Leaders, Vision and Ice Cream

CEBU, Philippines - Back in February 2008, I remembered being absent in class for one whole week.

That means, missing a lot of exams, exercises and other class activities. Not to mention that a major activity of our organization was coming up the following week. So obviously, when I got back, I had to do lots of catching up with school and org work.

No, I wasn’t sick. Neither was I in trouble. For one week, I just had to be somewhere else. This somewhere else was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity which I just couldn’t give up.

 On February 5-8, 2008, I was blessed to be one of the chosen 74 delegates (eight of us came from Cebu) to join the 10th Ayala Young Leaders Congress 2008.

For ten years now, the Ayala Young Leaders Congress (AYLC) has continued its mission of “shaping tomorrow’s leaders.” It is a youth development program launched by Ayala Corporation in 1998 and it has been the concrete expression of commitment to national development. It hopes to contribute in the development of catalysts of change and servant leaders from among the young Filipinos.

AYLC gathers around 70 of the most promising student leaders from colleges and universities from all over the country. The Congress is a three-day event which involves workshops, lectures, plenary sessions, outdoor activities and discussions designed to hone the students’ leadership skills and potential.

It has already been a year since I had been a delegate to the Congress. And I couldn’t quite imagine how fast time flew. Last year, we were the youngest batch. Our theme was “Leadership: A Call to Moral Courage.”

 We called our batch (AYLC 2008) Balanghay, referring to historical Philippine boat. We are all in the same boat, and we sail on through the calm waves and strong storms that may come before us.

The Congress was definitely one of the greatest blessings I received last year. From the time I received my letter from Don Jaime Zobel de Ayala himself up to the few days before the congress, I was already excited. I remembered that the congress hasn’t even started yet (in the program it said Day 0) and yet I was already struck with the message of Congress Director Simon Mossesgeld’s talk on Servant Leadership. It was hard not to show my happiness. 

For one, everything was for free: fare, food, accommodation and unlimited ice cream. But beyond these freebies is the overwhelming experience I had during the Congress.

I had gained more friends – nationwide. I have a PMAer, natural Igorot, Muslim, etc. as my friends. In less than a week, we have bonded together and felt like we’re family. So it wasn’t a surprise that when the last day of the Congress came, a lot of us were crying. We even had aftermath hangovers.

Also, I will not forget the insights I learned from the speakers like Prof. Solita Monsod, Mrs. Emily Abrera, Tina Monzon – Palma, CheChe Lazaro and many more. For a Mass Communication student like me, I have always looked up to these people. And it was great to hear their stories, sharings and perspectives up close. I remember scribbling down all their significant statements in my journal.

Moreover, the outdoor activities did test my personality. I realized I had to learn more on the value of listening, courage and discipline as I couldn’t stop myself from screaming during the activities. But I was happy I was brave enough to surpass them all.

But if there was one activity I always looked forward to, that’s the breakout sessions. This is where we group ourselves into clusters and discuss intently the problems we have in our schools and communities. We then think of possible ways to address them and maybe help give solutions. Because the sharing gets intimate, the atmosphere becomes emotional and personal.

As our AYLC theme song goes, the chosen few are called to lead and serve the youth. But of course, with that comes greater responsibility. To whom much has been given (with all those freebies), much has been expected in return. It was about time to give back to the community – to throw back our starfishes.

In a matter of three days, I was indeed stronger – in leading and serving the people around me. And over the year, I have learned to make my visions a reality and to steward more youths to excellence. I have grown so much and have realized a lot of things about myself, the people around me and my community. As I throw back my starfish, I hope I will be able to play a part in our nation’s development – with much integrity, energy and vision.

This year, a new batch of AYLC delegates for 2009 marches on. We’re growing in number – we’re now 803 in the Ayala Young Leaders Alliance, the official alumni network of AYLC. And I’m excited to see more leaders willing to respond to the challenges of modern times.

Well, yes, they would also be absent in class for one week and would have to do lots of catching up when they come back. But like me, I hope they wouldn’t regret being absent for a long time.

After all, AYLC gathers leaders armed with a vision and unlimited ice cream.