‘You cannot find a louder cheerleader than me’
By Mary Baguio Miller, American Family Insurance claim scanning technician
I was born in Manila, in the Philippines, but I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Westmont. Most of my childhood, or at least the childhood I remember, was spent there.
My family immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1972 — my mom, my dad, my Ate (Tagalog for big sister) and me. We moved to Westmont in 1978. My “normal” as a child was having rice with all meals, hearing four different languages spoken at random times, hitting the books, and growing up in a very strict and structured environment.
As a child, I resented not being allowed to go to sleepovers. I used to hate not being able to go to the movie theater and watch what was playing at the time. My “American” friends had parents who let them do those things all the time. But my parents were very strict and kept us all on a tight leash. They were very good at sheltering me from things.
But that was the rub.
Mom and Dad tried so hard to instill Filipino values and beliefs in us growing up and shield us from the “evils of the American culture.” The problem was, we were not living in the Philippines but the United States. The few times I found it necessary to argue that point, I do remember them reluctantly seeing my view.
In trying to force one world over another, it was hard for them to come to grips with the reality that, in spite of their best efforts, they were raising Americanized children. Those formative years were all about education. My job, as their daughter, was to study hard, get good grades, graduate and go to college to study medicine or law or education like my other relatives. Any distractions before or after were absolutely forbidden. Both my parents were highly educated and very accomplished.
Mom was born in a place called Negros Occidental — Sipalay specifically — and worked as a registered nurse. Dad came from the island of Mindanao in the city of Iligan with his mother tongue, Cebuano. As a self-employed practicing dentist — with his mentor Dr. Nyan — he co-founded the American Filipino Dental Association of the Midwest in the early 1970s. Today, that group is not only huge, but very influential in the Midwest, offering grants and sponsoring dental students.
So, for my parents, education was everything. My upbringing was, I believe, a copy of their own with their parents.
Thinking back now, I can’t help but appreciate what they did and see why they did it. When Filipinos end up here in the states, they work very hard to assimilate to the American culture or get their kids to assimilate to it. It wasn’t easy for my parents to leave everything they knew for a place where they knew very little.
All of this change was to give their children a better chance at success. The cultural differences were huge and not hard to miss, but overall, I have learned to unite the two in a melodic harmony I would have never thought possible 10 or 15 years ago.
Now that I am older and a parent myself, I have the opportunity to pass on to my daughter the Filipina part of her heritage that she has yet to fully understand. Only age and time will do that, and I am confident she will love the Filipina part of her and all that comes with it.
So now I can say with absolute certainty, I am very proud to call myself Baguio (my maiden name). I am proud to be a part of an organization dedicated to inclusion and the education of other people.
I am proud that in the 12 years I have worked in scanning at American Family, I have continued to grow inside and outside. I came into my own working here, and the new relationships I’ve built because of my involvement with the Business Resource Groups only strengthen my belief in the company’s principles and what it’s trying to achieve.
You cannot find a louder cheerleader than me. I am grateful for the freedom of choice living here. I hope that one day I will be remembered as someone who always said, “Thank you.”
