This story includes discussions of mental health, police violence, suicide, and loss within Asian American communities.
Bella Quinto Collins described her kuya, or older brother, Angelo as artistic and caring, someone who always worked to make others feel happy, even so far as taking care of her friends. “He would just try to entertain by singing off-key, though he tried to sing really well,” she said. “Or doing cartwheels and playing catch in the streets. He had bought two whole pizzas for us randomly just one day.”
Angelo pursued several interests like cooking, currency trading, writing, fishing, scuba diving, video game design, playing chess, painting murals, and rescuing animals, including the family cat.
“He was bad at dancing,” Bella added. “But he did that a lot. Loved karaoke nights.”
“He didn’t care,” said his stepfather, Robert Collins. “He would get out there just to make people not be shy. He was very open and alive and happy to be alive.”
When Angelo joined the Navy, Bella said that it gave him focus and grounding. “He kinda felt lost, like he didn’t know what to do,” she said. “When he decided to join the Navy, that really clarified things. He felt like he had this renewed sense of purpose.”
Angelo entered boot camp, determined to join the armed forces. He even endured delays after the first Trump administration attempted to bar immigrants from joining the Navy. He would never complete his training, dismissed just a few days shy of graduation. “He seemed to be allergic to something,” Bella said. “He had hives. They couldn’t figure out [which] allergy caused those hives, so they did not let him complete his training. He was really heartbroken because there was no solid reason for that separation.”
Angelo planned on going back. However, his mental health declined during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and his empathy-filled reaction to the fight for Black lives. “My brother talked about how depressed it was making…
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