SUSG members join 2023 Interactive Youth Forum of PAPSAS

SUSG members join 2023 Interactive Youth Forum of PAPSAS

Dr. Edna Gladys T. Calingacion briefs volunteer student leaders as facilitators of the first workshop titled “The Value of Connection: Reconnecting in the New Normal.”

Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) members participated in the 2023 Interactive Youth Forum (IYF) of the Philippine Association of Practitioners of Student Affairs and Services, Inc. (PAPSAS), March 9-11, 2023 at the Venus Parkview Hotel in Baguio City.

With the theme “Post-Pandemic Perspectives Becoming REAL: Reconnecting, Embracing, Adapting, Living Now,” the event gathered 315 participants from 64 colleges and universities nationwide.

John Christian Entrata, SUSG president; Kyla Bue, vice president; Jan Andrei Elizalde, executive secretary; Enrica Marian Dinopol, house speaker; Ella Nazaria Vasquez, Senior High School governor; Ginger Huisken, College of Education representative; and Jay Ryan Jacutin, Institute of Clinical Laboratory Sciences representative, formed the SU delegation in the 2023 IYF.

Dr. Edna Gladys T. Calingacion, dean of students, and Abe P. Cadelina, Student Organizations and Activities Division (SOAD) head, led the SU delegation.

Calingacion, a member of the National Board of Trustees of PAPSAS, Inc., also served as lead facilitator of “Workshop I: The Value of Connection: Reconnecting in the New Normal.”

Workshop I gave student leaders an opportunity to share and process their pandemic leadership experience as they connect with others from various universities across the country and create opportunities for possible future collaborations.

Meanwhile, Entrata represented the Visayas in a discussion on “Embracing the New Realities and Opportunities in the New Normal” where he and other student leaders representing Luzon and Mindanao shared their leadership experiences and insights during the COVID-19 pandemic and the present.

The SUSG members also volunteered for the registration tasks, while Bue and Vasquez led the interfaith prayer during the event.

The SU delegation also visited St. Louis University (SLU) to conduct a benchmarking activity and meet their counterparts in SLU.

“Synthesizing, our experience at the Interactive Youth Forum 2023 brought forth by a plethora of engagements drew so much hope for us and the succeeding generations, inspiring our student government to continue to serve selflessly and take pride in the colorful shades of our youth,” Entrata said.

(with reports from the SU Student Organizations and Activities Division (SOAD); photos submitted to the SU Office of Information and Publications from SOAD)

The SUSG members talk with St. Louis University (SLU) Supreme Student Council members about student government structure, student elections, community engagements, and other student activities.

SUSG members talking with students from Ateneo de Naga University.

Ella Nazaria Vasquez and Kyla Bue lead the opening prayer.

The SU delegation receives certificates during the closing ceremonies: (L-R) Rodolfo SB. Virtus Jr., PAPSAS public relations officer (PRO) and Ateneo De Naga University dean of students; Jay Ryan Jacutin; Ella Nazaria Vasquez; Ginger Huisken; Dr. Renelyn B. Salcedo, PAPSAS president and senior vice president for Student and Alumni Services of FAITH Colleges); Abe P. Cadeliña, SU SOAD head; Dr. Edna Gladys T. Calingacion, PAPSAS director and SU dean of students; John Christian Entrata; Kyla Bue; Enrica Marian Dinopol; and Jan Andrei Elizalde.

The SU delegation in the 2023 IYF poses for a photo with the SLU Supreme Student Council and SLU Community Engagements director during a benchmarking activity at SLU.