Written by Rafael Jose T. Buya

As a part of the university’s efforts of honing competent communication specialists and artists even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Arts and Communication conducted an online orientation program for the batch 2026 students under the programs BA Organizational Communication and BA Philippine Arts last August 31, Wednesday, via Zoom. DAC Chair Prof. Alice Adeva commenced the program through her opening remarks to welcome the department’s freshmen and wish them a fruitful and fulfilling residence in the university. The professors of the department also introduced themselves and gave succinct messages to the freshmen. 

After the faculty acquainted themselves with the freshmen of the department, Dr. Gina Salazar gave a brief talk about academic integrity which is a fundamental part of the student’s commitment to the university’s core values. Dr. Salazar’s talk was then followed by Prof. Adeva’s discussion on ASOC and readmission. Afterward, the Freshmen of BA Organizational Communication and BA Philippine Arts held their respective program orientations. The BA Philippine Arts freshmen and faculty transferred to a separate zoom conference while the constituents of BA Organizational Communication remained. Prof. Mishima Miciano, the program’s coordinator, spearheaded the discussion on the BA OrCom curriculum. The orientation then proceeded to the program’s prospective career paths explained by OrCom alumna Ms. Jel Directo, who is the current Country Manager of PGAG Inc. and holds more than 9 years of experience in the advertising field. Throughout the entirety of her talk, Ms. Directo emphasized the vast variety of jobs that the program offers despite its unpopularity relative to similar degree programs. 

The last part of the program was dedicated to the introduction to the Organizational Communication Society (OrComSoc), the socio-academic organization exclusive to organizational communication majors, led by the OrComSoc Executive Committee 2022-2023. The organization’s committees and their respective duties were expounded on along with a fun mini-game from each committee. The officers encouraged the OrCom freshmen to join the organization to strengthen their skills, knowledge, and social connections within the program.