2017 Graduate Student Assembly

Last 06 October 2017, the CSSP Office of the Graduate Program (CSSP OGP) in cooperation with the newly established CSSP Graduate Students Association (CSSP GSA) held this academic year’s CSSP Graduate Student Assembly.

The assembly was marked by many new beginnings as it witnessed the launching of the newly established CSSP GSA and the first encounter of the graduate students with the newly installed college dean, Dr. Maria Bernadette L. Abrera.

The program started with the official launching of the CSSP GSA. Mr. Alexander Atrio Lopez, chair of the CSSP GSA Steering Committee which spearheaded the formation of the organization, encouraged the early attendees to join the organization and oriented them to its objectives and principles. The launching was followed by the singing of the national anthem and the dean’s opening remarks and message. Dean Abrera talked about how important relevance is in the researches that our graduate students are currently pursuing.

Dr. Jeanette L. Yasol-Naval, coordinator of the CSSP OGP, then oriented our new graduate students with the college-wide academic rules. New graduate students were afterwards serenaded by the UP Guitar Orchestra.

To integrate their own experiences and the personal accounts of the invited graduates, group discussions followed. Members of the CSSP GSA facilitated each group’s discussion which centered on each group’s inspirations in staying on, and commitments and contributions to the college.

Instead of getting a single, traditional keynote speaker, the organizing committee decided to invite two recent graduates of the CSSP graduate program to talk about practical tips and their own experiences on their road to graduation. The crowd laughed as they relate to the accounts of Prof. Erwin F. Rafael (MA Sociology 2017) and Dr. Teresa Paula S. De Luna (PhD Anthropology 2017).

To integrate their own experiences and the personal accounts of the invited graduates, group discussions followed. Members of the CSSP GSA facilitated each group’s discussion which centered on each group’s inspirations in staying on, and commitments and contributions to the college.