MANILA, Philippines - Sophomore optical laboratory technician student Cher Mie Dasa boarded the bus that would take her and the other delegates to the 3rd ARC Young Leaders Camp (ARCYLC) in Baras, Rizal. She found it unnerving to be the lone representative of Manila Central University-Caloocan, but after the three-day workshop, she came home as batch president of the 2014 camp, more determined than ever to become a change-maker.
The training camp for student leaders from public and state universities, and scholars from private colleges, was sponsored by ARC Refreshments Corporation for the third consecutive year. Itself a young leader in the local soft drink industry, the company licensed to manufacture RC Cola products in the Philippines wants underserved but deserving youths to experience and to train in being a real leader. According to the organizers, ARC believes in leadership that is not based entirely on learned skill or acquired knowledge, but in living out values that will positively impact the lives of others.
Another camp delegate, 16-year-old Joshua Tito Tagayuna, is a first-year student who shuttles from his family’s place in Binangonan to the Technological Institute of the Philippines in Quezon City to study accountancy. Although a consistent student leader, he often feels inadequate and inferior, which prevents him from reaching out to others. At the ARC young leaders camp, Cher Mie, Joshua, and the rest of the participants embarked on assessing individual leadership potential, cultivating interpersonal engagement, and exploring community leadership through the lectures delivered by the following modern-day heroes: Rags2Riches Inc. founder Reese Fernandez, Bonn Manalaysay of Club 8586 and his mentees, CNN Hero of 2009 Efren Peñaflorida and child’s rights advocate Eman Bagual, environmentalist Anna Oposa, non-profit school founder Lynn Pinugu, and alumna of 2011 ARCYLC Ericka Macarayan.