Katatagan Ngayon! Bigkis ng KinaBUkasan! Baliuag University 97th Foundation Anniversary Celebration

By Dr. Jasmin Tayao

The learning experiences, challenges, and triumphs of the Baliuag University during the pandemic have been the institution’s inspiration for its 97th founding anniversary. Anchored on the theme:  Katatagan Ngayon! Bigkis ng KinaBUkasan! (Resilient today! Stronger tomorrow!), an array of virtual events highlighted the month-long celebration last February 2022.  

The University’s various colleges, departments and units organized local and international activities catering to the interests of the students, parents, alumni, partners, teaching and non-teaching staff, and other members and stakeholders of the BU community. Here is a rundown of some of the colleges’ and departments’ activities. 

Kicking off the celebration on February 6 was the College of Business Administration and Accountancy’s (CBAA) Kanaloa’s Gala: The Emergence of Kingdoms, A Mid-Year Assembly. This week-long event showcased the intelligence, talents, creativity, and beauty of the participants through the various academic and non-academic competitions.  This was followed by the college’s webinar on The Mystery of Intermediate Accounting.

A few days later, the College of Liberal Arts and General Education (CLAGE) hosted a General Information Quiz Bee, Digital Communication Festival and  Debate on Mandatory Military Service for Eighteen-Year-Olds. These events were conducted to further develop and showcase the oral and written competencies of CLAGE students. CLAGE also held a webinar on Social Media and Politics. 

The Center for Student Development (CSD) conducted a webinar entitled What Matters 2.0: Finding Inspiration between Blinks, to provide BU students heading to college inspirational stories of successful student alumni.  

For Valentine’s Day,  the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (CNAHS) spearheaded Connecting Hearts... BU HALINA to show appreciation to non-teaching personnel who served the university amid the pandemic. For their part, the Center for Community Services (CCS) spearheaded  the Baliuag University’s HALINA para sa Caritas Segunda Mana Project.  

On February 15, the Center for Student Development (CSD) sponsored Unspoken: A Virtual Exhibit featuring Creative Expressions in the time of the Pandemic, a virtual exhibit featuring visual arts in photography, doodle/drawing and painting in celebration of the National Arts Month.  

That same day, the BU community had its traditional Anniversary Thanksgiving Mass and the awarding ceremony of the 28th BUklod University Service Awards where a total of 23 service awardees were recognized. 

The College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences (CNAHS) organized the 3rd Cleopatra Aquino Lecture Series, with a lecture entitled “The Whys and Wherefores of Organ Transplantation” with guest lecturer and BSN Class of 1988 alumna Leonor Concepcion-Franklin, a Mid-Level Provider at Multi-Visceral Transplant Division of Henry Ford Transplant Institute at Detroit, Michigan, USA.  

CNAHS also held its 1st Virtual Nursing Conference 2022 with the webinar topic “Challenges of Nurse Leader and a Manager During Crisis,” with guest lecturer and former chief nurse of Bulacan Medical Center Dr. Merceditas R. Tiongson. 

The Center for Student Life and Activities (CSLA) organized a Student Virtual Program to bring fun and enjoyment to the students, and a way for them to take a break, participate, and enjoy other activities along their interests aside from academics, like a Photography Contest,  Duet with Celebrity Contest,  Mobile Legends,  Call of Duty, and Valorant. 

The Admissions and Marketing Services Office (AMSO) hosted the BU Open House dubbed BU Spaces, a virtual live conversation session open to all incoming college students that exhibited each department's expertise through various sessions and interactive  activities facilitated by current college BU students and guest alumni. 

There was also the Basic Education’s Family Day for both Grade School and Junior High School students where they participated in raffle draws, intermission numbers, and contests such as “Family TikTok Dance Challenge” and “Best Family Picture,” and saw the candidates for the 2022 Mr. and Miss Basic Ed for grade school and junior high school. 

The College of Hospitality Management and Tourism’s (CHMT) held a webinar on Changes and Transformation in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry, featuring guest speakers from different fields like Job U. Bautista, Migration International Civil Servant in the United Nations; BU-CHMT alumna, and airline cabin crew, Ellaine Joy C. Cruz; and Edward G. Bactol, a certified Guest Service Professional and Vice President for Administrative and Human Resources of Le Bleu International.  

The Center for Research and Publications held a Virtual Research Colloquium, which served as a venue to share relevant research findings in an array of disciplines and fields.  Scholarly research outputs from the School of Graduate Studies’ Master of Arts in Education program were presented.  The event is one of the initiatives of the Baliuag University in fulfilling its trifocal functions as an educational institution.

The College of Information and Technology Education’s (CITE) organized the e-Sports Challenge; and an I.T. Conference 2022 dubbed as “MarITes! Mare, ITo ang latest sa Teknolohiya,” which aimed to act as a forum for the presentation of innovative ideas, approaches, developments and experiences in the different areas of information technology. 

The College of Education and Human Development’s (CEHD) hosted a virtual talk on the New Normal Life of a Teacher with guest speaker Jennifer E. Arceo, a SPED teacher from Texas, USA, BU College of Education alumna and former Baliuag University Grade School principal. Attendees were faculty and students of CEHD and students from the BU-Senior High School Humanities & Social Sciences and General Academic strands.  

On February 25, the College of Environmental Design and Engineering (CEDE) held its event entitled, BID’AL: A CEDE Alumni Talk, which featured notable alumni including Elizabeth Lappay, a Singapore-based Engineer and Relynne Miranda, a Jr. Engineer at Lufthansa Technik Philippines. They shared their experiences and challenges as students and their stories on how they have become who they are today.  

February 26 was the last day of events. The Center for Student Development’s (CSD) held a webinar entitled, ‘Ano ang totoo sa latest? A Discussion on Disinformation and Misinformation in the Philippines’ that centered on misinformation and disinformation. 

Meanwhile, the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) hosted ‘Data Matters: Engagement and Checking for Understanding’ a webinar with Dr. Emmanuel Malana and Ma. Teresa Malana, BU BS Education alumni of the Baliuag University currently working in Texas, USA, as resource speakers who talked about strategies for collecting data, student engagement, and checking for understanding for virtual and in-person instruction and  blended instruction. 

Finally, the College of Business Administration and Accountancy’s (CBAA) conducted Episode 2 of their CPA-PASSION 2.0, highlighted by motivational talks from the BUJPIANs alumni.