IN THE MIX BY MIC DIAZ
For members of the San Beda Alumni Association of Southern California (SBAASC), staying connected to their alma mater means more than gathering with old friends. Through fundraising events in Southern California, the organization is turning those connections into educational opportunities for students at San Beda University in the Philippines.
That mission brought alumni, families and friends together on September 26 for a fundraising screening of DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas in Glendale. Proceeds from the association’s fundraising efforts support college scholarships for high-achieving, low-income students.
The film proved especially fitting for an organization whose members have built lives far from the Philippines while maintaining ties to their shared roots. Forgotten Island follows lifelong best friends Jo and Raissa, voiced by H.E.R. and Liza Soberano, as they are transported to the mythical island of Nakali. Inspired by Filipino mythology and family stories, the film explores friendship, memories, separation and the meaning of home.
Filipino American co-director Januel Mercado, who wrote and directed the film with longtime friend Joel Crawford, has described the project as deeply connected to Filipino families, friendship and memories. The world of Forgotten Island incorporates creatures and traditions drawn from Philippine folklore while telling a story that also speaks to the experience of leaving home and carrying those connections forward.
Those ideas resonated naturally with an alumni organization whose members remain connected to San Beda from across the Pacific. Events such as the movie fundraiser give Bedans an opportunity to see one another, welcome family and friends and strengthen a community built around a common educational experience.
But the gatherings also have a measurable purpose. According to information provided by SBAASC President Emmanuel Pascual, the organization contributed $21,000—more than one million Philippine pesos—to San Beda University in 2025, with $15,000 of that amount personally delivered to the university in December. The association reports raising more than $10,000 gross in 2026 as it continues its scholarship campaign.
One of the students benefiting from that work is Denise Penuela, recently selected by the association for a scholarship at the San Beda University College of Arts and Sciences. Association board members reviewed applications through several meetings and interviewed their leading candidates before making their selection.
Penuela’s scholarship provides a tangible reminder of what happens after the fundraising dinners, screenings and donations are over. Money raised thousands of miles away in Southern California ultimately reaches a student in Manila and helps make a San Beda education more accessible.
The association plans to continue that work with another fundraiser on October 24 in Glendale, coinciding with Filipino American History Month. The event will again raise scholarship funds while bringing members of the Bedan community together.
In that sense, the September screening of Forgotten Island carried a meaning beyond movie night. A film about friendship, memories and the ties that lead us home became the setting for alumni using those same kinds of connections to help another generation move forward. For the San Beda Alumni Association of Southern California, maintaining a community abroad is also a way of giving back to the community that helped shape them.