Filipino Immigrant Family Finds Success in San Mateo County
Date: September 16, 2021
Althea Avice de Guzman
Althea Avice de Guzman grew up in the Philippines with her father and siblings. Shortly after she was born, her mother left the Philippines and emigrated to carve out a slice of the American Dream.
In Chicago, Althea’s mom worked odd jobs from gift-wrapping at the department store to caregiving elderly and being a nanny. She raised American children to save up enough money to bring her own children from the Philippines. In 1997, Althea and her siblings finally joined her. The transition wasn’t easy; they moved and switched schools frequently, lived with friends and later shared a small apartment with another family. For years, Althea was hidden away in the one-bedroom of her mother’s caregiving job just to attend a better school system.
Ultimately, Althea received her bachelor’s from American University and her master’s from The University of Chicago. Althea now works as an Emergency Management Professional with over nine years of combined experience in business continuity, healthcare and biotechnology, and project management.
I’ve lived all over the country, from Chicago to D.C. to St. Louis. These places all have diversity, but when I got to San Mateo County, the extent of the diversity was startling. For the first time, I did not feel out of place.
Althea Avice de Guzman
The county had welcoming features she wished her family had access to as new immigrants: signage in multiple languages, interpreters at the DMV, police officers who reflected the diversity of its community, access to healthy food options, and public spaces filled with Filipino people and their language.
“These are the things that make you feel safer,” she says. That’s why she’s raising her son here. “I never have to worry about him feeling like he doesn’t belong.”
Althea works with the Immigrant Community Engagement Team to capture concerns of immigrants and to recommend how San Mateo County can leverage existing community programs and partner with trusted immigrant leaders. Althea is proud that San Mateo County has prioritized immigrant communities and their needs and believes this will strengthen the county and drive its economy.
