New Guidance Counsellor orients seminarians

by Sem. Janne Alexis G. Turalba

​Dr. Alda Bringas, the new guidance counsellor of Saint Joseph seminary (SJS) , hosted a talk on guidance and counselling for the junior high school seminarians on October 23, 2020 at the Dining Hall of SJS.
 
“I was just like all of you, undergoing formation. I stayed in convent. I was a nun.”. Dr. Alda Bringas, a former pink sister for 9 years, said. She underwent a similar formation that the young seminarians are currently undergoing. It made her connect to them more, because she herself feels what seminarians feel inside a formation house.
 
She arranged activities that allows her to see through each seminarian, because the happiest seminarian might be the one hiding the saddest frown behind that mask. These activities include personality tests, worksheets, and modules. She stressed that guidance and counselling is important as it helps students bring out the best in themselves and understand who they really are.
 
Guidance and counselling are great ways to help students manage decisions that they would take in life, It helps them choose the best path they can take through the help of the counsellor who oversees situations, it even allows them dive deeper into their personality and discover things that they ought to know; their strengths, their weaknesses, their interests, and even their fears.
 
She talked about how guidance and counselling help the development of young people and students throughout adolescence, and it is even important to adults who are in the early and late adult-life.
 
Having a guidance counselor inside the seminary is not only ideal but essential as it helps young seminarians discern whether other vocations are right for them or priesthood might suit them better.