Interview with Dr Rosalie A. Hall

Written by Low Jia Wei 

Photograph by Melissa Chia

     The success of our trip to Iloilo is in no small part thanks to several key individuals, one of whom is Dr. Rosalie A. Hall, our host and organizer in the Philippines. The energetic professor and Chair of the Division of Social Sciences at the University of Philippines Visayas (UPV) was an instrumental figure in the Philippines side of preparations for the trip. An undertaking done for the sake of friendship with our own intrepid pathfinder, Dr. Yeoh, she agreed to help with the planning and preparation of our stay here with the university which included securing permission from the Chancellor of UPV (which hit some snags along the way, with the transition of a new administration), planning our stay at the dormitories, liaising with speakers for our sessions and looking for able and competent student guides to show the way. All of which Dr. Hall has done a stellar job with, if this writer was to judge.

    The seamless manner in which everything seemed to run during our sojourn in Iloilo was quite a testament to Dr. Hall’s role in the process, made even more surprising considering “In Search of Iloilo” was the first of its kind to come to the UPV; a short, intensive study tour. Programs such as ours have never been hosted before by the UPV, more accustomed to hosting semester long student exchanges or faculty exchanges. As such, Dr. Hall met with some initial hesitation from the administration who have never heard of such study tours. However, thanks to evidence provided by previous “In Search of” trips in the form of our blogs and documentaries, the university administration eventually gave their approval and support. 

     When asked about first impressions at the Monash Film Festival screening, Dr. Hall replied,”I was quite excited, particularly when I was told the film was done by your students”. She adds that the film festival was an impressive one, and gave the trip an auspicious start. 

     As for whether she got more than she bargained for when she decided to take on the responsibility of being our host, a shocking “It was easier than I expected” was her reply (shocking because if past study trips were to be anything to go by, handling a dozen and a half young adults may be a bit like ‘herding cats’). As it turns out, it was a relatively easy role as compared to a regional project on the environment she was involved with which carried a similar role where she was dealing with twenty people whom she describes as “highly intelligent”. That being the basis of what to expect with our lot, Dr. Hall found herself pleasantly surprised that we were not difficult to handle.

Dr. Rosalie Hall with fellow academic and husband, Bruce Hall 

     And on what she would change about the study trip if given the chance, she said she would have wanted our students to have more interactions with the student body of UPV and not just with the student guides. An injection of more activities that allowed exchanges with the host university students would have been another desired addition to the study tour, but one that she understands is difficult to add given the trip was a year and a half in the making, and centered around the specific dates of the Dinagyang Festival.

    And as for whether Dr. Hall would be keen to host another such program should the opportunity present itself, I was met with a resounding, “Of course!”

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Jia is a graduate fresh from the birthing canals of the tertiary education system and still slick with the placenta of youthful naivete and exuberance, this would-be writer finds himself twisting at the teat of society, hopeful for a drop of the sweet, nourishing nectar of employment. May or may not also have unresolved Freudian complexes.