by Duey T. Guison
According to the “Last Lecture” Series, he might say something like, “The best lessons are from real life and real people…life and people are the best teachers.”
In the Ateneo Psyche’s “Last Lecture” Series on January 9, Nebres, together with Associate Dean for Student Affairs Rene San Andres, former Office of Student Activities Director Pia Acevedo, and Psychology Professor Jaime Bulatao, SJ, shared life lessons to a student audience, in the pretext that their lectures would be their last.
Inspired by Randy Pausch’s book The Last Lecture, the Last Lecture Series aimed to inspire students on other people’s life experiences. As what Project Head Matthew Justin Bernard Fernandez (IV AB Psy) said during the opening of the talk, “[The lectures are] not about death, but about life.”
Not brilliance, but opportunity
Geoffrey Miles Mercado (II AB Psy), one of the event’s organizers, said that Fernandez, upon reading The Last Lecture book, wanted to share the experience with the Ateneo community. “[The] idea of leaving your legacy to people is something not everyone can do,” said Mercado.
In his “last” lecture, Nebres narrated his dreams of driving fast, and talked about being a priest and pursuing a course on mathematics.
Nebres talked about the challenges of being a leader when he served as president of Ateneo de Cagayan from 1990 to 1993, and while serving as president of the Ateneo de Manila from 1993 to the present.
Leadership is not brilliance, but opportunity, said Nebres. “You cannot plan opportunities, you have to be ready when they come.”
Bulatao told stories from his days as a student in the Ateneo. One story had Bulatao recounting how he used to tutor the late Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros, SJ in mathematics.
He also told of a decision he had to make while he was still young, when he had to choose between being a Jesuit and continuing a relationship with a loved one. “I said goodbye, turned around, and never saw her again,” said Bulatao.
Courage makes a difference
Acevedo and San Andres told the audience that feelings of insignificance must not get in the way of making differences in the community.
“There are a lot of ordinary experiences where we can gain insight,” said San Andres.
He also shared some of his ideas on maturity, and attaining one’s desires by delaying gratification. “Maturity is the ability to postpone the gratification of a want,” added San Andres.
Courage plays a role in making a difference to a community, said Acevedo. She added that succeeding is just another term for failing with enthusiasm.
Acevedo told a story where she felt publicly humiliated when she sang during her grade school days. She also recounted her success in persuading her classmates “not to go to the prom” and instead donate the money for charity.
“Those little…experiences [can make a difference],” said Acevedo.
Heinrich Christian Cu (III BS Psy), who was part of the audience, agreed. Dreams and goals change throughout a person’s life, but dreams must not be given up, he said.
“If failures come, just accept them, because you are bound to succeed eventually in the future,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.
More stories
“There’s a lot of wisdom that you can learn from really relevant teachers and they were really relatable to our experience and on our lives,” said John Francis Sarmenta (II AB Psy), of the speakers in the lectures.
Heights Editor in Chief Fidelis Angela Tan (IV AB Psy) said the talk was relevant to her because they were on things not regularly taught. She added that it was a rare chance, during the lecture, that she heard Fr. Bu speaking like one’s grandfather.
“Even if it’s not a serious ‘I literally learned this’ in the lecture style, it is just hearing the stories that is relevant. It was fun, and it was nice,” Tan added.
