Jon Marvin Reyes

“In this program, I feel like I belong in the community.”

Jon Marvin Reyes is having a full-circle moment. After immigrating to Canada from the Philippines, Jon Marvin got involved with Montreal’s Filipino community. He began volunteering with Centre Kapwa, a grassroots organization serving the well-being of Filipino youth and their families in Montreal.

As a community organizer, Jon Marvin wanted to pursue a university degree that could complement his work, leading him to transfer schools to Concordia. The stars aligned when Concordia’s SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation began funding Centre Kapwa, which allowed Jon Marvin to become their first paid intern.

Why did you decide to transfer to Concordia?

I was looking for community-based programs where I could practice what I learned at school outside of the classroom. Concordia is diverse in terms of students but is also very creative in terms of their programs. They’re very hands-on with education, and it’s also bilingual.

I really love Concordia because they're very flexible with understanding student realities, especially for students who work at the same time. There's a famous saying — When a flower doesn't bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower. I found a second home in Concordia. I’m 26 now, and having migrated to Montreal from the Philippines, I faced integration barriers. I had to go to French class to learn the language, and my past academic credentials weren’t recognized. It took a long six years to enter university, but I’m thankfully finding that university is the best experience.

How has the program been so far?

The program is great. The professors are very accessible and open minded about having discussions on contemporary issues. In this program, I feel like I belong in the community. Every class is less than 40-50 students and there’s always open discussions. Besides the hands-on community-based learning, we have very diverse classes. Not only in terms of ethnic background, but also in terms of age. Some are in their 40s, and some are in their 20s. This diversity inspires me because we all contribute differently to class. Professors encourage us to get involved with our respective communities or student groups.

What have your hands-on learning experiences been like?

I’ve been volunteering for an organization called Centre Kapwa. In fall 2023, Concordia’s SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation provided us with funding, which allowed us to create an internship for Concordia students.

Now I’m an intern with Centre Kapwa, a grassroots organization that serves and supports the well-being of Filipino youth and their families in Montreal. I helped organize our first-ever conference to unite against anti-Asian racism, which included panels, educational workshops and training. In my program, we learn about activism, public policy and social issues. It relates a lot to what I do in my internship, and I really appreciate that.

Do you collaborate with SHIFT?

I’ve recently become part of SHIFT's Collaborative Space Hub, where I help work in creating a dynamic and welcoming space for the SHIFT community and broader social transformative ecosystem. Centre Kapwa hosts a lot of programming at SHIFT, including the conference we had. What I love about SHIFT is that they offer working hours every Tuesday and Thursday. Anyone with social transformative work can co-work there. Access to the space has been helpful as a student and a community organizer.

Check out Centre Kapwa and other community initiatives at the SHIFT Centre for Social Transformation!