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SOE Alumni Association

The SOE Alumni Association supports SOE’s mission of effectively preparing educators and other education personnel for professional performance in diverse cultural contexts. It serves as a connection for which SOE alumni can give back to their alma mater by sharing their talents, resources, etc. in different SOE events. It further serves as a source for developing alumni pride, spirit, and life-long commitments to the School of Education.


SOE Alumni Association Officers. Pictured L-R: Dr. Darlene Roberto, Treasurer; Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera, Webmaster; Dr. Lourdes P. Klitzkie, Advisor; Margaret Beem, Vice President; Martha Sudo, President; and Rose Cruz Castro, Secretary.
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SOE Alumni Association Scholarship and Grant Forms

Click on the following links to access the SOE Alumni Association scholarship and grant forms:

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Mae!

SOE Alumni Association Treasurer, Mae Mendiola, celebrated her birthday with fellow alumni officers, members, and friends on June 13, 2008 at the Islander Terrace Restaurant located at the Hilton Hotel! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAE!

Pictured above L-R: Liwanag Dominguez, SOE Alumni Secretary; Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera, Alumni President; Lois Taitano Gumataotao, Alumni Vice President; Mendiola; Clarita Moreno; and Ofelia Villagomez.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

SOE Alumni Update: Preserving Guam’s Culture through Literature

SOE Alumni Association President, Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera, and SOE Alumni Association Vice President, Lois Taitano Gumataotao, have written their cultural anthology titled Our Native Daughters' Reflection of Guam and Its People based on their personal experiences and research on Guam’s rich history. Pictured L-R: Gumataotao and Rivera.

Here's the article Dr. Rivera wrote regarding the preservation of the Chamorro culture:


Preserving Guam’s Culture through Literature

In an effort to preserve ideas, thoughts, and personal reflections of the island’s Chamorro culture, Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera and Lois Taitano Gumataotao formed the Korasón Organization to carry out cultural projects that they hold dear to their korasón, (Chamorro word for “heart”). With the support of the Guam Humanities Council, they were awarded a grant to complete their cultural anthology titled, Our Native Daughters’ Reflection of Guam and Its People.

They hope that you will enjoy their cultural anthology composed of poems they have written based on their personal experiences and research relative to the island’s history and its connection with the Guam community. A common identity we share with our Pacific Islanders is our rich oral society filled with plentiful stories, legends, and other important values shared throughout generations. This anthology will continue to preserve such stories. It is a resource one can read to learn more about Guam and its people, including its rich culture and the traditions that give us a better understanding, in creatively woven lines of poetry, ultimately resulting to meaningful connections fellow islanders share.

There are fifty seven cultural topics explored in the anthology, such as familia, fiesta, fishing, flores, funerals, Guahan, kelaguen, lancho, Latte stones, manamko, nana, tata, typhoons, weaving, and so much more.

Rivera, an ESL teacher/coordinator in the Guam Public School System and adjunct for the University of Guam, is the project director and co-author of the anthology. Gumataotao, who is also a GPSS ESL teacher/coordinator, serves as the traditional teacher and co-author for the project. The anthology project’s scholars include local authors Joaquin Nangauta Naputi and Marilyn Camacho Salas. Naputi, who is also an agriculturalist, has written books dating back to the 1970’s, including the Island of Guam Coloring Book and Island of Guam Cookbook. Salas has written books such as, Lepblo Para Tane’ Famagu’on I Isla: A Chamorro Interactive Book for Island Children and Chamorro Word Book.

The Korason Organization, in conjunction with the Guam Humanities Council, held a cultural exhibit on December 11, 2004 to showcase the anthology at the Hagåtña Public Library. Copies of the anthology were also provided to the Guam Humanities Council, Guam Public Library System, Micronesian Area Research Center, and the University of Guam’s RFK Library. The poems can also be viewed on Rivera’s PDN blog.

Rivera and Gumataotao hope that by reading their poems, you can grasp cultural identity from within yourself and be enlightened. They have reflected on their personal experiences, researched, and interviewed family and friends, to enable the people of Guam to better understand the island’s history, its cultural significance, and its social environments, through their eyes. Hence, the project’s title, Our Native Daughters’ Reflection of Guam and Its People. This anthology project is certainly a labor of love that they have committed themselves to, but it is well worth the time invested, especially knowing that it will serve as a cultural resource for generations to come.