by Anitta Joy Nuevo, KKP Volunteer
Facilitated by the KKP-SIO, the Collaborative Service Learning Program - General Orientation Seminar (SLP-GOS) was held on Jan 9 at the AVR1. It was attended by students and faculty members from the different colleges and departments of Xavier University. The activity, themed, “Educaton for Social Justice,” intended to provide a venue for the participants to fully understand and appreciate their Service-Learning Engagement.
The SLP-GOS provided the students and teachers of this semester’s SLP engagements an orientation and deeper understanding of its significant contribution to Xavier University’s Greater Societal Engagement agenda. The participants came from the Psychology, Economics, Sociology, Accountancy, Business Administration, Education, Agribusiness, Agrieconomics, Civil Engineering and Computer Studies.
To better facilitate the details of the SLP Projects, our SLP partner institutions attended the SLP-GOS as well; Robert dela Serna of the XU-FARM - Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Archie Alamban of the Pedro Calungsod PEACE Center contributed significantly to the discussions. Session 1 of the SLP-GOS was given by Nestor Banuag (KKP, Faculty Program Officer) on Enhancing Social Formation through Service Learning, an enticing talk about extending the self from the four corners of the classroom to the experience of the outside- the community. This is to help the participants appreciate that it is not just a requirement or a research paper but an actual contribution to the school and the society. Session 2, focusing on various social engagements of SLP and their area of interventions and the general schedule of area works and other major activities of SLP, was givenby Jeannette Guian (KKP Faculty Program Officer). Suggestions were made to extend the timeframe of the area work visits to build rapport with the community before conducting any surveys and interviews.
After the two sessions, the participants were divided according to their projects and were given time to discuss among themselves their outputs, timeframe and schedules. Each department was able to work and share their strengths and exemplified what Collaborative Service Learning Program is. Each cluster arranged their schedule for their area work to begin this month until the end of the year. This seminar has not only achieved commitment from the students and faculty members but also the determination to further and farther their studies, their ideals and themselves.
"We are lucky to have been chosen as part of the Collaborative SLP this semester," said Analiza Miso, director of the Sustainable Sanitation Center. She lauded the SLP for providing the mechanism to connect research with outreach.
"We can be more realistic in our intervention if it is backed with research," she explained.
Miso and the other participants iterated their committment to make learning in the classroom come alive for their students by letting them engage with the community.