schoolscolleges2020 hed news

cab33
AMERICAN CORNER. Pictured here are the following officers (from left to right) during the awarding ceremony at the US Embassy Manila: Randolf Mariano (deputy director, American Spaces Philippines), Xavier Lara (director, American Center Manila), Philip Roskamp (public affairs counselor, US Embassy Manila), Estrella C Cabudoy (area director, American Corner Cagayan de Oro), Athena Jaca (librarian, American Corner Cagayan de Oro, XU College of Nursing, FMBMC, and Filipiniana Sections), Jeanie M Duwan (assistant cultural affairs officer, US Embassy Manila), and Scott Hartmann (regional public engagement specialist, US Embassy Manila). Supplied photo. 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines —The American Corner (Cagayan de Oro) of Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan was one of this year’s recipients of the American Spaces Honor Award given by the Embassy of the United States of America in the Philippines. 

The said award recognizes “the 35 years of American Corner partnership as a collaborative and innovative resource space where a diverse range of people, private and public partners, and others can discover, share, and be empowered with new ideas, skills, and opportunities that can bring about positive change to individual lives and communities.”

Xavier Ateneo’s University Libraries director  Estrella Cabudoy and American Corner CDO librarian Athena Jaca also received the American Spaces Excellence Awards for their “exceptional program collaboration with various university units and non-government organizations for the ROW for Peace Program in Cagayan de Oro.” 

Reading On Wheels (ROW) for Peace is a joint community-based reading and literacy program of the Department of History, International Studies, and Political Science and the American Spaces of Xavier Ateneo promoting the culture of peace through reading and preventing the spread of violent extremism in the rural areas.

The awards of Cabudoy and Jaca also cited their crucial roles “for successfully building and sustaining the American Corner’s volunteer pool for the implementation of STEM and Makerspace programs and activities for the public.”

Makerspace is a movement that uses creative ways to explore and discover new ways of learning through 3DoodlerMakey Makey, and LittleBits. Makerspace promotes learning through play and has the potential to demystify science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) concepts and encourage more young people to seek careers in those fields.

The awarding ceremony was led by Philip Roskamp, counselor for public affairs of the US Embassy in the Philippines, and was held on June 20 in Manila.

American Corner is a flagship program of the Thomas Jefferson Information Center of the US Embassy. It provides partner universities with educational resources such as books, maps, periodicals, audio-visual materials, and online databases on US policies, society, history, and culture. It also aspires to promote cooperation between the US and its partner country. 

Established on November 19, 1984, the XU American Corner is the first American Corner in the Philippines, and now forms part of the network of 14 ACs in the country.∎