Chris never expected award

It was a dream that Chris Tiu never expected to come true in his lifetime. That was his candid admission after he was named one of nine TOYM (The Outstanding Young Men) awardees for the year 2013. He could’ve been cited for his outstanding achievements as a basketball player or a TV personality or an entrepreneur but instead, Chris was honored for youth leadership development.

“Sociologists have noted some negative traits of today’s youth: lazy, narcissistic, materialistic, less concerned with community,” the TOYM brochure said. “These are exactly the qualities that Chris battles through the messages he gives and the example he gives with his own life. He inspires the youth to be disciplined, to lead lives of virtue and to be other-centered. It takes courage to make this your message. But as he says, you need to walk against the wind.”

The awarding took place at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañang Palace last Dec. 19. President Aquino, whose father Benigno Jr. or Ninoy was honored with the same award for public service in 1960, personally congratulated the nine achievers.  Aside from Chris, the other awardees were Dr. Paolo Silva and Dr. Karl Reyes for medicine, Custer Deocaris for science communication, Nicole Curato for sociology, Dr. Alonzo Gabriel for food science and technology, Miguel Dominguez for government and public service, Emerson Atanacio for social entrepreneurship and June Cabal-Revilla for community service.

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Each awardee was allowed to be accompanied by 10 guests. Chris came with his wife Clarisse, father Jerry, mother Lianne, sister Cheryl (a Star writer), brothers Charles and Christian, Ninang Linda (whom he calls his second mom) and parents-in-law Philip and Lucy Ong. His younger sister Christine couldn’t attend as she had an exam at Ateneo. Also present was Simon Paterno who nominated Chris for the award. Paterno was a TOYM honoree in 1999 for investment banking and was Chris’ boss at Credit Suisse where he interned as a student. Paterno happens to be a big Blue Eagle fan.

“Never in my lifetime did I dream that I will receive such a prestigious national award,” said Chris. “I just give my best in everything that I’m engaged in, from basketball to media work, to my businesses, my foundation, public service while always thinking how I can use my positions in these fields to do good and be of service to our countrymen. Some people around me who have a huge influence on me always remind me that we should see all things as blessings from God and that these must be used as a means to bring Him closer to others. I’m very humbled by this award and at the same time, I am even more inspired to do more for the community, most especially to the youth who are very close to my heart.”

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Chris delivered a response in behalf of the year’s awardees. He spoke about pursuing excellence and drawing inspiration from St. Ignatius and the late Nelson Mandela. “The foundation of heroism in the Ignatian Spirituality is Magis which means more, being more, doing more,” he said. “However, this simple motto requires a higher spirit for it to attain fullness which means that our motivation must transcend our own causes for a greater, higher being. Mandela constantly reminded people that ‘We should always be patient even if things are going bad because great things will happen.’ He also said, ‘what truly matters is the small acts of kindness towards others.’ These words are very appropriate for our modern world where ‘selfies’ are the in-thing and everything has become so convenient that we need not bother to go out of our way for the good of others.”

Chris called his co-awardees “Mandelas in our midst,” role models, heroes who “most of the time, don’t even know the magnitude of the impact they have on others…they just do what they do best, in their respective fields, with utmost excellence, integrity and service to the community.”

In his parting message, Chris said: “Last Sunday, the priest gave a beautiful homily about real joy. He said, ‘joy is not in receiving but rather, it is when we give, that we receive.’ We are immensely honored to be given the TOYM distinction and we are even more inspired to continue giving by living a life of virtue, discipline and other-centeredness. It will take some courage to relay this message in today’s world but like Mandela and St. Ignatius, we need to go against the wind! This year’s theme is ‘Inspiring a Nation of Heroes.’ But heroes need heroes, too. And heroism starts within each one of us.”