Matthew So

WRITTEN BY NOELLE D. LEJANO

No, I never reached a thousand visits but I don’t think I needed a thousand to wish the kids a good life [and] a good childhood. I just needed very meaningful ones.

THERE ARE people who are admirably confident, while there are also people who are effortlessly humble. Matthew Chua So (4 BS PSY), Kythe-Ateneo 2022 President, seems to breathe both confidence and humility in the most unassuming manner. He shares that loves reading, listening to music, and has a deep affinity for the color blue. And yet what might be his most notable feat is the overflowing compassion that manifests whenever he talks about Kythe.

A BS Psychology major and aspiring doctor, Mattso remained faithful to the Child Life Services (CLS) advocacy for all four years of his college life, finishing his stretch as the organization’s spearhead. Interestingly enough, he first met Kythe through rather unconventional means—a lion dance performance.

A DANCE ENCOUNTER

Unlike most who find organizations in Recruitment Week (RecWeek), Mattso found Kythe through a high school lion dance performance. The Kythe Foundation Inc. (KFI) has many volunteer arms, including one that involves parents of Xavier School students. As a Xavier student himself, he and his teammates danced for the kids at the National Children’s hospital. This was the moment the term “Kythe” entered his radar.

Coming into college, Mattso’s familiarity with Kythe drew him into applying for the organization. However, he expressed that in his first semester, he never attended a hospital activity (HA) and was only retained for joining alternative events. On the day he finally mustered up enough courage to join an HA, his Kythe kid did not speak a word to him. “My very first Kythe kid never talked to me. If anything that could go wrong, this is the worst thing that could go wrong.” moving forward. “For the duration of the second sem, whenever I visited, I left a paper crane in a playroom,” he shared. “That was my version of folding a thousand paper cranes and making a wish. No, I never reached a thousand visits, but I don’t think I needed a thousand to wish the kids a good life [and] a good childhood. I just needed very meaningful ones.”

THE LEAP TO LEADERSHIP

Choosing to run for Kythe President amid a pandemic was not easy. Mattso recalls his initial hesitation, but he was moved to take the opportunity when he came across a memento from his earlier Kythe days.

The card was a letter from his past self that read, “My grandmother had a degenerative disease that only gets worse with time. All the time I could have spent with her was spent on worrying about what little time I had with her left. The memory of her reminds me to never take a person, or in this case, an organization, for granted. Similarly, never take an opportunity for granted.”

It was the push he needed to go and serve the organization he loved most, to the best of his abilities.

From Kythe’s efforts of indirect financial support and direct psychosocial support, he successfully initiated a shift in structure to adapt to the pandemic. “We had to change the way we approached advocating.”

Among the innovative projects within his term was the Celebrate Life Kamp (CLK), a monthly online initiative aimed to reconnect its members to the sector through team-building activities. From having only 30 kids to the now whopping 60 attendees, the event was the organization’s response to be more compassionate. “We couldn’t just do what we wanted anymore. We had to do things that were based on the needs of other people.” perspectives in mind. “Definitely, it’s about putting people first,” he notes, expressing that the empowerment of both the people within his organization and the people they serve should come hand in hand.

By the looks of it, his effort to serve will never cease even after leaving Kythe-Ateneo. In fact, Mattso has no plans of discontinuing his support for Kythe. If anything, he even jokes around expressing his interest to join the board of the KFI someday.

In the future, Mattso has high hopes for KytheAteneo to return to on-site activities, be the premier student organization for the CLS, and have an active role in nation-building. He looks forward to the day CLS is prominently practiced. Most importantly, he wants the members of the organization to never lose their heart for service. “Always, in all ways, for and with the kids,” he closes.

The love and compassion a leader has for his members is Mattso’s strongest asset. Mattso’s leadership shows us that at the end of the day, a good leader is able to cultivate a good community. As he learned from Finding Chika by Mitch Albom, he shared, “You don’t have to be born into a family. You can create it.”

We couldn’t just do what we wanted anymore. We had to do things that were based on the needs of other people.