The School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, Bachelor of Design program of the Department of Arts and Design led by the chairperson Dr. Geofferson B. Ting, had a four-day immersion trip with the young and talented second year students under the BDES program with various tracks of design student-interests such as visual communication design, fashion and clothing design, product innovation design, and, private and public spaces design. This regional immersion project, covered from September 20-24, 2025, has provided students a deeper understanding of the Bicolano culture and how these localized communities in Naga and Iriga overcome daily poverty struggle, technological development hindrance, and, neglecting over-populated spaces in the regions.
Miriam College’s Higher Education Unit (HEU) led by the inspiring MC Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Trixie Marie J. Sison to develop the Department of Arts and Design (DAD) in relation to the academic program’s vision to be the leading center of excellence in the fields of arts and design with its thrust on women empowerment in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) until this 2030, where a Level III Accreditation for the Department of Arts and Design may be commenced at this anticipated period. The School of Arts, Sciences, and Education Dean Dr. Francis Julius N. Evangelista has the full support when it comes to supervising the academic program in terms of developing the curriculum of the undergraduate program of arts and design specifically, supporting the improvement of faculty members’ credentials and profiles, developing research publications from the arts and designs’ creative and capstone works public display exhibition, and establishing strong relations between and among educational institutions and internship companies through linkages and partnerships led by the MC Head for Global Relations, Partnerships Office Ms. Carolyn Ui.
The Bachelor of Design Immersion Tour is a program package taker of design students under their second-year status. The inclusive coverage for the program under the Bachelor of Design (2024-2025 batch) emphasizes the nature and nurturing of the people, community, and environment in developing cross-disciplinal vision of design majors in the Philippines. Each region, particularly of the Bicol region, has, in context, provided design student majors the chance to be immersed with the strong and powerful cultural traditions and practices of the residents therein for the Bicol’s Naga and Iriga cities.
Day 1 (September 20-21, 2025). Through bus travel of the design student delegates from Miriam College, areas were covered in strategic nearby provinces of Laguna, Quezon Province, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur (in Naga and Iriga), just by land, have been recognized through in between stop overs meals and muscle stretching. In Naga, holding the last few days of Fiesta de Peñafrancia and their grand fluvial parade on a Sunday, design student participants have visited the event spaces and checked in at the Lotus Blu Hotel. Meals have to be spent in Tagkawayan, Quezon and in SM Naga, where thousands of people have flocked together inside with numerous art spaces and exhibitions have been founded.
Day 2 (September 22, 2025) Monday. A day-long visit to University of Northeastern Philippines organized and led by the talented and award-winning Iriga-based Artist and Educator Hon. Rudyard Contreras Pesimo, also an incumbent Punong Barangay in their local barangay coverage in Buhi, Camarines Sur, is concurrently the Vice President for Research and Creative Works at UNEP and the Artistic Director of the UNEP CCA (Circle of Consummate Artists) and is widely-known due to his choreographic style termed as “Pesimonian Dance Method”, a popular natural fusion of dance, music, and theater through sliding body transitions, shaking hands and feet, and tableau-compositional framework altogether in one definitive Pesimo-choreographic method for the performing artists.
There were three parts in the whole-day Program led by the indefatigable UNEP CCA Executive Director Madam Delicia Alfelor-Tibi and the dynamic and young UNEP President Atty. Remelisa ‘Peachy’ Alfelor-Moraleda, have both an alumna of Maryknoll and Miriam College respectively. Part 1 has covered the Contract Signing of the 3-Year Memorandum of Understanding (in a. promotion of arts and culture in both mentioned institutions; b. faculty development exchange programs and trainings; and, c. student exchange programs for particular specialized courses open for exchanges) set-up at their Accreditation Room Offices. Part 2 takes in the partnership lunch together with the executive officials of the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP). Part 3 was held at the UNEP Theater where around 200-seating capacity situated the realization and launch of the UNEP CCA’s concert dance performance. The one-and-a-half-hour (11:30-1:00pm) performance provided stunning, simplistic, yet engaging and timely productions enduring the discipline and strengths of the member-dancers of UNEP CCA. Astounding and exceptional production numbers were
Day 3 (September 23, 2025) Tuesday. A long-day walk and design experience with the design student participants. The morning was spent with the CWC (CamSur Watersports Complex) with organized terrain landscapes, architectural designs, food delicacies like pili nuts, lomi, and the like and, engaging watersports activities were experienced by the students. The afternoon was engaged in facilitating design market merchandising in dry markets of Naga, visiting the church of Metropolitan Cathedral & Parish of St. John The Evangelist, food tasting in Graceland, an old and popular established restaurant in Naga, experiencing the Jesse Robredo Museum with highlights of his story in as a family man and as a politician, husband of the current Naga Mayor and former Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines Hon. Leni Robredo, and, another church visit in the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia otherwise known as the Basilica Peñafrancia. Finally, the group was led to have dinner in Robinson’s Place Naga to close the long-tiring walkathon day.
Day 4 (September 24, 2025) Wednesday. Another bus-day trip of 12-14 hours before heading back again at Miriam College campus. Along the way, the group had lunch at the Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte – food delicacies of Bicol highway were offered. Also, a stop at the Atimonan, Quezon where mermaid statue is seen has been made by the group before reaching the final destination in MC.
