11 minute read
Isabelle Cruz
Robee Ng
WRITTEN BY FRAN ENRIQUEZ
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WHEN A girl enters college with her full and raw self, she carries the material to become greater. Although materials like gold do not stay in the same shape or form, resident golden girl Robee Ng (4 AB COM) comes bearing her raw self as gold—transforming into one that consistently shines for others.
Robee is an active organization member, host, and Orientation Seminar (OrSem) Talks ‘N Tours (TNT) facilitator that welcomes Atenean freshmen home. She often associates the word “golden” with herself, noting it means to be light and happy. “It’s [about] bringing energy to the people I surround myself with,” Robee says. Despite being described as a “ball of sunshine” by her family and peers, Robee says “being golden” was a personality she evolved into.
INITIAL PRESSURE
Before entering college, Robee struggled with finding herself and her insecurities. “I really didn’t find which category I was supposed to fit in,” Robee recalls. She learned early on that the experiences she gained from meeting different people helped shape her identity through learning to look at different perspectives. “It’s learning to love yourself and learn about yourself through others,” Robee adds.
Since the beginning of freshman year, Robee has been an active member of the Ateneo Student Exchange Council. “It’s really one of the places in Ateneo that I found as my home,” Robee shares. Her responsibility in helping and making exchange students feel welcome allowed her to learn about more cultures and meet more people.
The experiences have also honed Robee’s passion for welcoming others, encouraging her to join more hosting gigs and organizations that allow her to continue interacting with others. For instance, Robee has participated as a disk jockey for the Ateneo Association of Communication Majors’ Magis Radio, and a host for Lights for Hope alongside other organizational events. She was also a notable Front of House member for the Company of Ateneo Dancers and TNT for OrSem 2019 Silay, 2020 Tuloy, and 2021 Tayo.
HITTING METAL
For all the advantages of having a bright personality, keeping consistent also has its limits. Robee quickly realized staying golden all the time was “not that simple.” On several occasions, personal mental health concerns and anxiety hindered her from sharing her energy with fellow classmates.
However, Robee has learned to redefine these obstacles as reminders to put herself in place, reminding her that she too is human. “I can’t always shine and just be happy, there are days that that’s not it. And, that’s super valid na [that] you can’t always be perfect and you can’t always be happy,” Robee reveals.
Through her struggles, Robee realizes college is not about solely being in the limelight, but rather meeting the people that will make you feel like you are in it together. When tougher days come, she finds that it is important to be surrounded by people who really love and care for her.
Robee also found that coping mechanisms such as jewelry-making have helped her through particularly difficult times. With accessories, it does not matter whether the material is precious or not, Robee believes [that] “nasa nagdadala ‘yon” (it depends on who wears it). Jewelry-making is her way to turn her stress into something beautiful and productive.
SHAPING GOLD
In shaping her own gold, Robee has found that her college experience allowed her to go through the pressure and challenges that make her the more confident version of herself today. Looking back now, freshman Robee—who initially stumbled for her place in college—has now shaped herself to carry more confidence in shining her energy to others. “I’m the brightest gold I have ever been right now at this moment. If I was just gold before, now I’m golden and I’ll own it,” Robee exclaims.
When asked about what her transformations have taught her, Robee believes it is most important to learn to love yourself—to be confident in who you are and who you might become. By learning to love herself, Robee has been able to offer the same love to the friends she has met along her college journey.
As a graduating student, Robee advises everyone to “take it all in, take the beatings, really learn from it, and see how you can be better.” There is much to learn about oneself, she adds. “I still have so much more to shine.” There is no doubt that this golden girl has a long journey ahead of her. But like the rest of us, she is gearing up to take on the unknown.
Justine Valdez
WRITTEN BY BEA PANGANDIAN
COLLEGE IS a time when we are made to feel that we can be anything we want to be. Justine Valdez (4 BS CH-MSE) is a living testament to the transformative power of participating in advocacy-driven college culture. Besides being a woman in the sciences, Justine also has her feet planted in the arts and humanities, leadership, and various advocacies.
Through all of her various involvements and experiences, Justine lives out the idea that we can be anything we want to be, and there is no harm in trying to achieve it.
BECOMING AN ALL-ROUNDER
Like most high school seniors entering college, Justine shared the difficulty of discerning what college program to take. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to pursue just because I liked everything. There was not really a big pull to me somewhere,” she admits.
Justine initially considered taking linguistics and history for college but ultimately found herself pursuing a degree in the sciences, specifically in Chemistry with Materials Science and Engineering (CH-MSE). Science piqued her curiosity and drew her into many things that cannot or have yet to be explained. “It was in science where I [can] say I [can] do it for the rest of my life. I would not get bored of it ever,” Justine remarks.
While Justine pursued the sciences academically, she still maintained her other interests through college organizations and programs. She was a member of the Ateneo Chemistry Society (ACHES), the home organization of chemistry majors; Heights Ateneo, a literary and artistic publication; and Ateneo Special Education Society (SPEED), a sector-based organization dedicated to persons with special needs. Justine also headed the Orientation Seminar (OrSem) Tayo for Atenean freshmen and the 20th run of the Ateneo Student Leaders Assembly, a studentrun leadership formation program. Engaging in an array of organizations and programs, Justine explains that it is her desire for change that brings all of her interests together. “Even if the specifics are different, the inherent goal is the same: the want for change,” she says.
ALL HANDS ON DECK
In her various organizational involvements, Justine acknowledges her encounters with countless individuals who hold different mindsets and perspectives. She recalls that these interactions gradually brought her out of her element.
