May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Caila Quinn Burello sat down exclusively with BachelorNation.com to discuss the importance of celebrating and supporting the AAPI community.

She shared her family’s story, her AAPI role model, and what it means to be a role model herself in the AAPI community now.

Check out Caila’s full interview below.

Bachelor Nation: Caila, thank you so much for chatting with us about the importance of AAPI Heritage Month! What does Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Heritage Month mean to you?

Caila Quinn Burello: Thank you so much for including me! To me, this is a month to embrace all of the rich flavors, art, history, and traditions that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders hold on to. It is a time to celebrate all of the individual cultures lumped into the term “Asian.” By simply visiting a local Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Thai, Cambodian, Indian, Chinese, or other AAPI restaurant, you are supporting an AAPI small business and lifting up a community that, culturally at times, doesn’t speak up for itself.

BN: Yes, absolutely! What makes you proud to be a member of the AAPI community?

CQB: I am proud to be half-Filipina. I am proud of my mom’s heritage and her story. When my Lolo (Grandfather) won the Immigration Visa Lottery in the 1960s to move his family from the Philippines to the United States, he could only afford to send one of his six children a year. My mom was separated from her family at 7 years old and started a new life in Ohio, speaking no English. Being an obedient Filipina woman, she worked throughout school to pay for her nursing degree and follow a career path that her culture deemed she had no choice in. A creative, kind, and generous soul, she found joy in building homes with my dad and starting a family. After years of taking care of others, she wouldn’t explore her dream career of architecture and design until her kids were all grown up and starting lives of their own. My mom is a woman of strength and sacrifice. She makes me proud to be a part of the AAPI community.

BN: Wow, thank you for sharing your family’s incredible story. Other than the members of your family, were there any prominent AAPI leaders or mentors who inspired you while growing up?

CQB: Yes, I was always inspired by Lea Salonga. She is a Filipina actress that got her start on Broadway in shows like “The King and I,” “Miss Saigon,” and “Les Misérables.” But even when she voiced blockbuster Disney movie characters like Princess Jasmine and Mulan, she always remained humble and gave back to underserved communities in the Philippines and beyond.

BN: Lea Salonga is so talented! And what does it mean for you to now be someone that other AAPI people may look up to?

CQB: It means a lot to me to be able to connect with other Asian Americans and halfies on social media. My goal has always been to celebrate being Filipina by sharing family stories, passing along recipes, and honoring my mom’s experience immigrating here when she was 7 years old. One of my favorite ways to connect is over food, so I try to share my mom’s recipes like Chicken Adobo or Sinigang Soup as often as I can. If anyone out there can relate to my desire to open people’s minds to the richness of the Philippines, then I’m so happy we are in the same community.

BN: Yes, that’s so special! Food is an amazing way to connect. Lastly, what are some things Bachelor Nation fans can be doing to support the AAPI community, both this month and beyond?