aProf. Aletheia C. Araneta
Aletheia C. Araneta is currently an assistant professor seven and chair of the Department of Development Journalism at the College of Development Communication since April 2021. She graduated cum laude in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree in Development Communication, majoring in Science Communication. Moreover, she had also gained her master’s degree in the same program in 2015.
“We did not study education, but the lessons taught in DevCom, especially in EdCom, were really a big thing with somehow it trained us to have the mindset of an educator even though we did not formally study educ[ation]. Our training in DevCom prepared us to become educators.”
According to aProf. Theia, her training in UPLB DevCom has thoroughly prepared her for her career in the academe. Her courses on educational communication, one of the five domains of development communication, have helped her become an educator despite not taking education as her college degree. She added that the course has also helped her improve her interpersonal skills, preparing to facilitate classes and talk to her students.
During our classes in DEVC10, I remember that aProf. Theia mentioned that she started teaching in the College of Development Communication a little less than two months after graduating in 2008. Additionally, she added that she could apply the theories taught in her undergrad and master’s studies in UPLB through her research and extension works. She was involved in projects involving risk communication, science communication, and journalism and media studies in collaboration with national organizations within and outside the university.
Though my interview with ma’am Theia was short, I learned how much educational communication was of help not only to those who practice in the academe, but to development communicators as a whole. EduCom orients DevCom students how to facilitate learning and engage in meaningful educational discourse with other people through mediated and non-mediated means.
With her and Prof. Aeo’s inspirational discussions in DEVC10, I saw how their DevCom orientation helped them be effective educators. It was always a delight to listen to them, and hopefully, someday, I get to be as skilled as them in educating people.
sixtyfifty2021 