Maria Jye Enriquez | September 18, 2018
KP, as people would fondly call him, has focused on Social Sciences specifically in Sociology and History for his Bachelor’s degree. He finished his post-graduate studies in Community Development and is currently a candidate for Doctor of Philosophy in Philippine studies at the University of the Philippines, Diliman. Before venturing in education, he first became a volunteer from June to August in the year 1991 at a relief port disaster operation after Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the same year, that occurrence led him to become a dedicated development worker. He was a major part of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Iba in Zambales that gave out relief operations, heading various projects of the center for 11 years (1991-2002). While studying his Masteral degree in UP-D, a classmate of his, Jose Cruz who was part of the Faculty of Nursing and also the appointed person for the Office for Community Development under OSA (now known as UST- Simbahayan Community Development Office) offered him to be a community development facilitator. Admittedly at first, he did not want to accept the offer because they were living in Zambales at that time, but then, they have decided to move to Manila to finish his MA, he eventually agreed to take the offer waiting for him. It was November 2002 when he earned a teaching position and was accepted to be part of the Department of Sociology in the University of Santo Tomas.
WHO IS KP?
KP is not just a professor, but also a researcher, a development worker and a mentor.
Mostly, he teaches major Sociology courses in his classes at the Faculty of Arts and Letters, but aside from that, he also does research as he is part of the Research Center for Social Sciences (RCSSEd) in UST. The work that he was doing in community development became academic-related activities that had laboratory or teaching load like research. KP considers himself as a “non-traditional” professor because he makes sure that his students will deeply understand distinct sociological theories and at the same time, instructs them to apply the theories to multiple diverse realities, hence, invoking great ideas that can result to solutions to problems, strengthening the masses’ voices, most especially the youth. So, his teaching is by and large, a combination of classroom-based work and field work that is both research based, as he believes that exposing the students to various local communities and different sectors as much as providing them the real, underlying issues of the society would help them understand what he has been teaching inside the classroom.
It is a win-win situation when he is able to share his line of interest to students who are writing their thesis and immersing with people in the community, thus helping out the community and its development. Being part of the Department is a good thing that makes him feel alive and happy because for KP, it is a privilege for him to be able to be himself in the guise of an instructor, mentor and researcher while serving different communities, but with great power comes great responsibilities and with great responsibilities come great difficulties, being all of that is tough because he needs to manage his time befittingly and carefully as he has a lot of different involvements to be concerned about.
One of his major goals in teaching is for his students to appreciate the discipline that they are venturing into and to see its influence, depth and beauty not just internally, but also externally. Being a teacher, a researcher, and a development worker gave fulfillment to his life, but being a mentor changed not just his mentees’ lives but also his.
KP is well-known for being someone who is dedicated to helping and developing communities who are in need of help and assistance, always passionately vocal in advocating change. He is someone who teaches the vitality of not just educating students always sitting in their air-conditioned rooms, the theories of Sociology but also, immersing them with people of different social classes and cultures in rural communities for students, the youth to really see beyond the barriers of social classes and how it is vital for them to see, understand and be the agents of change. KP knows that experience is education as well, as a matter of fact, it is the best teacher of all. His passion for development work and teaching will surely leave an impact to the people he has and had come across with in life. He is Asst. Professor Froilan A. Alipao, MCD. The one and only KP.
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