember walking into the very first Meet and Greet event and it seemed that everybody knew each other. There was no odd man out. I found it so strange and at that time I knew I really wanted to be active in PUSO so I felt really discouraged and thought to myself, How am I gonna know all these people? Flash forward to a year later and I found myself greeting everybody, knowing all the members who walked through the door. It wasn’t only Filipinos, too. It was people of all races and I absolutely love the diversity that this club promotes. We treat everyone like family. That’s what culture is all about, sharing it with others, regardless of race, and utilizing it to unite the students on this campus. I knew that I wanted to contribute to this club and give others the same feeling that I had my freshmen year. I wanted to give everyone that feeling of belonging because when you enter college with no ties to anything or anyone, that’s something that one can really appreciate and really makes a beautiful first impression.”
How does it feel now to be president of PUSO?
Jazmin: “Being president now, it’s a strange feeling. You go from experiencing these events to actually creating them with your e-board and making memories for your general body; the same memories that you once experienced. This is my third year on e-board and, hands down, being president is a completely different experience. You try and think of ways to make these events that you’ve experienced better for all your general body members. You think of things that you’ve never thought of when you were on e-board your past years. Knowing that you’re the leader of one of the biggest organizations on Stony Brook campus with a consistent general body of approximately 80 and three, well-established dance teams under your belt, it’s extremely intimidating and a taunting task. Nothing can really prepare you for this position because each president experiences something different. No amount of credentials or experiences can predict what is to come for your term so you have to rely on perseverance, motivation, passion, and love for this club to get you through every obstacle that comes your way. This club has been my heart and soul for my whole college career and will stay that way for all the years to come. I’m so proud to be the president of a club where the bonds and friendships that your events and general body meetings make can last a lifetime. I see PUSO alumni hanging out long after they graduated from college. They still come out to see what’s going on with PUSO, which just proves what a lasting impact this club has on a person. My experiences as president will stay with me throughout my entire life and I know that this is one of my proudest accomplishments.”
If you could describe PUSO in one word, what would it be?
Jazmin: “PUSO means heart in Tagalog but everything that I’ve experienced with this club brings one word to mind: Love. Love for the friends that you made in this club that you eventually call your family. Love for the opportunities this club gave to you and the accomplishments you made for taking advantage of these opportunities. Love for the people this club introduced you to and the experiences that you go through together whether they be difficult or beautiful. Love is everywhere in this club and you can see it once you enter the room to a general body meeting or our events. There’s something that I always tell people that is extremely important to say especially when college is a time where your loved ones come and go, and that is: Once in PUSO, ALWAYS in PUSO. The love I have for those who introduced me to this club and the general body members I’m introducing to this club never leaves and I never forget. Love is PUSO. PUSO is love.”
What is your favorite aspect of the organization?
Jazmin: “My favorite aspect of this club is our large general body. It’s one thing to have a huge general body, but to have a huge, close-knit one is a blessing. The amount of support our general body members give when one of them represents PUSO in a pageant or a singing competition or in a dance competition; it’s such a beautiful feeling knowing that we can look in the crowd and see our family cheering us on. The support, dedication, and endless compassion that is prevalent in this general body is irreplaceable and I guarantee you can not find anywhere else.”
What kind of impact do you hope PUSO has on the Stony Brook community?
Jazmin: “Due to PUSO’s large general body base and the fact that we have our own general body members active in other clubs and activities on campus, I hope that PUSO will continue to bring together the Stony Brook campus and give this university an even greater sense of community whether it be among clubs or in the dance community. Continue to reach out and always include others because PUSO was built upon the foundation of family.”
Who has inspired you?
Jazmin: “When I was an underclassman, the alumni definitely played a huge part in inspiring me to be a leader in PUSO. They were always there for me and encouraged me to be more active. They never made me feel like my opinion didn’t matter because they wanted to hear what I thought. The alumni were such inspiring leaders and I strived to have that confidence I saw in them. Now that I’m a senior, the underclassmen really inspire me to do better and keep working toward this club. Seeing their faces after an event and asking how they liked it, you start to experience these jaded events vicariously through them with a fresh perspective. They hold so much love and care for this club which inspires me to never stop working toward providing a family for them during a crucial time in their life.”
Do you have any other interests people might not know about you?
Jazmin: “Mmmmm…I don’t think I have any interesting interests but I’m a pretty weird person so I guess that’s interesting. I really like the color yellow to the point where it’s kind of obsessive; my car is yellow so if you see a yellow Mazda around campus, that’s me! I tend to make weird noises and do weird dances randomly. I make really corny jokes and it usually ends up that I’m the only one laughing to it or I ask people if they heard it cause no one laughs. I guess that goes under the fact that I’m pretty awkward too. I really like eating, sleeping, and story telling. I’m also really religious and I try to be the good person my parents and God want me to be.”
What do you want your legacy to be?
Jazmin: “I have been asked this question a lot ever since I became president and I honestly had no idea because I didn’t think it was natural to plan to have an impact on people. The word ‘legacy’ was such a powerful word that was hard to comprehend; however, I recently realized what this word meant to me and what I wanted my legacy to be. The legacy that I want is to be seen as an inspiring and passionate leader but also someone who is a good role-model, approachable, someone you’re not afraid to hit-up and hangout with. I want to be that leader that forms personal and meaningful relationships with each and every general body member of this club instead of being that face that you know is the president of PUSO, but don’t actually know as a person. I want to be known not only as the president, but also as an inspirer, a motivator, a good friend, a sister.”
Any upcoming events you would like to promote?
Jazmin: “Our spring semester has two of our biggest events: Sayaw and PUSOfest. Sayaw is our annual dance competition where we invite professional dancers from the west coast to teach workshops in the morning and then judge the dance competition later in the night. We invite dance teams from all over the tri-state area to compete or showcase. It’s on the weekend of March 5, 2016.
PUSOfest is our annual PUSO showcase where we celebrate all of our general body members, new and old, as they showcase their talents for all of PUSO and the Stony Brook campus. Our three dance teams, Cultura, Ballroom, and Modern, perform along with side dance teams and singing acts. We also invite a special, celebrity guest to perform and headline the night! This is on the weekend of April 22nd, 2016!”