ART TO HEART:

A CELEBRATION OF PASSION

By:  Clarisse Buhay Aldana and Janelle B. Alinsoot

​

During the last Quarter of 2018, the Communication Department implemented a series of free creative workshops for their freshwomen students. ORACLE Correspondent, Clarisse Buhay Aldana, interviewed Prof. Patricia Ealdama, Chair of the Communication Department, to learn more about the said event.

 

Hi Ms. Trish, can you give us a little background about the Art to Heart Sessions?

 

Last October 2018, the Communication Department launched a self-leadership enrichment program for the first year students called, “Art to Heart Sessions.” The Art to Heart Sessions had three parts, which are: Express, a series of free, interest-based workshops for students such as photography, make-up and calligraphy, whose aim was to help the students not just survive but also to thrive, Examples, where the teachers of the workshops from the Express part shared their own life hacks and anecdotes to the students, who also went through challenges; depression and stress and used their talents in photography, calligraphy and make-up to become a happier and improved version of themselves, lastly is Echo, where the students shared the things they have learned and other talents from the Express and Examples phases to the students of the Night Secondary School of St. Scholastica’s College, Manila last December 2018.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

Why did you create “Art to Heart Sessions”?

 

During my “getting-to-know-you” session with our Freshwomen in our Introduction to Communication Media class, most of them shared how unhappy they were during their high school days.  What was supposed to be a fun session describing their high school life through a movie title, turned out to be a sob session that I was deeply bothered with. Entering another phase in their life, College, will also entail other major adjustments and challenges in their lives. Hence, our Department came up with the idea to conduct a series of creative workshops and activities that will help the students have an outlet to release their depression and further improve their mental health and wellness. Coincidentally, October is also the Mental Health Awareness month and would be the perfect time to launch an enrichment program such as this.

​

How did you encourage the students to join the sessions?

 

We conducted the sessions on a Monday, a no-class day for the freshwomen. We made the sessions fun and light instead of the formal and classroom type. We let the activities flow as natural as possible, with the instructors sharing their own inspiring stories on how they were able to master their skills and fight depression themselves. The participants during the Make-Up 101 were given gift packs. And during the Photography 101 session, there was a surprise game at the end and prizes were given to the winners. For the calligraphy session, the participants were given free calligraphy brushes and their calligraphy works on postcards were mailed to their loved ones. Plus, all the sessions were free.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

​

Who were the speakers in the workshops?

 

We had two sessions for Photography 101. The first one was conducted by Prof. Jun Barrameda, who is a faculty member of the Communication Department and is a maestro in Photography. He has won numerous awards for his works. During his workshop, he taught the students the basics of Photography and he showed them samples of his beautiful photos. Another session was done with Ms. Agatha Meg Albano, a Masscom graduate and is also a professional photographer. During her workshop, she taught the participants how to shoot using their smartphones and cameras. She also brought prizes for the best photos (she had a hard time deciding who will win because almost everyone took amazing photos after the session!)

 

Make-up 101 was conducted by Ms. Nina Singanon, a freelance make-up artist. She taught about “light and natural make-up” that students can apply for special occasions or job interviews. She brought tons of make ups and brushes the participants can play with, aside from the free make-up kits given at the start of the session.

 

The last session, Calligraphy 101, was taught by Ms. Reena Gabriel.  She works as a wedding planner for Bride’s Maids and Co. and also takes on calligraphy projects for people in need of that personal touch.  Some of her clients include Dr. Vicky Belo and Ms. Iza Calzado.

 

I am grateful to all the workshop instructors who, despite being experts in their fields, believed in the message of our event and shared their time and talents pro bono.

 

Can you tell us about the partnership with St. Scholastica’s College Night Secondary School?

 

The aim of this partnership was for the Communication students to give back and share their learnings from the Express and Examples phases to the students of the Night Secondary School of St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. The Benedictine values, Community and Service, stood out during this part. The Communication students gave the NSS students exciting workshops like art, spoken poetry, dancing and vision board making. Prof. Barrameda was also kind enough to do another round of Photography 101 session for all the NSS students. When it was time for the NSS students to share what they had learned, some were really personal, which made the event even more meaningful. We are very grateful to Sr. Sam Formosa’s support, the whole NSS staff, students, and of course the Communication Department’s freshwomen for this successful partnership.

 

Any upcoming events and activities of Communication department?

 

Oh we have a lot! We just had a self-awareness seminar/workshop with the Juniors and Seniors last March 7 and we will be having the public presentation of the Seniors’ theses, the Obra Kulasa, on March 28. On April 23, we will have the Hildegarde Awards to celebrate inspiring women in media. We will also be having an Open House led by the freshwomen and a “COMM+UNITY Day” on May 2019. Details are still being finalized so stay tuned! 

 

 

ORACLE™, MARCH 2019