Little could be said about what really happened especially to extension newbies, who were a bit wary to do the job, except if they were the ones who really spilled the bits and pieces of the “most significant change” that happened to them over the course of their respective projects’ timelines.
The “most significant change” or MSC approach, being the latest find of the University Director for Extension Jorelyn Concepcion, struck many, if not all, during one of Dr. Concepcion’s seminars early this year. Campus extension project leaders and members were lured to reinventing the concept of doing extension through storytelling.
The unique narrative that evoked either negative or positive experiences in engaging oneself in the community, being one of the academics’ core functions, reached forth the desired title one would want to give to his own story, thereby extracting the value of the “most significant experience/s” in the process.
Collectively roused to become epitomes for change and having been regarded as top campus in terms of the number of GAA-funded extension projects for two years in a row now, CTU Danao extension director Emily Costan, alongside other satellite campus extension directors, heeded the mandate of promoting previously learned MSC approach in the university-wide workshop yesterday, January 30.
The simultaneous activity ran consistent with Dr. Concepcion’s desire to educate many academics on the weight of extending support to the community, especially armed with vigor to do it through realizing one’s “most significant change” told in one’s critical perspective.
MSC targeted the self as what Prof. Costan pointed out to her co-extentionists. It was more of what eventually happened with oneself rather than what should happen; it was more of what one learned and realized rather than what one should learn.
As a result, the campaign led to organic change among participants who shared values as patience, authenticity, selflessness, resilience, adaptability, preservation and more. With empowered constituents, the university is poised to meeting UN standards via education for sustainable development (ESD).
The stories heard yesterday bespoke sublime transcendence of professional integrity in the context of busy university life among academics, on account of fulfilling three more functions—instruction,research and production.
From cooking-oriented to Big Book-driven to environment-skewed to MSME-directed extension projects, each academic responded to what the community needed. UICP