TO SERVE THE community wholeheartedly may well be outgoing Vice President Assunta Cuyegkeng’s farewell message to the newest batch of student leaders during the Sanggunian and Council of Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) induction on March 5.
“Magis is about going beyond substance… about having passion… about caring enough to find and experience God,” said Cuyegkeng.
Incoming Sanggu and COA Rob Roque and Jemika Soledad agreed with Cuyegkeng. “For leaders everywhere, to love is also to lead and to serve,” said Roque. “This [magis] is exactly what we discover every time we pour ourselves in our work in Sanggu.”
“People like those in COA went out of their way when needed to answer the call to serve their organizations and their members,” said Soledad.
The new set of officers was inducted at the Leong Auditorium.
Passing the torch
Miggy Zaballero and Gio Tingson, outgoing presidents of COA and Sanggu, delivered farewell speeches. Their speeches were not only about personal thoughts, but also included insights on service and leadership.
“We made a difference. We were not here to just build our resumés, but we were here to build a nation,” said Zaballero.
Both Tingson and Zaballero also took the opportunity to thank the people they have worked with and the people who have helped them—the administrators, fellow leaders, students, among others.
Meanwhile, Soledad and Roque expressed their satisfaction of the performance of Sanggu and COA this year. They also mentioned a few things they want to improve. Roque said “There remains a gap in the reach of the Sanggunian to the students in consultations and communications. Data-gathering remains weak. These must be addressed for the Sanggunian to be even more effective in its services.”
Soledad said that org presidents this year were competent and resilient. She also said that the cluster heads and secretary-treasurers were empowered this year.
“Next year, we want to continue strengthening the systems that have been put into place, intensify the visibility of the council, and increase its relevance to its members and thus, increasing the accountability of organization members by integrating them further into COA,” she said.
Well-wishers
In his speech, University President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres emphasized the value of self-awareness as a tool for students to lead more efficiently. He added that self-awareness makes leaders honest.
“When you are a member of the Sanggu, you will be dealing with multi-stakeholders,” said Nebres.
Outgoing Sanggu Secretary-General Kacci Morales said that she wishes love and focus for the next set of officers. “Love, so that the essence of being a family is there…focus, so that they would know and take into heart their priorities.”
The ceremony ended with Fr. Roberto Buenconsejo, SJ, campus ministry director, blessing the inductees.
