In July 2026, UC Santa Cruz students will have the opportunity to conduct historical research in the Philippines alongside local community partners to help build a transnational digital archive of family, migration, and labor. This opportunity—which uplifts the power of community-engaged partnerships and student involvement—will connect Philippine and Filipino American histories through memories, stories, and heirlooms. It is the first time UC Santa Cruz is offering students the chance to participate in a research trip in the Philippines with funding support for travel. Donations will go directly to students to allow everyone to fully participate in the international experiential learning program.
The project, Saritaan: Filipino and Filipino American Stories of Ilocandia and the Pajaro Valley, is part of Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH), a public history initiative to preserve and amplify stories of Filipino migration and labor in the city of Watsonville and the greater Pajaro Valley. WIITH is a campus-community partnership between UC Santa Cruz faculty, students, and staff and descendants of the first Filipino migrant settlers to the area. WIITH is a project of The Humanities Institute and partners with the Center for Southeast Asian Coastal Interactions (SEACoast).
Saritaan highlights historical sending communities—people based in the northern Philippines’ Ilocos region who sent their relatives to the United States at the start of the 20th century. Most of WIITH’s Pajaro Valley community partners are ethnically Ilokano and have reconnected with kin through our ongoing research initiative. Through transnational, collaborative research, Saritaan builds upon community-led memory preservation in the Pajaro Valley and the northern Philippines.
Over the last five years, more than 20 undergraduates have participated in WIITH and shared how the project has impacted them in their academic development and personally. For example, Jacob Press, a 2023–24 WIITH alum, reflected: “WIITH taught me what ethical community-engaged history looks like. The time I spent with WIITH changed my perspective on everyday life. WIITH has inspired me to be a better person and made me feel like I am part of something greater than myself.”
Giving Day funds will help make student travel and research possible. Students will conduct oral histories and digitally archive family materials with partners in the Philippines. This unique opportunity will boost students’ research skills, connect them with other students and partners abroad, and provide them with life-shaping experiences.
