Spark Plug is a feature series that seeks to profile multi-faceted athletes who have the unique ability to excel both in sports and in other aspects of their lives. In the sixth installment, we get to know Nico Lozano, a member of the Ateneo Baseball Team, Ateneo Debate Society, and Ateneo Management Engineering Association.
FACING THE end of his collegiate baseball career in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), senior Nico Lozano’s excellence in baseball, international debate, and involvement in the Ateneo Management Engineering Association (MEA) has made him a model student-athlete. Nico’s ability to not only balance, but excel in all of his responsibilities is proof of his passion for all the endeavors he is committed to.
Baseball and brotherhood
Before discovering his interests in debate and in organizations like MEA, Nico grew up playing baseball. Influenced by his older brother and his father, Nico went from playing catch with his family to representing De La Salle Greenhills (LSGH) throughout grade school and high school. During his time as a varsity athlete, Nico enjoyed the competitive nature of the sport, but his favorite aspect of baseball was befriending and growing with his teammates as an athlete and a person. “I guess my fondest memory doesn’t have to do much with the sport but with the people I met because of the sport,” he shared.
After playing four years of high school baseball, Nico decided to go to Ateneo for college due to his interest in the Management Engineering program. Initially planning to focus solely on academics, the prospect of playing for Ateneo’s baseball team alongside his older brother eventually enticed him to join the squad in his freshman year. With his brother serving as the bridge between him and his teammates, Nico was able to focus on learning the ins and outs of the collegiate game from his seniors.
In his four years with the team, Nico has two prized memories that instilled in him a deeper appreciation for the game. The first memory was his experience representing the Philippines in the 2017 Hong Kong International Baseball Open, which fulfilled his dream of playing for the country. Apart from the experience of playing internationally, Nico also treasured his experience playing in game three of the UAAP Season 81 Finals against De La Salle University, which was the final game of his baseball career. Despite falling short of the championship, the game showed him the dedication that his team has for baseball as they tried to claw their way back from a huge deficit.
Now fulfilling his last year with the Ateneo Baseball Team, Nico is focused on the challenge of keeping the team’s winning tradition alive by providing advice and support to his younger teammates. “Winning is not just to win championships but to develop each other. We improve each other,” he opined.
Expanding on a storied collegiate career in baseball, Nico’s love for competitions transcended the sport he grew up playing as he has also developed a passion for debate.
Redefining excellence
Outside of the diamond, Nico developed an interest in debate after initially joining his high school debate team to compete against his friend. As he learned more about the competitive nature of debate, Nico began participating in competitions that cemented his dedication for the discipline. “I fell in love with debate through those tournaments. Even if I joined as a joke, I thought, “You know what, why not stay?”” he shared.
Entering college with his debate experience in tow, Nico joined the Ateneo Debate Society (ADS)—one of the most prestigious university debate societies in the world—in his freshman year. With a desire to hone his craft, Nico participated in numerous competitions like the Asian Circuit and was eventually ranked as the best overall adjudicator in Australasia (Australia and Asia) in 2020.
Apart from being the top-ranked adjudicator in the region, Nico also holds a membership position in the Chief Adjudication Core of the United Asian Debating Championship, which he considers an honor. As a member of the Chief Adjudication Core, he is responsible for ensuring that the topics in the competition are fair, rich, and relevant among the debaters. “The debate circuit has a lot of people who are already working [professionally]. Despite all these other people there being available, I was selected to be in this position,” Nico mentioned.
With the skills he learned from baseball and debate, Nico decided to pay it forward by playing an active role in his home organization: MEA. Wanting to serve his fellow MEAns, Nico took the opportunity to step up as the organization’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in his junior year. During his term, he centralized all project evaluations to avoid overlaps in department evaluations and ensured that MEA project managers were equipped with sufficient data to aid their decision-making processes.
With his stint as MEA’s CAO, Nico learned to be open to feedback and criticism, which translated into his own endeavors like his internships. “In my internship experience for example, [my managers] describe me as a better team player. Now, I personally feel like I’m more willing to hear criticisms from others, and I really think it’s because of being a CAO,” Nico said.
Beyond the Hill
With his diverse set of experiences, Nico acknowledges that his time in baseball, in debate, and in MEA were all integral to his development as a person. Through his career in baseball, Nico learned about camaraderie within a team. Meanwhile, in debate he entrenched in himself the importance of hard work, and in MEA, Nico understood the value of trusting those around him.
As he graduates with flying colors, Nico maintains that the key to his success were the small and incremental steps he continuously took towards his goal. “If you have some goal in mind, the important thing isn’t that you deduce to get that goal. The important things are those micro steps and changes you make to eventually get there,” he shared.
