The telethon was part of 500@150, a sesquicentennial project to raise funds for 500 new scholars. Ateneo Alumni Scholars Association Director Rhoderick Heaven Torres (AB SoS ’92) said that the telethon was the last and greatest push to get support for the scholarship program.
“No project, no awarding, talagang ‘tulungan niyo kami’ (just a straightforward ‘help us’),” he said.
As of press time, there are 135 scholarship endowments.
135@150?
Scholars make up 12 to 14% of the Ateneo student population. In the interest of increasing that fraction to 20%, the 500@150 scholarship program was born. Some of the fundraising projects this year included an auction and a fun run.
However, as the sesquicentennial year neared to a close, only one-third of the target number has been reached.
Despite this, Torres remains hopeful. “Mukhang mahihirapan [abutin] yung 500 [na target scholarships] pero definitely malalampasan yung 135 (Looks like it’ll be hard to reach the target of 500 scholarships. But we’ll definitely get more than 135),” he said.
A scholar’s cause
Scholar Danielle Gay Balandra, who is currently taking a masters degree in the university, believes that volunteering to place calls is one way of expressing her gratitude to Ateneo.
“As a scholar myself for five years in the Ateneo, I recognize how much of a gift the Ateneo education is. Scholars volunteering here [show how they] want to give back as much. That’s 500 people [with] 500 different dreams [which] have a chance to come true,” she said.
Senior Brylle Mark Carriaga, a scholar since his freshman year, said that 500@150 will give more people an opportunity to study in Ateneo.
“I think the event is in line with the university’s principle of doing more in terms of giving more opportunities [to] those who [may be] financially[-challenged] and yet have this potential to grow as a person in this university,” he said.
Alumni networking
Sanggunian School of Social Sciences Central Board Representative Gino Limcumpao said that this event calls for the involvement of Ateneo alumni. “It shows that Ateneans should be united for a cause. It doesn’t mean that since you’ve graduated, you shouldn’t be involved with Ateneo anymore.”
During the telethon, volunteers would contact representatives of different previous batches to ask for their support. These representatives will, in turn, encourage their batchmates to support that scholarship program, said Jun Dalandan, director of alumni relations for the Office of University Development and Relations (OUDAR).
However, since the telethon fell on a weekday, the organizers had difficulty getting alumni to participate.
“[The alumni] had to take a leave [just] to come here [so] we decided to extend it to 8 pm [so that] there are still people who can come after office hours,” said OUDAR Project Coordinator Ida Solis.
The telethon is a collaborative effort of the AASA, the Office of Admission and Aid, OUDAR, The Women of Ateneo, the Sanggunian, Gabay, and the Ateneo Alumni Association.
