AS UST General Santos (GenSan) navigates its maiden year, its recently appointed student affairs chief emphasized the need to empower the inaugural batch of students who have differing cultural and religious backgrounds.
On Oct. 22, Josephine de Castro was named the acting Office for Student Affairs (OSA) director at UST GenSan, the first branch campus in Mindanao with 126 students.
As OSA chief, De Castro is in charge of ensuring the welfare of all UST GenSan students, who come from different religious backgrounds and upbringings, with some even hailing from as far as Cagayan de Oro.
GenSan is home to the fifth largest Muslim population among cities in Mindanao despite 70% of its population being Roman Catholic. UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. had envisioned the branch campus in the city as a “place for interreligious and interfaith dialogue.”
De Castro said UST GenSan aims to embrace this diversity.
“UST GenSan is situated in Mindanao, which has diverse cultures,” she said. “We would like to honor the diversity of cultures by planning and actively implementing activities that highlight the different cultures and practices, even the values and skills of the students.”
As UST GenSan still operates as a branch campus, De Castro said several student-related systems and processes were still being adopted from the flagship Sampaloc campus.
For instance, the Mindanao campus recently formed its inaugural Central Student Council (CSC), composed of seven officers akin to UST Manila, with pharmacy freshman Bai Sherifa Zaina Mantil serving as interim president.
Student welfare and development boards were also being established in each of the three academic units, according to De Castro. These committees will serve as the OSA’s implementing arm in addressing student disciplinary concerns.
Longtime counselor
Before joining UST GenSan, De Castro taught at GenSantos Foundation College Inc. and served as guidance director of Holy Trinity College of General Santos City, where she obtained her master’s degree.
She holds a psychology degree from Notre Dame University in Cotabato and has been a practicing guidance counselor for 27 years.
De Castro also holds various positions in professional networks: vice president of the GenSan Career Guidance Counselors and Advocates Network, treasurer of the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association’s Region 12 chapter, and business manager of the Network of Career Guidance Counselors and Advocates’ Region 12 chapter.
Initially designated as assistant director of UST GenSan’s Counseling and Career Office, De Castro left the post when she was appointed OSA chief due to the positions’ overlapping duties.
“We anticipated conflict in the roles because the counselor should not be the discipline officer, and part of the duties of the OSA is to handle the discipline concerns of the students,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.
CSC adviser
As acting OSA director, De Castro also serves as the adviser of UST GenSan’s CSC.
With this setup, De Castro said she aims to foster a collaborative relationship between the administration and the students by remaining open to the CSC’s suggestions and encouraging joint initiatives.
“We want to creative joint initiatives. Not just the plan of the OSA, but we would like to hear about the plans of the council; what they want to do, what events they want to organize, so we can improve student participation,” she said.
De Castro also plans to train the student leaders in the Thomasian brand of leadership, as the CSC would serve as a crucial “bridge” between the 126 students and the UST GenSan administration.
“[The OSA] will focus on student empowerment so we can encourage them (students) to express their thoughts and worries, and for them to be able to participate in different activities of the school and especially the decision-making process,” she said.
UST GenSan was initially projected to admit over 400 students across five degree programs in its first year.
