On Being Socially Responsible

WHAT: CWC Student Leaders Congress

WHERE: Assumption Antipolo

WHEN: 10 November 2006

Guest Speaker: MELINA MAY VALDEZ

CWC consists of four (4) of the top exclusive girls schools in the country: Assumption College (AC), St. Scholastica's College, College of the Holy Spirit and Miriam College.

I was invited by Mrs. V, Dean of Student Affairs of the Assumption, to be AC's representative-guest speaker. There were three other ladies who represented the three other schools. It was such an honor to be part of such an 'elite' bunch. One was this former Scholastican who's a big time lady in VOLVO and also conducts seminars on leadership here and abroad. The lady who represented College of the Holy Spirit was a big boss from SMART. And the other girl (who had this unbelievably soothing voice) was this charming, women's org leader and she represented Miriam.

The talk was about making your mark. Our audience was mostly composed of Student Council officers. They were very attentive and I loved the fact that they laughed at my jokes. They seemed to relate to me the most since I was the youngest guest. It was so great being able to share with them my experiences and how my being a former Student Council President helped shape my future.

Each of the schools gave us cool tokens! Assumption gave us a small bag, the inside made of AC's high school uniform pattern while the outside followed the print of our college uniform. St. Scho (where I attended High School, mind you) gave us this cute keychain of a Kulasa (that's how we are called in SSC), a keychain with the St. Benedict medal, and a mug. College of the Holy Spirit gave us a plastic jug of yummy cookies, while Miriam gave us an innovative pen with small post-its and a utility bag.

It was an experience I shall treasure for as long as I live. And I hope I get invited to more functions like this so that I can reach out to more young people. Nothing beats the feeling of being able to make a little difference in the world.