In honor of Filipino American History Month, 13News Now interviewed Captain Culanding about his role in history, calling to serve and wanting to inspire.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – To understand who Alvie Aquino Culanding is today, you need to know his parents, two immigrants from the Philippines who started families in the United States and settled in Hampton Roads.
Culanding’s father joined the US Navy in the 1960s and his mother worked as a nurse. That said, Culanding always knew his eventual career would be service-oriented.
For the Virginia Beach native, things became clearer in the 90s around the time the Filipino-American Community Action Group formed because of gang violence among young Filipino Americans.
“During this time, something welled up inside me that said, ‘My mum and dad didn’t come here to make this happen,'” Culanding told 13News Now.
After working as a mental health technician, he began a new chapter as an assistant to the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office (VBSO).
“It kind of nurtured me in a way that if I got into law enforcement, I can enforce the rules, but I can also show the human side of it,” Culanding explained.
He remembers what it was like to join the base in July 1997: “I was welcomed here in the ranks even though I didn’t see many Filipinos. There were uncles who worked here [who were] retired soldier.”
More than 25 years and several promotions later, Culanding is a captain, more precisely commander of the Correctional Support Division.
He made history in 2017 as the first Filipino American to hold the VBSO captaincy.
Culanding is proud to put his heritage first, calling the way of the Filipino people strong, humble, yet productive.
Additionally, he believes his presence in the force bridges a gap with other people of Filipino descent.
“Even if they see me in uniform, it can be intimidating, but because I’m a Filipino American and I share some of the same experiences as them, it really helps connect and puts them at ease.” , Culanding said.
At the same time, he hopes to encourage the next generation to serve and succeed.
“Whether they’re Filipino, whether they’re African American, it doesn’t matter. It can be done, but it takes hard work,” he said.
The Sheriff Captain also serves the community in other ways, including his contributions as a co-founder of the Philippine American Association of Virginia Law Enforcement Officers.
