“The formation of an Atenean doesn’t stop inside the classroom. It goes on and on in every activity that the Ateneo undertakes.”
Ramon Cualoping III (AB Comm ‘04) is one of those Ateneans whose formation didn’t end even when he graduated. From forming the Ateneo’s first political party to avidly supporting the Blue Eagles, his passion for the school reflects in his own personal development outside of the campus.
But what made him stand out from the school’s avid supporters is his having founded the well-known Animo Ateneo forums, along with alumni Jason Nalupta (BS LM ’92), Romelo Santos (BS CS ’05), and Christopher Rigor (BS CS ’05).
Cualoping is a true-blue Atenean, “a Jesuit-bred” as he calls it. During his elementary days, he studied at Xavier School in Greenhills. He then studied at the Ateneo de Davao High School, before enrolling in the main campus in the Loyola Heights.
Taking up AB Communication during college allowed Cualoping to pursue his dream of working in the advertising field. For him, his course was the biggest influence in his life.
After graduating, he worked for the J. Walter Thompson advertising company, GMA Network’s Corporate Communications department, and international advertising firm Ogilvy and Mather.
Cualoping’s passion and pride for the Ateneo showed when, during his junior year, he and former blockmate Osmond Ong (BS CTM ’04) formed Partido Agila, the Sanggunian’s (Sanggu’s) first political party.
At that time, Sanggu had no political parties, he says. The individuals running for office then had no concrete vision. He and Ong formed the party with hopes of eventually “a better country…to help the country as individuals, as students, as Ateneans.”
Until now, he remains connected with not only Partido Agila, but the entire Ateneo community. This was especially evident when he founded the Animo Ateneo forums along with other alumni. Animo Ateneo, which was launched in August of last year, is a site dedicated to articles, cheers, forums, and songs that reflect the Ateneo culture and traditions. Among the topics discussed in it is basketball.
Though Cualoping is well-known because of his affinity to basketball, he says that his love for Ateneo does not end with the sport. He loves anything and everything related to the Ateneo. Even after four years since graduation, not one ounce of school spirit has faded from his system.
“School spirit is very important because it’s the only thing that binds all generations of Ateneans,” he says. During games, it’s hard not to come across families watching together, with the parents bringing along their sons.
Cualoping adds that the Ateneo has become “a family thing,” which is what continually unites the community and drives it to support the Ateneo. Says Cualoping, “Watching the games, being in the games… It’s like being part of the team, [being] the sixth man.”
No matter how big the crowd is or how many wins Team Ateneo gets, the real value of school spirit is in the cheering, according to him. Cualoping believes that the community cheers the loudest when its teams are about to lose.
“When we’re cheering for the team, it’s like rallying for your life, rallying for your friends [and your family] when they’re down,” he says. “You know you can still make it. There’s hope.”
“And I think that’s school spirit. [It’s] not about victories, it’s about the battle. It’s about the fight, it’s not about the crowd.”
There will always be winners and losers, says Cualoping. If one of the school’s teams lost, its members aren’t the only ones to blame. For him, the crowd could also be blamed because they might not have cheered enough to support the team.
Everyone then should do his own share in supporting the team.
“You win some, you lose some. It’s hard, but there’s always a next game to bounce back [from].”
Cualoping also believes that the community should remain loyal to the school despite the losses it would encounter. “That’s why it is, ‘Win or lose, it’s the school we choose,” he says. “Not, ‘Never shall we fail.’”
“Ang sarap ngang maging Atenista, ‘di ba? [It feels good to be an Atenean, right?] That feeling cannot be contested by any other school.”
“Because when we say we’re number one, [the other schools can still] contend it, but the feeling can’t be questioned.”
