NICOLE ALAINE D. CANTEROS

Educational background:

Tertiary Education

Velez College - B.S. Occupational Therapy

F. Ramos St. Cebu City, Cebu

August 2019 - Present

Secondary Education

Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción - Cebu

45 Gorordo Ave., Cebu City, Cebu

S.Y 2016 - 2018

Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepción - Cebu

45 Gorordo Ave., Cebu City, Cebu

S.Y 2012 - 2016

Primary Education

St. Therese School Tagbilaran

Mansasa District, Tagbilaran City

S.Y 2006 - 2012

Achievements:

• College

Dean’s List SY 2019-2020 (First Semester)

Dean’s List SY 2019-2020 (Second Semester)

• Senior High School

Honor’s List SY 2017-2018

My experience as an OT student in Velez College:

Knowing the reputation that the institution upholds, the students are trained to perform competently on their academics. Being in this institution for these years has encouraged me to do my best in my studies. As an OT student, it has also been a challenging journey since the profession covers a lot of broad concepts and for us to think outside the box on giving interventions.

My Component:

Under the Community-Based Health and Rehabilitation class, I am part of the Mental Health and Humanitarian Crisis component together with my other groupmates.

Planning and Designing of CBH&R Programs:

In the planning and designing of a CBH&R program, I can say that it was very challenging to think of what communities we can help since we are in the midst of a pandemic. To add, the classes are held online and the meetings done within the group are only communicated through group chats. It would have been more efficient if the planning was also done in person, however, we were able to manage what we have and we were able to find a community that we could extend our services on.

One of our group mates was able to find a community named Everlasting Hope Cebu, which is a non-profit organization that supports children with cancer together with their respective families. We were able to reach out to the staff and discussed what our plans would be in the form of a stakeholder’s meeting. We also gave out surveys in order to assess what their needs are and on how we can help them according to our component. With that, we were able to gather data needed for the design of our program that would cater to the needs of the children and their families.

Designing and Implementation of CBH&R Programs:

After gathering the data collected from the surveys, it was seen that most of the parents are not working and are currently looking for a job. In addition, it was also seen from the children’s survey results that some of them have behavioral problems after chemotherapy. This prompted our group to come up with different activities that would help these children and parents in improving their mental health status. One of our activities involved ‘Art X-press’ in which the children are asked to make art as an avenue of expression after chemotherapy in order to lessen unwanted behaviors and for them to feel better. In the course of the designing of our program, we were merged with the Livelihood component and we were now tasked to conduct a workshop program on designing tote bags.

My experience in designing a CBH&R Program:

When we were merged with the Livelihood component, we were divided into several committees. I was placed under the financial committee along with Mae Suico, Kaye Orlanes, and Hannah Mendoza. We were tasked to make sure that the financial needs for the program are met and fulfilled. I was also assigned as the leader of the committee and it was a challenging role. However, I was able to fulfill my role with the help of my generous groupmates. In addition, we were also the ones assigned for the budgeting and the purchasing of the items needed for the program.

Implementing CBH&R Programs:

On the day of the implementation of the It’s the Tote that Counts program, everyone was prepared for it. Our program consisted of the speaker, Miss Jenn, imparting her knowledge on online selling of her canvas tote bags and how the parents of Everlasting Hope can start up their own businesses. The next agenda was focused on the making of the tote bags themselves. Our group mates at the center then helped the children and the parents design their own tote bags. After they designed their tote bags, the children and the parents presented their finished products by walking on a runway. It was so heartwarming to see them show their finished products and afterwards they were asked to share their experiences on the program. Overall, they were also delighted by the program since it can help them jump start with their own businesses with a splash of creativity.

Even though the CBH&R program was held online and it was quite challenging for everyone, it was a learning journey for us. This course has taught me the value of volunteerism through imparting our knowledge to our assigned community. In addition, this course has also honed our leadership skills that we will need in the future. This whole process was difficult for everyone but we all worked hard and I am proud that we made it to the end. We are grateful to have met this wonderful community of children and parents. I hope that through our programs, we were able to give a glimmer of hope to everyone in this community. With that being said, our experiences with this community was a very heartwarming one and this memory is definitely one for the books.