While Dante Obcena attended the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) and West Seattle Chamber Of Commerce (WSCC) Candidate Reception at the Hall at Fauntleroy Wednesday evening, he was, at times, hard to spot. That's because the 23 year-old South Seattle Community College student was often surrounded by local politicians, including King County and Seattle City Council members engaging him in serious conversation. You might say Obcena is someone to keep an eye on in future area politics. But look at him now.

Obcena, the South Seattle Community College student body president, immigrated here from the Philippines 10 years ago. He won an award from the GSBA, an organization serving the gay, lesbian, and bisexual community. He was given the SSCC Foundation Scholarship, an award based on academic merit, financial need, program of study and school and community involvement.
 Also, Obcena was one of the college’s two representatives to the All-Washington Academic Team honored at a ceremony in Olympia. He was one of 63 students representing 33 Washington community and technical colleges who were presented Academic Team medals by Governor Gregoire.

South Seattle Community College stated that "Dante is a 'think globally, act locally' student leader who has transformed his own struggles into powerful and passionate advocacy. In tackling significant issues as LGBTQ Student Commissioner, he has devoted countless hours and energy planning on campus events around LGBTQ National Coming Out Day, World AIDS Day, and anti-bullying/safe school zone awareness. Off campus, he volunteers for the King County Public Health Reserve Corps, Alphabet Soup Children’s Bookstore, and the Three Dollar Bill Cinema, where he has been selected as Volunteer of the Year for three consecutive years. He chose to attend community college because of his belief that two-year institutions thrive on bringing out the best in students."

"When I met Gov. Gregoire and received the award, I think the community recognized that I am doing something not just for the LGBT community but for the community at large," said Obcena pridefully. "One of my goals is to get students, young people, to vote. In our school there are a lot of first generation immigrants and sometimes they just need the help to be exposed to who is running. I want some of the candidates to come to the school.

"The first thing I did when I became an American citizen was to vote," he said. "That was the most exciting part of becoming a citizen. You still have to respect those who are not interested in voting. They are American citizens, too, but at the same time, if they talk and don't walk, and if the results are not what they wanted, then it goes back to them. In the Philippines Election Day is a holiday. They're off from work. It's a fiesta. They make it an exciting event."

Obcena spent nine months in Israel and said he appreciated the different cultures, while acknowledging the ongoing strife there. He worked for three months on a kibbutz, a collective farm, in the Negev desert in southern Israel, and spent time in Jerusalem.

"I really wish things will sort out over there," said Obcena. "There is something to be said for paying attention to that part of the world and spending time in Jerusalem seeing Hassidic Jews, Catholic nuns of Africa, and Muslims of Sudan together, even though there are boundaries. The more you experience the more you learn."