HRM - OTHER INFORMATION

KASALANG BAYAN SA AMING PAARALAN

September 23, 2011

The Kasalang Bayan sa aming paaralan was held last September 23, 2011, Friday, at the main library of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College. This activity aim to conduct an outreach activity for couples who have been living together for years, blessed with kids, have the desire to get married but financially unable. As they say, charity truly begins at home, thus, the selected couples are known by students for many years (a neighbor or a relative) with good moral standing. (The couples were supposed to be 5 but 1 couple backed out a month ago and the other couple just 2 weeks ago for reasons we did not ask anymore. )The event started at exactly 3:10 p.m. (Please see attached program at the back) with friends and relatives of the couples, HRM students and some of their parents, and the department heads of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College attending the event. This was officiated by Pastor Benigno T. Baluyot, a soleminizing officer from the Quezon City hall which was arranged by Mrs. Rivera, a parent of our HRM student who also works there.

The Filipino-themed wedding was organized by the Events management class of Hotel and Restaurant Management students but as a whole, it was a joint effort of 1st to 4th year HRM students. Female students wore their Filipino-inspired dress and the male students were in their barong. The freshmen were tasked to do the souvenirs where (a pair of serving spoon and fork made of wood) they did a very good job with regards to the theme and for the table napkins, we used an authentic shell as holder.

The second year students were tasked for the entertainment and rendered the newlyweds a folk dance of their maglalatik and tambourine version with a flair of artistic creativity as they danced with a modern music but managed to keep the folk dance steps of our culture. It was indeed a fun moment for everyone.

This experience developed more the talent, skills and knowledge of our HRM students with the 3rd year students as the overall organizer and back of the house team (Kitchen/Food preparation committee) and the 4th year had a feel of an actual function as they were tasked to do the whole dining operations of Food and Beverage service. But then I believe that these academic skills were not just the main learnings they had but the fact that our school instill values to them as they share their talents to our less fortunate neighbors. The students shared their thoughts about this and it taught them proper budgeting as they did all the preparation of this event from going with me, as their Events Manager teacher, to Quiapo, Divisoria, and add more pride as a Lantinian as the school live up to its mission of developing committed and totally holistic individuals. Some of our alumni even messaged me via text and internet saying that they are proud Lantinians knowing that the school conduct activities like this.

From the invitation, giveaways, floor plan and lay-out, budgeting, food preparation, banquet service, floral and centerpiece arrangement, hair and make-up, hosting, and event organization --- these are some of the things that students learned from this activity. Some parents of our HRM students were around to witness this event which they said was a very inspirational experience for their children but also served a good training ground. Mrs. Mortera even said that it was very impressive that the school do activities like this and even said that she really made the right decision to send her daughter to our school since not all schools do actual hands on activities like this combine with community awareness. Mrs. Celadena even said that she thought she was dining at a hotel as the food presented and served (Shrimp Pumpkin Basil Soup, Baked Cream Dory with Tomato salsa and Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chocolate Biko and Maja Mais) were superb and even the designer wedding cakes were freshly baked by our students.

I also got the same response as I went around table to table talking to other guests and as couples’ relatives thanked the school for the help. There was this guest who told me “Ang galing ng school niyo. Ikukuwento ko ito sa mga kapitbahay ko at mga kaibigan ko sa trabaho.”

This activity did not just develop the skills and values of our students. It was also an effective marketing for us as the couples thanked Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College and its administrators. Some of them were even brought to tears as they spoke about their dreams and aspirations of getting married and how we, at DCLC, made this dream a reality. They said that they will alsways be indebted to us and will share with their friends this experience we gave them.

As to my evaluation with this activity, it gave a very positive impact not just on the couples but to those who attended this event. Although the activity was executed very well, some minor concerns were noted during the event itself. The venue was small and the pillars inside the library gave some of the guests a limited view of the actual event. Most of the guests opt to stand to watch the activities and due to limited space, we were not able to execute anymore some of the games, and the accessibility of the Audio Visual Presentation was limited to those seating near the center stage.

Although there were instances that one of the two microphones did not work making the 2 emcees share one, these were just minor incidents compared with the over all result of the whole event which was really good. The students said that they will never ever forget this activity and were even thinking of some events such as this in the future. Although there were rooms for improvement, this activity was well executed. It brought students confidence that they, too, can handle events next time and that our school is preparing them for the a professional world someday. In spite of very tiring weeks passed, we were able to achieve the objectives of this activity properly hand in hand with our students and the support of our school.