The good Cornellians can do: Rafael Bitanga ’23

Rafael Bitanga ’23 is forging his own career path—combining his business acumen and people skills with a lifelong passion for storytelling and cultural preservation.

When he was eight, Rafael’s parents immigrated from the Philippines to work in the fish canneries on Kodiak Island, Alaska. To supplement the family’s income, his mother operated a childcare center in their family home—caring for his younger sister alongside a dozen local children.

“This experience helped me understand the transformative potential of education,” Rafael says. “I saw firsthand how storytelling engaged young minds.”

As a first-gen student at Cornell, Rafael combined his hotel administration major with minors in education and leadership. After graduation, he began working as an educator with See Stories—showing Alaskan school teachers how to use digital storytelling to capture cultural narratives. To date, the project has engaged 130 teachers, reached 6,450 students, and produced 150 student films showcasing Alaskan narratives.

Rafael is currently pursuing a master's in learning design and technology at Stanford University.

“Having benefited from these prestigious educational opportunities (at Cornell and Stanford), I feel a deep responsibility to pay it forward to the communities that raised me,” he explains.

Cornellians around the globe are sharing how they do good in communities big and small. Share your own story.