PinoyBuilt — Stories of Filipino America

Los Angeles · April 2026. From Quezon City to Sacramento: Jessica Caloza and the Filipina Who Broke California's Glass Ceiling. jessica caloza, first filipina california state assembly, fil-am politics, historic filipinotown, rob bonta, assembly district 52, eagle rock, quezon city, aca 18, uc board of regents, kagitingan, filipino american representation, sacramento, los angeles. COMMUNITY PROFILE • APRIL 2026 From Quezon City to Sacramento: Jessica Caloza, the First Filipina in California's State Legislature She grew up watching TFC in a working-class household. Now she writes state law — and she's just getting started. Assemblymember Jessica Caloza (D-Los Angeles) represents California's 52nd Assembly District. She was sworn in on December 2, 2024 as the first Filipina ever elected to the state legislature. (Photo: Office of Assemblymember Caloza) On a December morning in 2024, inside the California State Capitol in Sacram...

California • March 2026. UC Irvine Received 153,025 Applications for Fall 2026 — What Filipino-American Students Need to Know. uc irvine admissions 2026, filipino american college, uci fall 2026, california university admissions, fil-am students UC, anteater, orange county. EDUCATION • CALIFORNIA • MARCH 2026 UC Irvine Received 153,025 Applications for Fall 2026 — What Filipino-American Students Need to Know Before you chase the admit rate, understand the community waiting for you. At UC Irvine, Kababayan is not a club — it is a 50-year institution, a family of 600, and the reason Fil-Am students have been calling Irvine home since 1974. There is a version of the UC Irvine conversation that Filipino-American families across Southern California have been having for a generation — the one about admit rates and whether it's a "target" or a "reach," about how it compares to UCLA, about whether...

California • March 2026. UC Davis Received 122,271 Applications for Fall 2026 — What Filipino-American Students Need to Know. uc davis admissions 2026, filipino american college, uc davis fall 2026, california university admissions, fil-am students UC, aggie pride, sacramento. EDUCATION • CALIFORNIA • MARCH 2026 UC Davis Received 122,271 Applications for Fall 2026 — What Filipino-American Students Need to Know Before you chase the admit rate, understand the community waiting for you. At UC Davis, Filipino identity isn't an extracurricular — it is an infrastructure, a history, and a home. There is a version of the UC Davis conversation that Filipino-American families have been having for years — the one about admit rates, GPA thresholds, and whether it's a "safety" or a "target." That conversation matters, and we will get to those numbers. But there is a deeper reason Fil-Am students ha...