As my LIA is about storytelling, I also tried my hand at writing a children's book for kids 6 and under! How, you may ask? Enter CANVAS, a local non-profit org whose goal is to donate 1 million books to 1 million Filipino children. My supervisor asked me to research other orgs who do projects like Cultural LINKS, which is how I found CANVAS and their bi-annual Romeo Forbes Children’s Story Writing Competition.
The competition encourages Filipinos from all over the world to submit a children's story inspired by a drawing made by a Filipino artist. It took me awhile to become inspired but my adventures across Manila helped me formulate the trajectory of my story.
More specifically, I was inspired by my trip to Angono, Taytay, a municipality known as the art capital of the Philippines. I visited this area with my distant family who lives in Taytay. As you can see, I snapped a photo of the lake that is similar to how it was painted in the 1970s! I became intrigued by the fishing culture in Angono and the surrounding area: the structure of the boats, the bamboo poles, and the ever-present (and ever-growing) water lilies on the lake.
Maybe you'll get to read my story someday. But otherwise, tune in for the next post :)
My name is Tara Lago, and I am a Rabi Scholar and Laidlaw Scholar at Columbia University pursuing a major in neuroscience and behavior with a concentration in chemistry. With more than 3 years of research related to social science, depression, animal behavior, and computational neuroscience, I aim to study and apply the basic neural mechanisms that underlie human health.
I am passionate about helping my community, inside and outside of the lab. Whether that be creating inclusive programs for my first-year residents as a Resident Advisor or advocating for the freedom to read with the New York and Brooklyn Public Library, I seek to create supportive spaces that encourage intellectual, emotional, and social growth. After my undergraduate education, I plan to work in academic medicine, with the ambition of obtaining an MD-PhD in the future.
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This is amazing! It's wonderful how your trip to Angono became the inspiration for your children's book. CANVAS also sounds like such a great organization, and I really enjoyed hearing about their mission.