Over the course of the last 30 years, the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) has proven to be a trailblazer in the field of visual arts, performing arts, culinary arts, and, undoubtedly, Deaf education as well, among other achievements. To celebrate the past 30 years, here are 30 of the most exceptional feats of Benilde.
The following milestones were based from the College’s own exhibit, Benilde @ 30, which was dedicated to celebrate its journey of developing as an independent and inclusive educational institution:
1988: Establishment of De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde
1989: Establishment of School of Management and Information Technology (SMIT)
1989: Transfer of College to 2544 Taft Avenue
1991: Establishment of School of Deaf and Applied Studies (SDEAS)
1991: Establishment of School of Multidisciplinary Studies (SMS)
1995: Turnover of Blessed Arnould Study Assistance Program to Benilde
1995: DLS-CSB Becomes Autonomous from De La Salle University (DLSU) System
1995: Establishment of Certificate Program Center
1996: Establishment of School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management (SHRIM)
1997: First Commencement Exercise of Benilde Independent from DLSU
1998: Membership of Benilde in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
1999: Opening of Angelo King International Center Campus and Hotel International Conference Center
1999: Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Arts (AB-MMA) Program Offered as a Course
2000: First Time Champion National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men’s Basketball
2000: Bachelor of Arts Music Production (AB-MP) Program Offered as a Course
2000: Opening of MMA Photography Laboratory
2004: Ratification of name from DLSU-CSB to DLS-CSB
2006: First NCAA Overall Basketball Championship
2007: Bachelor of Arts in Digital Filmmaking (AB-DF) Program Offered as a Course
2007: Opening of School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus
2011: Saint Benilde Romançon Dance Company (SBRDC) wins National Cheerleading All Girls Championship
2014: Public reopening of Hotel Benilde Maison De La Salle
2014: BS-HRIM secures PAASCU Level 4 accreditation, the highest level of accreditation PAASCU can give
2014: SHRIM approved as TESDA Accredited National Assessment Center
2015: Pope Francis stays in Hotel Benilde for his Papal Visit in the Philippines
2015: Accreditation of first LGBTQIA+ organization in Benilde (Benilde Hive)
2015: Construction of E-Classroom Prototype
2016: First Series of Sinulid, the annual fashion show of graduating Fashion Design Merchandising students
2018: Establishment of Benilde Antipolo
2018: Establishment of Benilde Deaf School
Faculty member Leif Andrew Garinto from the School of Diplomacy and Governance (SDG), formerly known as the School of Multidisciplinary Studies (SMS), talked about Benilde and its alumni who go on to foster “a diverse community that works towards the common goal of providing innovative Benildean education to anyone who needs it.”
For Jefferson Acala, another faculty member of SDG, emphasized the identity development of the College in correlation with its tagline of ‘Doing ordinary things extraordinarily well’ as it progresses to become the model of other colleges.
“Benilde, in the next 10 to 30 years, envisions a significant positive impact on the development of the country to be the influencing organization for the development of Filipino design and art, to be the organization that will foster programs for social good through innovation, and to continue to make Lasallian education accessible through its programs for inclusive education,” Acala stated.
Furthermore, in an interview with The Benildean, Ms. Adonna Esleta, Service Awardee of 25 years from the Human Resources Department, laid down several changes that she has experienced in her 25-year tenure in Benilde. She expressed that the physical set-up of the College has changed evident in the number of campuses, multimedia laboratories, and even shift to an online grading system. But, above all, one of the most notable changes Benilde has had through the years was a change in its reputation from “tapunan ng mga hindi puwede sa mainstream education” to a College with Centers of Excellence, foreign collaborations, and PAASCU accreditations. Ms. Esleta also sees Benilde as a College of choice for the courses it offers.
“More and more students and alumni [are] getting recognized in their fields. [The vision of Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC] of a good percentage of students as scholars from poor communities, [the College being] very accepting of PWD students [since] some schools just like to accept honor students but Benilde is more open [to them],” Ms. Eleta said, adding the College also accepts blind students, and not just the Deaf.
From the exhibit’s Inclusion and Innovation in Benilde, Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC stated that “…we are not doing this for ourselves, what I would say is the reason why we are doing this is it’s actually being a template for what schools should be in the Philippines.”
This article was originally published in The Benildean Vol. 5 No. 1: Emergence.
