CEBU, Philippines - A student from the University of the Visayas was elected and inducted into office as president of the Junior Educators’ Alliance (JEA) – Cebu during the organization’s 5th annual gathering at the Aznar Coliseum of Southwestern University yesterday.
Jean Balungcas, 22, a fourth year student of Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED) majoring in Special Education (SpEd), will lead more than 2,000 JEA members for the year ahead. She is the incumbent president of UV’s Supreme Student Council and a Rotary Club International Youth Leadership Awardee. She is consistent in the dean’s list.
Last May and July, Balungcas represented UV to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) orientation in Manila for the new memoranda issued. She will be primarily responsible for disseminating the issuances to the university.
Balungcas said no less than UV Executive Vice President Jose Gullas told her that the university will support JEA fully. In fact, Gullas gave JEA-Cebu an office inside the UV campus, as well as a computer for the organization’s use. Gullas also offered a bus that the organization’s members can use for free for their tutorial sessions at their adopted school in Tingob Urban Poor.
“I am so grateful to Sir Dodong Gullas for his full support to our alliance. It is a great privilege and honor for me. And to my entire UV Family because it is where my leadership skills were developed well because of the training and experiences that I had with my beloved school,” Balungcas said.
JEA-Cebu launched the tutorial program last July 7 and is implementing the same in cooperation with the Cebuano Youth Ambassadors. Volunteers coming from different schools visit the school twice a month on Saturdays. There are 10 volunteer tutors per member school.
The member schools include UV, SWU, Cebu Normal University (CNU), University of San Carlos (USC), Cebu technological University (CTU), Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R), Cebu Eastern College (CEC), St. Theresa’s College (STC), University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF), Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC), Mandaue City College (MCC), Lyceum of Cebu, Cebu Roosevelt Memorial Colleges (CRMC)-Bogo City and the University of Cebu (UC)- Main Campus, Banilad Campus and Lapu-Lapu-Mandaue Campus.
Balungcas said she is thankful to UV and her college dean, Dr. Nerissa Lopez, for giving members of her executive committee easy access into the UV main campus.
The other JEA executive officers include Mark Valencia of CTU (vice president-internal), Guian Paulo Godofredo from CIT-U (vice president-external), Razel Anna Calderon from UV (secretary), Dante Sumanting from UC-Main (assistant secretary), Dean Carlo Sagrado from USC (treasurer), Ronald Ryan Macabinguil (assistant treasurer), Marinao Valiente from USC (auditor) and Michael Bingayan from Lyceum of Cebu (assistant auditor).
JEA is aiming to hold an education congress in October, which will include a workshop that will prepare future educators for the K+12 program. JEA will tap facilitators from DepEd to discuss the mechanics and technicalities of the new education curriculum. (FREEMAN)