Incumbent EDGE2018 Legislative Assembly Representative Leonna Denise Gula bares her plans as the only candidate for college president of the Brother Andrew Gonzales FSC College of Education (BAGCED), bearing the banner of Santugon sa Tawag ng Panahon (Santugon). She speaks to The LaSallian on her platforms, which include the development of clearer channels of communication between the students and the faculty, effective future Lasallian educators, and a student-centered community in the college.
The LaSallian: What part of your background do you think contributes the most to making you a capable college president?
Leonna Denise Gula (Santugon): So the part of my background that I think is the most interesting is because I was previously elected. I ran in the GE 2019 and I won as the EDGE2018 Legislative Assembly representative. And by doing so, I was still able to expose myself to the internal processes of the college as well as externally by representing Lance [Dela Cruz] in various meetings and being able to talk to that administration as well. So that’s what I think gives me the edge in being able to best run for this position.
The LaSallian: What are some of the issues you observe in your college and how can these issues be addressed?
Gula: Okay, so for the first issue that I noticed in the College of Education is the lack of the clear line of communication and information dissemination between the admin, the faculty, and the students. And I hope to address this by creating a better communication channel so that all students will receive the same information that the faculty is receiving from the admin. This is in order to make sure that everyone understands what is required of them, as well as maintain the quality of information as well. And another issue that I see is more on the student opportunities, in terms of the courses. Majority of our students are Early Childhood [Education] majors, while the Science and Math majors rarely get seen in the limelight, so I want to make sure that each course is taken care of appropriately and have the same equal learning opportunities that they deserve.
The LaSallian: You’ve mentioned that you were previously elected as LA [representative]. So what are some of the things that you’re going to be improving on? How will you work on having more communication lines with the admin and how will you work on having more external opportunities for the college?
Gula: Okay, this is in line with my vision in making sure that we have effective educators in and outside of the University. So with this, I plan to introduce different workshops that are course-specific, so this is in order for them to have an individual learning based on their chosen field. And then, in terms of the communication, it’s more of developing either a Telegram bot or coordinating this more properly with the admin as well. And as a Legislative Assembly [representative] during my term, we were really focused [on] developing the advocacy and social awareness of the students. And this is what I plan to continue if I’m elected as college president.
The LaSallian: Are you planning to lobby to administrators for any sort of academic-related reform for your college?
Gula: As of the moment I am currently still developing if there are some policies that I would like to lobby [to] this administration, but right now it’s more of clearing the communication with the admin.
The LaSallian: Are you planning any student services reform for your college?
Gula: Yes, this is included under an umbrella project that I plan to introduce. This is more student-centered. I want to create a community within the College of Education where each batch can help each other so it’s more of a student support…to help the lower batches develop that same kind of enthusiasm that the other batches have in terms of becoming future educators.
The LaSallian: During the online academic year, how do you plan to encourage student utilization of USG services within your college?
Gula: I believe that the students in the College of Education have always been open to what the USG can offer in terms of student support. And I believe that by properly promoting this and making them aware of what we can offer, [this] is the step that I can take in order to allow them to take part of the services. Because once they know about it, they’re already going to start applying for it and start being interested in it, so it’s more of the awareness aspect for CED.
The LaSallian: What is your overall vision for the college? And how do you plan to integrate that vision to your platforms and advocacies?
Gula: So the gist of my overall vision for my college revolves around two key words, which [are] development and social awareness. Development because I acknowledge them (CED students) as individuals. This is by presenting them with opportunities to grow as individuals, grow in your own advocacies, give you opportunities to speak up about this while also taking into consideration that you are future educators. And the development aspect of education is how to further utilize the technicalities of the profession. And the social awareness aspect is continuing what [I] have started as Legislative Assembly representative [which] is to lobby and develop a certain kind of understanding of the social issues in the country and what we can do as Lasallians in order to address this.
