AdNU invests for new org’l leads

AdNU invests for new org’l leads

Are they ready for the challenge?

By Englebert A. Villegas

With the theme “To lead and to serve in victory and defeat,” the Summer Ateneo Workshop on Ignatian Leadership for Life (A-WILL) 2013 served as an investment of Ateneo de Naga University in preparing the new set of student leaders.

Conducted last 16-21 May at the Stella Maris Renewal Center, Tigaon, Camarines Sur, the event offered basic leadership themes and trainings for the 47 incoming presidents and vice-presidents or executive officers of co-curricular and extra-curricular organizations.

“Su mga workshops and exercises ninda based duman sa needs mismo kang mga participants tapos sa situations that they might experience whether campus-wide man o sa luwas kan school,” shared Program Officer for Student Development and Student Organizations’ Formation and Training Trish Penelope B. Araña.

As a major component of the Ateneo Leadership Development Program, a three-year cycle program established by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) for the formation of student groups, Summer A-WILL 2013 concentrated on Ignatian Spirituality, Competency Building and Social Responsibility of the partakers.

According to Araña, the various sessions  allowed the participants to gain the deeper appreciation of their potentials and capabilities as authentic human persons who live up to the character, discipline and ethical standards expected of an Atenean.

Leveling up

Being in a sphere of Jesuit education, the events correlated the church teachings vis-à-vis six workshops concerning leadership facets which parallel and examine societal settings.

Fr. Ritchie B. Elot, SJ discussed the first session entitled “The Person of a Leader: Knowing Yourself as a Foundation of Leadership.” The topic was all about gaining a deeper understanding and appreciation of one’s self and reflecting on one’s values, principles and worldviews.

Labeled as “The Person of a Leader: Towards Articulating One’s Mission, Session 2 focused on the broadening, evaluation and recognition of one’s leadership potential. Ateneo Presidential Assistant for Operations and Planning Maria Alessandra Medina added that “discernment and prayers will lead student leaders more to success.”

Session 3, on one hand, tackled the various leadership approaches and styles, especially on the importance of delegation. Juan Delos Reyes of the Center for Community Development said that “a leader should have the mind-set, the skill-set and the tool-set.”

“I commend OSA for this wonderful program… Talagang gumastos at nag-effort ang Ateneo para sa formation ng mga student leaders who will become our future leaders. And I observed na ang mga Ateneo leaders of this generation are more involved, participative and reflective,” disclosed Delos Reyes.

Meanwhile, Alumni and International Relations Director Karlos Jerome Llorin, College Athletics Office’s College Basketball Program Coordinator Emmanuel Ayo and Heads of different Formation and Student Support Offices acted as the speakers of the last three sessions.

“Developing Competence and Commitments”, “Cultivating Teamwork: Motivating towards Empowerment” and “Pulling Together Commitments” were the titles of their talks.

Squeezing out potentials

Even if the participants had engaged into various workshops, group sharing, plenary assemblies, reporting and talks, Araña still admitted that a period of three to five years is needed to verify if the program is really effective or not.

She also mentioned that they hope for good results which they can get through monitoring, evaluations and feedbacks from students organizations.

“Basta maging open lang sinda sa process… collaborate with each other, if possible and that they should grab the opportunities na tinatao mi sainda for them to be holistically formed. Napansin ko lang na medyo mabagal maghiro su mga participants pero kang Summer A-WILL, mayo man major glitch na nangyari,” Araña ended.