AT THE break of dawn, you can find Ateneo Rowing Team (ART) Captain Joachim De Jesus finishing up his final lap at the La Mesa Dam. After dressing up, he rushes to school just in time for his first class. In the afternoon, you’ll find De Jesus in the Blue Eagle Gym doing an extra workout before capping off his day.
At first glance, his ability to juggle all these activities may seem like an individual achievement. However, De Jesus attributes his success to the families he has found in the Ateneo. “The reason why I am where I am right now is because there were people that believed in my abilities… I wanted to dedicate my work and output to the people that believe in me,” he said.
A steady boat
Entering Ateneo as a wide-eyed freshman, De Jesus wasted no time finding a home in the Ateneo Management Association (AMA) and the University’s rowing team. These two families were the backbone of De Jesus’s achievements later on.
With the ART, he spent most of his freshman year trying to prove that he deserved a seat on the boat. However, it was only after his first race that he realized a whole new meaning of family. “After months of training, you naturally gain a newfound respect and love for the people that experience the same things around you,” shared De Jesus.
As he acclimated to the college environment, De Jesus decided to take a leap by shifting from the BS Management program to the BS Management Engineering program in his sophomore year. This decision entailed more rigorous academic load and stringent grade requirements. However, De Jesus took everything in stride as he managed to maintain a good standing in both academics and athletics.
In his junior year, De Jesus was honored as the co-captain of the ART. The new title came with the responsibility of preparing himself and the team for the 41st Hong Kong Rowing Championship. With this, the veteran rower took it upon himself to pass down all the lessons he had learned from his upperclassmen to his younger teammates.
“I witnessed my teammates pull off amazing speeds on the boat and at the same time get amazing grades in school. I took this as a challenge and I wanted to improve myself in every aspect,” De Jesus shared.
However, De Jesus’s boat was rocked on the night of the Hong Kong Rowing Championships. Fresh off their two podium finishes, he received a call informing him that he was chosen as Mr. AMA for the School of Management (SOM) Week’s Mr. and Ms. SOM event. This meant that his workload for the next month and a half would start piling up to make time for his Mr. AMA preparations. “I had to assure my captains that I’d be able to focus on our upcoming competition in Malaysia, and at the same time figure out how to be the crowd’s favorite for SOM Night,” said De Jesus.
Uncharted waters
With this added challenge, De Jesus knew that he needed to quickly adapt to the intimidating waters facing him. If he let his workload overburden him, he risked being a liability to both his ART teammates and AMA org mates. “One crucial reality that I learned on the boat is that you’re only as strong as your weakest teammate,” shared De Jesus.
Similar to his upperclassmen’s outlook in the past, De Jesus approached the tides with an open mind. Despite dedicating nearly 17 hours a day to his various commitments, he tackled his responsibilities one step at a time and treated each morning as a fresh new challenge to conquer.
De Jesus also knew that he did not face his challenges alone—his ART teammates and his AMA family were never afraid to lend him the care he needed to keep going. “I’m grateful for having such supportive friends and family. It’s because of these people around me that I have this mental fortitude to go about my days,” shared De Jesus.
In the end, De Jesus was left unscathed as he successfully navigated through the intimidating waters that met him in his junior year. He faced his problems one step at a time, leaning on the support of his families to back him up.
Navigating the tides
Unfortunately, the tides that rippled from the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic do not look any friendlier for De Jesus. The responsibilities that weigh on his shoulders only grow heavier as he approaches the new academic year as an ME senior and the captain of the ART.
Quarantine restrictions continue to prevent sports teams from proceeding with their regular training. The ART themselves were unable to conduct rowing practices at the La Mesa Dam until July 11 with Metro Manila under the general community quarantine. Despite this, De Jesus has taken it upon himself to guide his teammates past these uncharted waters. “The captains are working with our current experienced members to make online lectures via Google Meet and Google Slides. Basically, we still want to start integrating the trainees into the sport of Rowing despite COVID-19,” he said.
No matter how challenging the quarantine adjustments have been, De Jesus refuses to let anything demoralize him. As schools shift to online learning, the ART captain has to overcome more threats that unsettle the two worlds he has worked so hard to balance. Fortunately, the veteran rower has proven that he has what it takes to overcome dangerous tides, knowing fully well that there are always people behind him to share the oars.
