MAE CHRISTIANNE M. SUICO

Educational background:

Tertiary Education

Velez College - B.S. Occupational Therapy

F. Ramos St. Cebu City, Cebu

August 2019 - Present

Secondary Education

Saint Theresa’s College of Cebu

21 Juana Osmeńa St, Cebu City, Cebu

S.Y 2016 - 20118

Saint Theresa’s College of Cebu

21 Juana Osmeńa St, Cebu City, Cebu

S.Y 2012 - 2016

Primary Education

University of San Carlos - North Campus

General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City

S.Y 2006 - 2012

Achievements:

• College

Attended the “Principles of Hand Splinting” Seminar (2019)

Attended the “Managing Challenging Behaviours in Children: Free Parent Training Web Seminar” by Ms. April Grace A. Chiongbian, MAOT(c), OTRP, CPMT

• Senior High School

Red Cross First Aid Seminar and Training (2017-2018)

My experience as an OT student in Velez College

At some point in my life, I have been doubtful about my capabilities. I was not sure what the future awaits me, and I was lost for quite some time. However, as I was taking my college entrance examination, it gave me hope and the motivation that I can do it. The moment I knew I passed my Velez entrance exam, I knew I had to grab it, make my parents proud and prove to everyone that I am capable of something.

For the past 4 years of my college life here at Velez, I was exposed to new experiences and things that I was not familiar with. I was introduced to many opportunities that molded me into who I am right now. It is a reality that we have to go through a lot of changes once we enter college. Maybe for some people, college life means enjoying their life to the fullest and even partying hard. While for others, it's the time to get things done, be serious with their respective careers, and study thoroughly for a brighter future. Throughout my velezian experience, one major thing that I’ve realized is the importance of hard work and perseverance. Life as a student may have darker days, but never forget to look at the brighter side and just keep going

My Component:

Under the Community-Based Health and Rehabilitation class, together with my other groupmates, we are assigned under the Mental Health and Humanitarian Crisis component.

Planning and Designing of CBH&R Programs:

Amidst of the Covid-19 pandemic, planning out for a project or even conducting an event catered to a specific community can be very challenging. Considering the mode of implementation such as utilising only online platforms, can be one of the most challenging parts. As we were looking for the right community, luckily one of my groupmates mentioned Everlasting Hope Cebu, a non-profit organisation that supports children with cancer together with their respective families. As soon as we were able to finalise our chosen community, we directly assigned a point person to be able to obtain the necessary information needed for our program, communicate with the staff at the centre and work collaboratively with them.

During our first stakeholder’s meeting with the parents at the center, at first we were really having a hard time obtaining the needed information from them. Barriers came along and so, for the second time around, we were given the chance to conduct another stakeholder’s meeting. This time, we were able to get the information that would serve as our baseline in creating a CBR program. We based our program from the interview and datas’ gathered during the stakeholder’s meeting. And considering that most of the participants share the same sentiment, the Mental Health and Humanitarian Crisis Component proposed a program that is feasible and appropriate to not just the children but as well as for their parents.

Designing and Implementation of CBH&R Programs:

The community starts within your group. - Over the past weeks, after the stakeholders meeting, we started working in collaboration with the Livelihood component. With the distributed surveys and interviews, the majority of the parents are not working and are looking for work. From the results of the stakeholders meeting, the components were able to collate and come-up with a proposal of conducting an online workshop. At this point, I was placed under the Financial committee. Together with my fellow members, Kaye Orlanes, Nicole Canteros and Hannah Mendoza, we were assigned to ensure that the program needs for the It’s the Tote that Counts are met and fulfilled. Before the implementation of the program, we were tasked to collaborate and communicate with the marketing committee for the corresponding worth of items needed, prepare and organise the budget plan, collect necessary information for transfer (email, account numbers) from point persons, and allocate funds.

Being one of the members of the Financial Committee, it was a bit hard and challenging for us since we were assigned to do the budgeting as well as purchase the items. One of the highlights for our program is the Tote bag, and since we were busy for the Finals we were only given ample time to prepare and look for the items. Luckily with the help of a friend, we were able to look for on-hand items from Cebu marketplace. Aboveall, having the right communication with my group did not give us a hard time in acquiring the materials needed for the program.

Attending school during the pandemic is challenging especially for students who prefer a face to face learning environment. There are challenges that came across throughout this journey, we’ve lost sense of routine, struggled staying in focus, lost sense of motivation, committed, and lost my sense of familiarity and interaction amongst my fellow students and instructors. We’ve finally come to an end. However, our journey as students still doesn’t stop here. There will still be days where we fight to stay awake, get indulged in cups of coffee and participate in all-night cramming sessions. This semester has been a rollercoaster ride for everyone, though it helped us grow into better individuals in preparation for internship. It may be full of ups and downs, but still we were grateful that despite the circumstances we were able to make it till the end.

Community-based health and rehabilitation is more than just a subject, but it also became a learning experience and it has brought unforgettable memories. As what has been mentioned by one of the instructors, we were able to make a mark into the lives of our participants. And I’m glad we were able to conduct a program that would surely make a mark on them. Conducting a program through virtual means is something new to me, especially that we have to deal with various types of people. Before coming up with bright ideas, the class started off roughly with several misunderstandings and miscommunications. We were also given constructive criticisms, negative feedback and points to improve from our instructors throughout this CBH&R program. We used this as our motivation to strive harder and give them the best that we could give. As part of the merged Livelihood and Mental Health component, it has been an honour to be able to give an impact to the lives of these participants.