“The United States has always been a destination place for Filipinos.”

John Galvan’s mother, Raphaella, came to Detroit in the early 1970s from the Philippines to work as a hospital nurse amid a nursing shortage.

Nursing schools in the Philippines, where instruction was in English, were similar to the nursing program curriculums in the United States. Those who completed these programs and passed the nursing exam in the Philippines could follow an immigration path to the U.S. to be a registered nurse here.

Once working in the U.S., his mother would send money back to her family, who remained in the Cagayan province of the Philippines.

Galvan recalled his mother and father kept in touch through letters. Galvan, his two sisters and father remained in the Philippines until his mother received her visa to bring the family to Detroit in 1973. His youngest brother was born in Michigan in 1974.

The family first lived a few blocks from Henry Ford Hospital where his mother worked, then moved to the Jefferson Chalmers neighborhood a few years later. His father eventually found work as an accountant in Detroit.

Galvan, who arrived in the U.S. when he was four, remembers the challenges of acclimating.

He started to learn English in school. While trying to become fluent in it, Galvan said he asked his parents to stop speaking their native dialects – Tagalog and Ilocano – around him.

“I succeeded assimilating to the English language, but at the cost of my native tongue,” Galvan said.

Later in life, he found ways to reconnect with his Filipino roots through local community groups and cultural events in the metro area. Galvan also encouraged his kids to learn Filipino.

Galvan currently lives in Detroit.

This story is part of our Destination Detroit series, which shares the rich history of the people who have shaped Southeast Michigan.

Watch more stories at onedetroitpbs.org/destinationdetroit.