Features: InTENsified Counseling: The Ma’am TEN Way
The science of human psyche and behavior goes hand-in-hand with academic performance – all the time.
As nurses-in-the-making, we feel the need to create a balance between a busy mind and a positive mentality to function well as a healthy person. Given the hectic schedule nursing students have, not to mention the sometimes grueling school work, there arises a need for someone who can help us pull through with our problems.
We are talking about no other than our new guidance counselor, Ms. Christine Garinganao. A licensed guidance counselor and a full-pledged Thomasian herself, she completed her high school education at the UST High School and finished B.S. Psychology at the UST-College of Science. She is currently taking up her Masteral of Arts in Psychology at the UST Graduate School. Both the juniors and seniors, whom she now handles, could reach her at her office in Room 408, while the freshmen and the sophomores are still under the supervision of Ma’am Nette Cervantes.
Ma’am Ten, as she prefers to be called, didn’t really have Psychology as her first choice when she enrolled for college here in the University of Santo Tomas. Being a graduate of UST High School, she garnered a GPA that allowed her to choose from a roster of study programs. Ma’am Ten narrates, “At first, I chose to go for Engineering since I really idolize my father who is an engineer. But when I saw the subjects that I’m going to take, I told myself, ‘Puro Math! Baka hindi ko ito kayanin!’ So I had a discussion with my parents and they wanted me to take Medicine. They suggested that I should take Psychology because according to them, if ever I won’t be a successful doctor; I will still have a fallback as a Psychology degree-holder. I could work at a human resources department or as a guidance counselor in a school”. So I took their advice and enrolled at the College of Science, keeping in mind that I’ll pursue Medicine. When I was on my last year in college, parang ayaw ko nang mag-Med, so when I graduated I applied here in the university and I was hired as a guidance counselor”. She had been the guidance counselor of the College of Education, and of the College of Rehabilitation Sciences before she landed a spot here in the College of Nursing.
When asked about her first impression of the students in the College of Nursing, she said that she thought that the nursing students do not have time for activities other than academic activities. But the moment she took on the job, she could not prove herself any more wrong. In fact, she has seen how active the students are in their extra-curricular engagements during the organization fair – right on her very first day of work. Happy about what she found out, she became even more eager to work with the students and thus, has now began devising her plans and goals for this school year.
She hopes to reach out to as many students as possible and to invest time on getting to know more about the college. Moreover, the Guidance and Counseling Department has quite a number of special programs for every student’s counseling concerns. Among them are: Empowerment Program for STAR (Students at Risk), Life Enrichment Program for Children of Single Parent Families (including Migrant Parents – OFW), The Achiever’s Program (UST-TAP), Freshmen Academic Competence Enhancement (F.A.C.E.), Leadership Workshop, Career Seminar Series (CarSem) and Roadmap to Self-Discovery.
She relates: “As agreed upon, our office will focus on the Peer Facilitators Training Program and the Career Seminar Series. Of course, this will only be successful if there would be active participation from our students. Some of the services that we also hope to work on are the testing and research. As of this time, we have already conducted our testing program and we intend to give it to all year levels.”
With regards to the Peer Facilitators Training Program, Ma’am Ten would like to invite the students to be, as the program suggests, peer facilitators. The program is geared towards developing student facilitators through various seminars and sessions and referring students who are in need of assistance for counseling. The premise is that, since these student facilitators are close to their peers or to the students per se, they would be able to foster a sense of guidance and serve as a helping hand to the student body. As the extension arm of the guidance and counseling department, the peer facilitators would help in the promotion of the said department’s services, such as the taking personality tests that cater most especially to students who wants to know themselves more. Ma’am Ten said that her department plans to gather the different peer facilitators from various colleges so that they may interact with each other and share their experiences and gain more insight.
Ma’am Ten’s personal goals for her inception as a guidance counselor in the College of Nursing are focused on providing the different services to the third year and fourth year students. She said that she is still in the adjustment stage, testing the waters, and that the appraisal tests will help her start the provision of guidance services to the students.
Other than being a guidance counselor, Ma’am Ten hasn’t tried other jobs in line with her field. She says, “I won’t stay in this career for so long if I’m not happy with it. My profession is a helping profession - just like nursing. Iba ‘yung fulfillment that you are able to help others. The reward is not tangible but it is something that you can bring with you as you nurture your life as a person”.
Though she has just spent a few months in our college, Ms. Garinganao already has something to say about its students. She said that the students, faculty, administration and support staff show respect and concern for each other, emitting positive vibes that produce a warm atmosphere within the institution.
“We have intelligent and diligent students who remain humble despite their achievements. I believe that it’s a meaningful value that our students here possess” remarked Ms. Garinganao.
Looking forward to know the Thomasian Nursing Community and ever glad to be of assistance, Ms. Garinganao is encouraging students to visit their offices and to avail the different programs and services that are being provided. She is indeed excited to finally commence on implementing the programs their department has planned on. She said that she is happy to be with people whom she deems easy and pleasurable to work with. As much as you are happy to work in our college, we, the Thomasian Nursing students feel lucky and equally happy to welcome you to the College of Nursing Community as our new guidance counselor!
***Fun Facts
“I studied Spanish and German at Goethe Institut though I’m not fluent with it”.
“I have a dog named Ashley who is a mix of a shih tzu and a terrier”
“I’ve already climbed Mt. Pulag with my co-guidance counselors”
“The different college week intermissions numbers are one of the most unforgettable moments in my career as a guidance counselor”
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