In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Cox is shining a spotlight on some of the employees who make up our diverse company culture.
The AAPI community is made up of many ethnic groups with different backgrounds, histories, languages and cultures. In this Q&A, Marc Feliciano, an instructional designer at Cox Communications, shares his thoughts about his culture, his multi-ethnic background – and, oh yeah, the food!
Q: In one or two sentences, explain in layman’s terms your job at Cox.
I am an instructional designer for HR. I develop and publish training for all lines of business. I started in January 2019. I love that I can help and learn from different lines of business across the company. I love working with different types of people and how I can help them succeed by training their employees and their target audience. For the past year and four months, I have worked with Cox Residential, Cox Business, Cox Media, and the Technology team.
Q: What’s your cultural and ethnic background?
I’m 75% Filipino and 25% Chinese. On my mother’s side, my grandfather is from Hong Kong and he is 100% Chinese. So, my mom is half-Filipino, half-Chinese and my dad is 100% Filipino.
Q: Tell me a little bit about how you were raised. How did your Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage play into your family traditions and beliefs?
My upbringing was me juggling two worlds at the same time. I migrated to the United States when I was 8, but we moved to South Georgia where there weren’t many other Filipinos, much less Asian people. I was raised by a single mom and it was just her, me and my older sister. In terms of tradition, my mom cooked Filipino food for us and still spoke Tagalog when we were growing up.
Q. How do you keep those traditions and beliefs alive? I try to eat at Filipino restaurants here in Atlanta. I want to cook it for myself next, but I just need time to do it. I would love to learn how to make my mom’s lumpia. Lumpia is a Filipino type of spring roll. Not only do I love it, but my mom uses it as a side business and her customers love ordering it as well.
Q. Are you able to incorporate that part of who you are into your job or your extracurricular activities? If so, how?
I brought my team some Filipino souvenirs and snacks when I flew to Manila last year. That trip was bittersweet because my dad passed away when I was 16 and my dad’s side of the family contacted me and my sister about some property my dad left behind. Unfortunately, due to time and money I haven’t visited the Philippines since 2010.
Q. What do you think is the greatest need in the Asian American Pacific Islander community – and how can others help?
The greatest need for the community is for us to be in leadership positions. I would like us to be represented, not just in pictures, but in a seat at the table. We need someone who can be a voice for the community.
Jillian Perry works in field operations for Cox Communications in the northern Virginia area....
Young has been involved with the Beyond School Walls program with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro ...
Arielle respects differences and seeks diverse perspectives by being intentional about encouraging...