Another #ProudViscan is accorded the Gawad Samaritan Award by the Department of Education (DepEd) Baybay City Division for his personal and selfless way of offering his time, talent, and expertise to the students taking Special Program in the Arts (SPA). 

Associate Professor Jude Nonie A. Sales, Head of the Culture and the Arts Center (CAC) becomes the second Viscan recipient of this recognition following Dr. Aleli V. Villocino, VSU Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, who is the first awardee because of her initiatives on Special Education (SPED).

Gawad Samaritan is a recognition given to individuals rendering their invaluable support and services to promote basic quality education in schools.

This is a yearly event organized by the Schools Division of Baybay City through the Mobilization and Networking Section of the School Governance Operations Division.

A decade of mentoring and coaching in the arts program

In 2013, Assoc. Prof. Sales was invited by the Education Program Specialist from DepEd to provide technical assistance to SPA.

“The formal engagement started in 2013. They invited me to share my technical know-how about art workshops and training, as well as try to coach students of SPA during their participation in the Regional Festival of Talents. The concept behind my involvement was, SPA needs the engagement of a local artist from the community, who will guide these learners on the practical and professional aspects of the arts,” the CAC Head recalled.

Since then, Assoc. Prof. Sales is providing training and workshops to the students taking SPA. The pilot school where he engaged himself was at the Baybay City National High School every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m.

“It’s only in visual arts, theater, creative writing, and media arts that they tapped my expertise. Because most of their teachers are not practitioners. So in media arts, I used my knowledge of media production in DevCom. In creative writing, I used my experience as a campus paper adviser before. And for theater, of course, being a director and actor myself for the stage, that’s what happened,” he added.

For almost a decade now, his involvement resulted in putting the Baybay City Division in the limelight with many students whom he had trained and mentored winning awards and even reaching the national level competitions.

“Coaching an artist for a contest is different from teaching an artist in the classroom about art. Part of the mentoring of the competition is teaching artists the competitive edge of using the techniques and methods and materials in visual arts to create a winning piece. And I realized that supplementary educational programs like mentorship or coaching from the local artist of the community will give enough strength and edge to the students when they go to competitions. I think participating in competitions and winning in competitions is the ultimate validation for the talent of the students," he stressed.

As a teacher and an artist at the same time, part of his advocacy is to make artists, specifically young artists, realize that art could be a future profession and a source of income.

“Because of multiple intelligences, not all students will enroll in technical subjects like physics, and engineering, some of them are more inclined in the arts or sports,” the Gawad Samaritan awardee said.

His involvement in SPA is more of a community service as he generously offered his talent and skills and was not receiving any payment for it.

“Most of the time I give free snacks and sometimes free materials to students from my pocket to sustain their interest. Because I know not all of those students have well-to-do families,” he shared.

Just last year, Assoc. Prof. Sales went beyond his mentorship and helped the local government unit (LGU) and the DepEd establish the first-ever Baybay City School for the Arts. 

On December 12, 2022, the new school specializing in arts program in the city was inaugurated and the first series of visual arts and dance workshops began immediately on December 17.

The initiative for the establishment of the Baybay City School for the Arts was through the joint efforts of Congressman Carl Nicolas C. Cari of the 5th District, Honorable Mayor Jose Carlos L. Cari, and the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Baybay City. And this is in collaboration with the technical assistance of VSU through Assoc. Prof. Sales and his colleagues in the CAC, and the clientele, students, and teachers of DepEd.

From the little footsteps that Assoc. Prof. Sales took in 2013, now he is helping Baybay City take giant strides to produce world-class talents in the arts.

“The arts should not only be considered as a specialization or a hobby for the rich but it should be considered as a thing for everyone, whether you are rich or poor. If you have the talent, you have the right, the opportunity to be trained. Artists need mentors to train them. I would not have perfected my craft if I had not had my mentor behind my back. The Gawad Samaritan is an award that tries to validate my contribution and importance as an artist in the city,” Assoc. Prof. Sales revealed.

This passionate visual artist vows to offer his art services in Baybay City in his lifetime.

“Of course, part of my plan when I retire from service in the government, as part of continuing my advocacy is to–if given the chance to live longer after retirement, I will help the city strengthen the Arts and Culture program along with the other agencies in government,” he concluded.

The awarding ceremony happened during the Stakeholders’ Pasidungog 2021 on December 20, 2022, at the Baybay City Division Educational Center.

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