By: Ania Iries M. Inot | July 28, 2025
Meet Halle (Hail) Encina, a second-year BS Home Economics student who bravely stepped up to the role of HE Representative for the academic year 2025-2026. In this article, we get to know her more not only as the department’s representative, but as a friend, colleague, and a person who, like everyone else, seeks to gain a deeper understanding of what they were really meant to do.
Halle describes herself as a relatively reserved and collected person but shows her true colors when comfortable, showing their playfulness and energy with people close to them. She relishes her alone time to recharge her social battery and to focus on her own well-being but also finds the presence of others equally as comforting. Collecting trinkets and stationary, journaling, nature walks are the few things she enjoys the most. Curiously, she shared that she loves collecting things, particularly coffee cups which she has amounted to six full stacks! Beyond the joy of amassing such an amount, the cups remind her of special days that she shared with her loved ones, a cup being added to the collection as more happy days are shared with friends and family.
She had an undying passion for dancing and performing. As a child struggling with stage fright, she was determined to have the confidence to face an audience so she began to join summer camps and dance classes. She volunteered to perform at events and the yearning to be on stage grew. She never extinguished the burning desire to showcase her potential even now, she manifests such a desire by supporting artists and stanning K-pop girl groups who share the same passions as her.
Recently, she found a growing passion for volunteering. She was happy to provide a helping hand when a role needed to be filled or just another set of hands to provide support, she felt a strong desire to help whenever possible. Driven by the idea of significantly contributing to something bigger and with the full support of the department, Halle now finds herself in a position that lets her provide support and make the change she wishes to see in her HE community.
While active in her volunteer work, she needed a sign to pursue the representative role despite the insurmountable doubts and hesitation. Ultimately, she got her signal when she volunteered to be the choreographer and performance leader for the 2024 Lantern Parade. The opportunity made Halle realize the desire she had to help and contribute to her department. The idea of being a catalyst for change that would keep the vibrancy of HEED was something she could not ignore.
As department representative, her main plans center around letting HE majors be HEaled, HEard, and HEre. She has much in store for the department and she hopes to carry them out with the help of the entire community. She has big plans in store and she wishes to encourage students to become more actively involved in the department and to help showcase the true beauty and value of the discipline through these projects. But on a personal level, Halle embodies a person who is willing to be in an uncomfortable state to allow themselves to grow. The journey would not be easy but she hopes to find a sense of fulfillment, not just in accomplishing goals, but in knowing that she would contribute something meaningful to something she deeply cares about. She hopes for growth, understanding of herself, her passions, her purpose, and to bring a spark that would ignite change within her community.