Filipino La.

Filipino La. supports the mission of the Philippine-Louisiana Historical Society (PLHS).

Filipino La. introduces readers to 19th-century Filipino settlements in the Louisiana marsh, Filipino recipes with a Creole touch or a Cajun kick, a Filipino American shrimper turned professional boxer, and so much more.

Filipino La. makes the stories and artifacts of Filipino Louisiana publicly available.

Primary Mission

Filipino La. communicates, educates, and archives.

Secondary Mission

Filipino La. provides students an opportunity to develop professional writing skills.

Internships

Filipino La. provides select college-aged students with summer or semester-long internships. The positions are ideal for students studying professional writing, English, Asian American studies, public history, or communications.

Content Writer

Students who intern as content writers will research and write documents for publication on Filipino La. They will have the opportunity to write content in several genres. In the process, they will learn important skills that will prepare them for workplace writing situations. Interns will learn to

  • Develop content that aligns with an organization’s genre and style guides.
  • Follow an organization’s processes to edit and prepare digital content for publication.
  • Utilize digital publishing tools like HTML, CSS, WordPress, and SEO.

Interns will work with a mentor and be offered training and feedback. The internship will allow students to demonstrate that they can write, edit, and publish content for an organization. After the internship, they should be able to discuss the skills they can bring to another content writing opportunity. 

Social Media

Students who intern as social media coordinators will generate ideas, write content, and design social media posts to support Filipino La.’s mission. They will have the opportunity to manage a social media campaign on one or more social media platform. In the process, they will learn important skills that will prepare them to manage social media for an organization. Interns will learn to

  • Write and design social media content that aligns with an organization’s style guide.
  • Create and follow a social media content plan.
  • Use social media management tools to schedule the delivery of content.
  • Utilize design tools to create visual media.

Interns will work with a mentor and be offered training and feedback. The internship will allow students to demonstrate that they can create social media content for an organization and manage the delivery of content using digital tools. After the internship, they should be able to discuss the skills they can bring to another social media opportunity. 

Brief History of Filipino La.

Filipino La. launched in 2016 to organize and share research on Filipinos in Louisiana through an Omeka archive and wiki. The original mission morphed as a blog was added to promote and document PLHS activity. The blog led to documents that were once treated as historical artifacts being used as temporary communication tools and not archived. The emphasis on communication distracted from the mission to archive community documents. By 2022, Filipino La. was a sprawling website without a clear mission. A thorough review of web content and an evaluation of how the site could best serve the community led to a plan that focused on the site as a tool for communication, education, and archiving.

A 2022 vision for Filipino La. calls for a redesigned website that

  • shares content through web pages, magazine-style articles, and an Omeka archive
  • documents the activities of the PLHS
  • focuses on three primary areas of research: St. Malo, Manila Village, and Filipino Louisiana foodways
  • provides summary web pages designed for visitors to PLHS historical markers
  • communicates PLHS activities through blog posts
  • publishes research-based, magazine-style articles about all things Filipino Louisiana
  • prioritizes archiving PLHS and community artifacts
  • utilizes social media to distribute content
  • serves as a publishing platform and training ground for student interns