Participating in Heights led her to meet and connect with students outside the science courses whose opinions often differed from hers. Influenced by the experiences of her aunt who has cerebral palsy, Justine’s involvement in SPEED urged her to campaign for improved facilities for people with special needs and disabilities. Lastly, holding the OrSem Chair position and virtually collaborating with people pushed her to be consciously empathetic to people and their situations. One of Justine’s involvements even rekindled a long-lost dream. Heading the Build-A-Lab project of ACHES involved saw her work closely with the local public education sector. This hit close to home because, before the sciences and her many involvements, being a teacher was Justine’s dream.
The idea of becoming a teacher was a seed planted during Justine’s high school years. She found fondness partaking in an individual’s growth, particularly in teaching kids through her parish involvement and her youngest sibling, Jerome. Sadly, Justine set aside the dream of teaching because her interests in the sciences were far greater, ultimately choosing to pursue the latter academically.
Eventually, however, Justine’s exposure to a bigger reality during college encouraged her to reconsider the teaching profession. Originally envisioning herself tucked away in a lab conducting experiments, Justine is now gearing toward pursuing a teaching career in the sciences, bringing together and reconciling her two passions.
“I do not think I came into college knowing I wanted to be a teacher or [be] someone involved in the education sector, but I am going out of college knowing that,” Justine shares.
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
In the countless times Justine dipped her toes in different waters, she recalls her fear of failure and its ability to hinder her from trying. She would not dare to try if she was not guaranteed success. Yet, changes are inevitable. As seen in her involvements, Justine dared the possibility of outgrowing her fear of failure and recognizing her capability to try at the very least.
“Do not be afraid of the change or growth you’ll go through,” imparts Justine. “That’s when you get to go out there and say: Okay. This is me. This is who I am. This is what I can be.”
Isabelle Cruz
WRITTEN BY FRAN ENRIQUEZ AND BEATRIZ C. REYES
ORGANIZATIONAL LIFE is one of the many highlights of being a college student, but one of the challenges faced with such work is the fear of being sidetracked from academic requirements. Isabelle Marie C. Cruz (5 BS ME) followed this same line of thinking when she was a wide-eyed freshie. However, as her college experience bloomed, Ella saw how she could balance both work and play—and even find fulfillment altogether.
MOMENTS OF ATTRACTION
Prior to the pandemic, Ella could typically be seen either in the background diligently doing the tasks needed for one of her organization’s projects or post-processing an event with her team. This is a far cry from her first year of college when she was not involved with any extracurriculars at all. Her days had been a cycle of “go to school, go home, and then do acads.”
By her second year of college, Ella recalls how her friends pushed her to join the Council of Organizations of the Ateneo - Manila (COA-M) which eventually became one of her first organizations. Since then, Ella has participated in many different organizations and events. She became the Secretariat Head in Ateneo’s 2019 Orientation Seminar, Project Head of COA-M’s first-ever online Recruitment Week (RecWeek), student-facilitator for both Kythe-Ateneo and Lights for Hope (LFH), and a member of the Ateneo Blue Consulting Group.
One of Ella’s most memorable activities had been her participation in LFH, a student-led and Atenean volunteer initiative, where she spent time with children from public schools. “I love how [the project] is service-oriented,” shares Ella. “It was for the kids, and I also like [spending time] with kids.”
Because of the experience, Ella learned more about herself. She believes she became more grounded on her “why’s” and the advocacies she brings with her. Ella also realized organizations can be balanced alongside school work; these experiences becoming a catalyst to set herself up in pursuit of doing more for others. Today and even beyond college, Ella says she hopes to be part of groups that give back to the community they serve.
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION
Though Ella’s active participation in organizations created a path for her in college, she now asks herself how she can use them in transitioning to work-life and continue serving after graduation.
Familiarizing herself with her own work and capabilities as a member of several organizations, Ella was able to come out of her own shell. She became more confident with her power as both a leader and a follower.
Still, Ella believes there is much exploring to do in finding avenues to continue serving her advocacies. She was thankfully introduced to organizations outside of college through the Kythe alumni network where she discovered many opportunities lie in wait after graduation. Here Ella is reminded her Ateneo experience fostered her goals and interests for her life beyond college. “We give time and energy for the things we have to do,” Ella advises herself as she continues her search for service beyond the University.
LIGHTING THE WAY
Ella’s experience as an active organization member became a slow but steady course towards defining her life as a leadership mentor. She mentions COA-M’s RecWeek as a defining moment for her. “At the moment I haven’t seen that I was transforming. But now I’m a different person than when I entered college,” Ella recalls.
When Ateneo pivoted to the online set-up, Ella was initially taken by surprise but eventually saw this as an opportunity to “think outside the box.” She and her RecWeek team became more open to new ideas and taking risks as they were unfamiliar with pioneering the online set-up.
Suddenly, leadership became less about tasks and more for the people Ella chose to serve. She highlights facilitating online games for her team members in place of online meetings as one important example. “They’ll forget the project, but not how you treated them and the process of the project,” Ella advises.
As Ella begins taking more mentor roles, she reveals liking being in the background while sharing her experiences as a member and a leader, giving her closure for all her organizational experiences. Mentoring younger members was her way of giving back and contributing to the formation of future leaders. “Parang hindi naman siya calling (It didn’t seem like a calling) but part of a purpose that also sustains your meaning for your life,” Ella reflects.
