MAKING OTHER leaders happen—this was the legacy that the Ateneo Student Leaders’ Assembly (ASLA) Batch 7 wished to leave student leaders.
“Our personal experiences with ASLA have taught us that leadership is no longer about you—it’s about doing things that go beyond yourself,” said ASLA Director Margarita Patricia Valdes (IV AB Comm).
For this reason, ASLA held its seventh ASLA congress, held October 20 to 24 at Camp Explore, Antipolo City. Thirty-seven participants hailing from the Ateneo de Manila, Ateneo de Davao, Ateneo de Naga, Ateneo de Zamboanga, and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan attended the congress.
ASLA is a student-led program that envisions to develop, nurture, and empower student leaders and to challenge them to make an impact in their communities. ASLA’s most recent project is the Honesty Store, which was part of its Dare It Forward program.
“Rare, rare opportunity”
During the congress, the participants engaged in a series of talks, group activities, and discussions related to leadership.
“Each year, we try to find new speakers who, by example, embody and model what it means to be a real servant leader today,” said Valdes.
Speakers like Ayala Young Leaders Congress Program Adviser Simon Mossesgeld, Ateneo High School teacher Onofre Pagsanghan, Team RP Chairperson Harvey Keh, and author of “12 little things every Filipino can do to help our country,” Atty. Alex Lacson, were invited to give talks in this year’s congress.
Valdes said that every ASLA batch is unique and can’t be compared to previous batches. Hence, the congress experience lies on the participants themselves.
“In ASLA, we work on an experiential learning process more than a classroom setting type, [and] we avoid imposing on the things the participants should learn as a leader,” she said.
“Now, as an official part of ASLA Batch 7, I still struggle to find the right words to describe the feeling given this rare, rare opportunity,” said congress participant Rita Ritz Cristobal (III AB Comm).
Joseph Reyes (III AB Comm) agreed with Cristobal. “Given that so many competent and talented individuals from all the Ateneo campuses in the Philippines applied for ASLA, it’s really an honor to have been part of the congress,” he said.
The congress ended with a graduation party on October 24 at the MVP Basement.
Finding the “others”
Cristobal said the ASLA congress made her see the true meaning of being “men and women for others.” She said that through ASLA, she discovered that people like her can make things happen.
Reyes added, “My five days in ASLA defined who my ‘others’ were, and it pointed out what resources or strengths I had that I can use to actually initiate change.”
Likewise, Eduard Edwynn Capacio (II BS ME) realized that to lead is to serve other people. “To be able to lead a group, a leader must serve as the example. I think most leaders, especially myself, are hypocrites…hindi nila ginagawa yung mga pinagagawa nila sa iba (They themselves don’t do what they ask others to do),” Capacio said.
Outside the congress
In the last few days of the Congress, the participants were made to assess themselves in terms of what can they do as leaders.
Having involvements in various student organizations, Cristobal, Reyes, and Capacio all agree that after the congress, they aim to do better as student leaders.
Capacio said, “I would push [for] activities that would generate and encourage response from Ateneans that they can do something about the current situation in the country.”
Reyes said he is called to share and help improve in his orgs, “[so that my orgs can] accomplish its goal of raising Ateneans’ awareness of national issues, and hopefully to move them into action,” he said.
“It’s also about assessing my members; if there’s no one who’s fit enough to replace me next year, then I failed as a leader,” said participant Kathleen Denise Go (III AB Comm).
Now a department
On September 12, ASLA was instituted as a department under the Sanggunian, said Valdes. “Since then, we have been the Department for Student Leadership Development (DSLD), sharing the Sanggunian’s mission in being co-formators of the Loyola Schools community,” she said.
Valdes maintained that the annual congress stays as a program under the DSLD.
