FASA sa UW, originally known as Filipino Club, was formed in 1917 when pensionados—Filipino students— first came to the University of Washington, Seattle. These students created the organization to serve as a social outlet for Filipinos to unite and address socio-political issues they faced at the time.

In 1952, the organization took on the name Fil-Unist instead, replacing Filipino Club.

Starting in 1960, Fil-Unist was renamed to Filipino Student Association (FSA). As FSA, we have helped establish the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D). We also helped create the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) and Kelly Ethnic Cultural Theater (ECT), along with assisting in building the American Ethnic Studies (AES) department. These accomplishments have given us the title of one of the Legacy Organizations of the University of Washington, Seattle.

Since 1994, we have been called the Filipino American Student Association (FASA) to better reflect the dual identities of our university’s ever-growing student population. As FASA, we have continued to serve as an outlet for students of similar backgrounds to relate and find community, as well as fight for the representation of Filipinos and Filipino Americans in the University of Washington academic curriculum.