ABOUT PATRICIA
Patricia Lim-Pardo is an alumni member of Nu Chapter at Oregon State University. She crossed in the Fall 2008 semester as a sophomore and took up many leadership positions during her undergraduate and alumni life. Patricia was Historian and President for Nu Chapter, and served nationally as Pacific Regional Director and Vice President of Internal Affairs. She has been very involved in Delta Phi Omega through her leadership positions and hard work. She helped plan the 2009 National Conference in Portland, pledged many lines of new members at Nu Chapter, and was the Dean of the Founding Class of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Colony. Delta Phi Omega has kept her life very busy over the years, but currently Patricia has been focusing on her career as an 8th grade Social Studies teacher while working on developing a service work program for the middle school level. Her love for kids is rooted in her upbringing in a big, Filipino family, and she is now entering her third year in the education field.
DELTA PHI OMEGA JOURNEY
Patricia joined Delta Phi Omega through her older cousin, Fides Lim, who crossed a year before her at what was then the Oregon State University Colony. Through Fides, Patricia met many amazing sisters who she connected with very well. One of her main reasons for joining was because she felt she had found a group of individuals who helped ease the hard transition going in to college. Patricia is originally from Portland, a predominantly white city. However the neighborhood within the city she grew up in was very diverse. This experience led to her feeling lost and lonely her freshman year at OSU, an institution with a very small percentage of people of color. She considered dropping out to attend a local university or community college back home, but the community she found in Delta Phi Omega, as well as OSU’s Filipino Student Association, gave her a place to finally root herself.
Patricia’s favorite memory from her involvement in Delta Phi Omega was her first time going to National Conference the summer after she crossed in 2008. Patricia was able to meet girls from across the nation, and was initially nervous they wouldn’t like her. She’s still connected to many of these sisters on social media, and tries to reach out to them when she can. She said she will never forget the connections they made.
A FOCUS ON SERVICE
Aside from her teaching career and Delta Phi Omega, community service is a very big part of Patricia’s life and has been instilled in her for years. The first time she was at the capacity to volunteer, she was only 11, helping at the hospital where her mom worked. Sincethen, service has become a part of her livelihood. After a busy college career, Patricia continued to seek out leadership and service opportunities, and at a time was invited to discuss the planning of a 5k run/walk fundraiser to help provide clean water and send money to indigenous students in the Philippines. This fundraiser was put together by Lakad PDX, which is an organization dedicated to re-connecting generations of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans to their roots through projects that serve vulnerable communities in the Philippines. It didn’t take long for Patricia to realize that this organization, with its focus on service efforts and connecting the Filipino-American community, was a perfect fit for her.
When asked about her passion for Lakad and service work, Patricia spoke to feelings of creativity that come with being able to balance her passions and responsibilities — which is “both scary and cool.” She feels lucky to be around so many people who are just as like-minded as her in terms of giving back to the community, as well what that kind of work can do for oneself. “You get a sense of empowerment when you give back to something that is bigger than yourself,” said Patricia, which is where her motivation lays. “It may sound superficial, but as you start to finish your degrees and enter this world, it’s really important to not just be focused on your career, but to have things that add to the other aspects of who you are,” she added. Balancing work and life is important to Patricia, especially for her coming into a profession where the burnout rate for teaching happens within the first 2-5 years. She knows she’s not perfect at balancing her time and energy, but is very mindful about it. Patricia has a rule for herself to make sure to not bring work back home with her, in order to give Lakad the energy she has left for the rest of the day.
One goal Patricia has for her work with Lakad includes sustainability. Drawing from her involvement in Delta Phi Omega, she knows it is easy to burn out from the work of a small organization, especially those consisting of people of color and limited resources. Lakad is currently going into their second year as a nonprofit, with their second annual 5k event coming up later this month. With all the work on her radar, Patricia continuously tries to keep up her momentum and drive in order to be the best role model she can be for others — even when times get challenging.
When asked about the challenges she faces with Lakad, Patricia stated that navigating her position within the organization has been one of the most demanding tasks. She imagines an organization to run so much like Delta Phi Omega, but has come to realize that isn’t always the case. Lakad is a little less formal and organized very differently. There are many activists including herself, and due to the nature of the organization’s work, Patricia has had to relearn and unlearn many topics such as power and privilege. Everyday there is always something new to learn.
Aside from the challenges, another goal for Patricia and her involvement with Lakad is the opportunity to return to the Philippines to see the projects that have been established and the impacts they have made for local communities. The last time Patricia visited the Philippines was when she was 16, but even then the experience was an eye opener for her. She enjoyed getting to learn more about her heritage and culture, and being able to bring back the knowledgeshe gained has only further supported her work with Lakad. Traveling to the Philippines gave her a better sense of what it meant to exist in both American and Filipino cultures, and got her thinking of ways to challenge that experience a little more.
REFLECTING
Patricia has taken a break from Delta Phi Omega in the last year, giving her the opportunity to put more of her energy towards Lakad. For Patricia, it was nice being able to find yet another space where she felt she could belong. Her work with Lakad gave her a sense of “this is mine, this is my thing,” outside of Delta Phi Omega, which is where majority of her time and energy went to in the last several years. However that doesn’t mean Delta Phi Omega is completely off of her radar. Patricia continues to act as a pillar of support for active sisters and always emphasizes her availability to provide help and guidance when needed. One of Patricia’s littles and incoming President for Nu Chapter, Abby Pasion, says of her big, “I am always inspired by her relentless leadership. She did a lot during her time as an active, and even now as an alumni her commitment to giving back to others is one of the things I admire about her the most.”
When asked about what she misses most about being an active sister, Patricia said, “Being a part of Delta Phi Omega in undergrad wasn’t about being in a sisterhood, but being a part of a larger community.” Surely, through her servant leadership, Patricia has fostered just that kind of community — not only for herself, but for many others following after.
More information about Lakad PDX can be found at https://lakadpdx.com.
