CTELA welcomes its students and new faculty to academic year 2026–2027
Every academic year begins with a room full of new faces. Some are students, unsure which hallway leads to their first class. Others are teachers, carrying lesson plans and the quiet nervousness of starting at a new school. For a moment, everyone in the room is new to something.
The College of Teacher Education and Liberal Arts (CTELA) opened academic year 2026–2027 by welcoming both groups. The college held an orientation and welcome program for its students and newly hired faculty members, and it brought the college together around a shared start.
The welcome began with the dean of the college, Dr. Lourdes M. Trajano, who warmly greeted the students as they began the new academic year. Her words set the tone for the whole program. Before the schedules, rules, and requirements, students were first reminded that they are welcome here, and that the college is glad to have them.
The orientation gave students what every new year requires: a clear picture of how the college works, what it expects of them, and where to turn for help. For first-year students, it was a first look at the community that will shape them over the next four years. For returning students, it was a chance to reconnect and to reset their focus after the break.
The program also recognized the newest members of the faculty. A college grows through its students, and it also grows through the teachers who join it, each bringing new ideas, experience, and energy into the classroom. Welcoming them alongside the students sent a simple message: in CTELA, teachers and learners begin the year together.
The program was graced by Dr. Elma D. Donaal, Vice President for Academic Affairs. In her inspirational message, she reminded the students to embody the university’s core values. Values are easy to recite, but living them takes daily practice, in how students study, how they treat one another, and how they carry the university’s name beyond its gates. For a college that forms future teachers, the reminder carries extra weight. One day, these students will stand in front of classrooms of their own, and their students will learn as much from their example as from their lessons.
The welcome program also connects to a larger goal. Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education, calls for inclusive and equitable education and for more qualified teachers. Quality education begins with a strong start, when students know they belong and teachers are welcomed into a community that supports their growth. An orientation may be one of the simplest events on the school calendar, but it lays the foundation for everything that follows.
As the program ended, CTELA offered its students and new faculty a warm welcome and a shared challenge: let’s keep working together toward excellence. The year ahead will bring lessons, deadlines, and challenges, but it begins the way every good year should. Everyone is welcomed, everyone has a place, and everyone has a reason to do their best.
Welcome to academic year 2026–2027, CTELA. The doors are open, and the work begins now.