by Allianah Junnice Bolotaulo | February 6, 2023
Harvard Philippine Forum (HPF) conducted its annual service and culture trip to the country at the Silliman University (SU) Hall last Jan. 9 along with Sillimanians and delegates from 11 schools across the Visayas region.
With the theme “Igniting Transformative Leadership Across Seas,” members of the HPF chose SU as this year’s host for the Dumaguete leg of their two-week-long January Term Trip.
Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) President John Christian Entrata stated that the university was selected due to its close ties with the American Embassy through the American Resource Studies Center (ASRC).
The SUSG and Office of Student Services worked with HPF to make the event possible.
Entrata shared that the event was an opportune time to build lasting networks with student leaders from the region and Harvard University.
“Transformative leadership means leading toward sustainable solutions and being able to challenge long-standing systems, these can be achieved easier when student leaders come together to work towards one cause,” he said.
HPF tackled topics on leadership and conversed with the attendees. Furthermore, they shared their own college experiences at Harvard and various learning opportunities for those who want to study at their university in the United States.
SU International Students Center Director Prof. Moses Joshua Atega saw the event as a gift of inspiration with HPF reaching out to Asia and sharing about their own campus life.
He said, “Their mere presence already made an impact, [and] much more when they talked about the need for the total development of a student in making choices within one’s campus life.”
The forum is a nonprofit organization that is composed of Filipinos, Filipino-Americans, and friends who have a goal of celebrating and sharing the vitality of Philippine culture and tradition with the Harvard community.
