Mx Gee (EN: they/them; ES: elle)
I'm Gian Paulo Rotersos Paglinawan, or Teacher Gee to my former students. I am pursuing a fully funded Erasmus Mundus Master of Arts in Euroculture: Society, Politics, and Culture in a Global Context under the joint consortium of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain. As part of my research track, I completed one semester at the Univerzita Palackého in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
This joint master's program has allowed me to explore my research interests in identity politics and intersectionality. My coursework-based research focused on gender in historical and postcolonial contexts, gender expression among Erasmus students, gender inequality in the European Union, and intersectional issues in international migration and European integration.
For my master's thesis, I am examining the sense of belonging and homemaking practices of migrant Filipino domestic workers in the Greater Bilbao Area as part of their social and cultural integration in Basque and Spanish society through qualitative narratives and community observations.
Apart from my passion for gender and cultural studies research, I have dedicated five years to teaching, tutoring, and mentoring students at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The courses I have taught include English communication skills, stage arts, humanities, and story-based language learning.
Despite growing up in a low-income family and working full-time on a graveyard shift during my final year, I was determined to finish my undergraduate studies with honor and excellence. In 2016, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines Mindanao.
In 2017, the ASEAN University Network (AUN) Secretariat invited me to speak at the First ASEAN-EU Student Mobility Forum in Manila and share my experiences as an AUN scholar at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.
The following year, I joined the Philippine Commission on Higher Education as a communication officer under the Advocacy and Promotions Unit of the UniFAST Secretariat. I developed media and communication plans, organized campaigns, and created IEC materials to disseminate the newly passed Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
You can view my full CV here.
After I finish my master's degree, I plan to pursue an interdisciplinary doctorate, focusing on the identity, belonging, and well-being of people in vulnerable groups and marginalized communities, including Queer individuals, students, and migrants. My ultimate goal is to contribute my knowledge and skills to fostering equality, diversity, and inclusion in our society.
Let's explore opportunities for collaboration on how we can create a meaningful impact together.
Daghang Salamat!
Or, as they say it in the Basque Country—Eskerrik Asko!
WORK EXPERIENCE
English language teaching • media and communications • project management
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND
communication arts • communication research • intercultural communication • European society • European integration • gender studies • migration