03/12/2025
"MARYKNOLL MANDALAS FOR TRUTH, PEACE, AND JUSTICE"
Last December 1, 2025, the MC HEU Guidance and Counseling Office hosted an art immersion session, “Advocacy Mandalas for MC Staff,” in partnership with Art Appreciation students Sofia Ysabel Mariano, Maria Lucia Bautista, and Danielle Radcliffe Imperio.
Organized in partial fulfillment of Sir Joseph Renta’s final course requirements, the session provided a safe space for representatives from the Office of Student Affairs, Registrar and Admissions Office, and the Office for Student Services and Academic Support to express their thoughts and personal hopes for the Philippines. Aiming to transform negative feelings towards current news into empowerment and positive change, among the advocacies given visual form by the mandalas were urgent recommendations to prioritize student literacy as a reminder of the youth’s untapped potential and environmental care to aid flood control and the agricultural sector. Other calls to action included breaking the cycle of corruption by staying politically informed, consciously choosing conviction that the masses’ current struggles could still blossom into success, and remaining supportive of one another in the fight for good governance, especially in a media-saturated era constantly shifting netizens’ focus away from accountability.
The session began with a reminder that all members of the Miriam College community deserve to take care of their well-being, which both the MC HEU Guidance and Counseling Office and ILAW Center encourage and are open to collaboration on through their respective offered psychosocial support services. Next was a brief discussion of mandalas and their connection to personal reflection and social awareness, followed by a guided mindfulness exercise in preparation for the mandala creations. Afterwards, each participant shared their insights and explanations of their depicted advocacies.
The created bond went beyond social responsibility, as participants were also given a chance to strengthen camaraderie over leisurely conversation, complementary sweets such as chocolate, and upbeat K-pop music by Seventeen.
Write-up by Sofia Ysabel Mariano
Photos by Danielle Radcliffe Imperio, Sofia Ysabel Mariano, and Maria Lucia Bautista