One step taken for a good cause is too many: The GSF’s story
"It is better to deserve honors and not have them...than to have them but not deserve them." The Group of Student Facilitators was organized at the time when the department of public administration was becoming incapable in upholding the good image that it had since portrayed within the halls of the Mindanao State University. This is evi
denced by the fact that majority of its students during that time were left behind both in terms of performance in academics and participation in extra-curricular activities – a fact that gave rise to the students being generally regarded as incompetent and the department per se being labelled as a trash bin. Albeit well-founded, these unacceptable attributions made by most of the MSU students are what prompted some of the concerned public administration students to do something and make a change. The initial plan, which was a product of the combined suggestions of Settie Sahara D. Mutia, Saidamen Barrat, Badron Dimangadap and Paterno Artillo, Jr., was to establish a political party geared towards the strengthening of the student representation in the affairs of the department through the Public Administration Student Society. Realizing however with their idealistic perspectives that they can do more, the original plan was changed into creating an organization founded on the spirits of volunteerism and empowerment. The first wave of members, including Barrat, Dimangadap and Artillo, then underwent a Leadership Training Program which was facilitated by the Inspired Young Optimists Guild, Inc., a recognized socio-civic organization in the university and of which Mutia was then serving as its chairperson. Ali, then the department chairperson and the organization’s former adviser, the Group of Student Facilitators was formally established on August 10, 2009. From then on, considering that Mutia and Barrat were also officers in the department, the group was known and recognized as a sister organization of the PASS assisting the latter in the accomplishment of its plans and objectives – a manifestation of its efficiency in having served its purpose of uplifting the students’ self-esteem. Another evidence of this proposition is the participation of some of its members in the 2009 University Foundation Day Literary Competition and Musical-Dance Extravaganza being part of the official representatives of the College of Public Affairs. It had also spearheaded various activities which tested the leadership skills of its members and had since gained full recognition as an organization that works for the promotion of student welfare. As a molder of personality in the lines of academic excellence, notable leadership, exceptional talents and active student participation, the Group of Student Facilitators has proven its effectiveness having produced quality individuals who have played their roles in gaining back the department’s name as an outstanding academic institution. True to its goal, it has produced graduates some of whom have received the accolades of being a Magna cm laude, a Cum laude, a Leadership/Service Awardee and a Performer/Athlete Awardee and others who have maintained their good scholastic records. There are also those who have become and are recipients of different training and study grants in various fields, both locally and internationally. And the glory continues…
At present, under the advisorship of Prof. Milhaya D. Langco, the current department chairperson, the organization has grown into not just being a partner of the PASS but also a significant figure within the portals of the College of Public Affairs. As an organization, its operations are now directed not only to the strengthening of the ideals of volunteerism and empowerment but also the promotion of academic excellence and the enhancement of the students’ talents and skills. It is now composed of the following clubs: Shakespeare (public speaking, essay writing and poetry reading); Green Prairie (environmental awareness); Limitless (dancing and singing); De Theatro Mista (stage play); Pintados (painting); and R-Society (playing instrument).
