"There is a magic that Chris has. It's the way he relates genuinely and sincerely with people of all ages and all backgrounds," said Becky Judd, adolescent health coordinator for the Division of Behavioral Health, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. She has worked with Aquino in workshops, youth groups, conferences and leadership training and supported his nomination.
South Africa RPCV Christopher Aquino recognized for service
Alaskan dedicates life to others
An award recognizes the service of Chris Aquino.
By S. Jane Szabo
Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage, Alaska
August 25, 2005
From Alakanuk to Zimbabwe, people know Chris Aquino. He greets people in the language of Northern Sotho in South Africa and in Yup'ik in Scammon Bay. But he knows the universal language of human relations, according to people who nominated him for a major Peace Corps award.
The 32-year old up-and-coming Anchorage community organizer was one of 11 Americans this year to receive the Franklin H. Williams Award, which recognizes members who continue to promote the values of community service and intracultural understanding after they return to their communities.
"There is a magic that Chris has. It's the way he relates genuinely and sincerely with people of all ages and all backgrounds," said Becky Judd, adolescent health coordinator for the Division of Behavioral Health, Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. She has worked with Aquino in workshops, youth groups, conferences and leadership training and supported his nomination.
Aquino has worked his "magic" in Alaska, during his Peace Corps service in South Africa and also at the United Nations and in Vietnam. He seeks common denominators among diverse groups in the quest toward a better world.
Aquino was born and raised in Anchorage and comes from a Vietnamese-Hawaiian-Filipino background. His father and mother, David and Luci Aquino, married in Vietnam, then came to Alaska for the completion of David's military career at Fort Richardson. He also has a brother, Andrew, an incoming freshman at South High School.
After attending Scenic Park Elementary, Wendler Middle School and Bartlett High, Chris studied biology and political science at the University of California-Davis before joining the Peace Corps. Later, he worked at the United Nations before getting involved in community and youth development back home in Alaska. He has a master's degree in business administration, is working on a Ph.D., is a runner and wrote a newspaper column for the Daily News this year.
"Since I can remember learning about it, I wanted to join the Peace Corps," Aquino said. With a love of traveling and a desire to learn about and help others, he'd been carrying around a hand-compiled list of Peace Corps qualifications since high school.
Aquino served from 1997 to 1999 as a member of the first Peace Corps group in South Africa. "Originally, I signed up to go to Nepal," he said, and was looking forward to immersion in that country's beauty and culture. "I was pretty much ready to leave when they told me I'd be going to South Africa. I said, 'There's no program in South Africa.' They said, 'There will be, and we want you to be one of the first volunteers to be there.' "
Aquino was initially assigned to 12 schools in the region of Sekhukhune. He had three main responsibilities: teaching math and English refresher courses to schoolteachers, consulting with officials on education strategies and helping to develop two libraries. He learned the language of Northern Sotho (pronounced soo-too), and enjoyed hikes, African cuisine and sightseeing throughout southern Africa, from Victoria Falls to the sand dunes of Namibia.
Through days of reading the children's book "Max the Dog," playing soccer, storytelling with elders and hauling water buckets by wheelbarrow, Aquino built trust among the Africans. His emphasis on empowerment, vision and values found a parallel in his Alaska work.
Aquino coordinated the State of Alaska Suicide Prevention Grant Program from 2001 to 2004. Now he's a consultant-trainer for the United Way and Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement, sponsored by the Association of Alaska School Boards. He travels statewide organizing community development projects that emphasize family, wellness, community and culture. His current work involves integrating the 40 Developmental Assets into various programs, with the goal of helping youths succeed.
Susan Soule, a former boss who nominated Aquino, said he helped administer small grants to 45-65 villages, trained coordinators and traveled to the villages.
"He's a great trainer because he's got such a friendly, outgoing personality," said Soule, who was Anchorage regional manager for the state Department of Health and Social Service's Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse during their collaboration. "People love Chris," she said, and his combination of positive energy, warmth and a sharp mind adds up to "a very special guy."
This positive, teamwork-oriented philosophy catapulted Aquino into the limelight June 23, when he received the award at the Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. The award is named for former Peace Corps regional director for Africa and U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Franklin H. Williams.
Aquino's family and friends honored him with a party and gifts before he and his girlfriend, Lisa Hall, left for the fanfare back east. "I feel very blessed and lucky," he said, "that I have their support to do these things -- and that they celebrate with me what is most important to me, which is trying to help others as much as I can and trying to learn with others as much as I can."
