Amplify, SC Officers attend ‘LIPAt Karunungan at Karangalan’; Esler receives award

APEC Schools San Pablo students, primarily the Amplify San Pablo’s Editorial Board and Student Council (SC) San Pablo officers, took part in the last session of the APEC Schools Lipa - Student Council’s LIPAt Karunungan Leadership Training held via Zoom and streamed live on Facebook, March 27.

Ralph Chester Esler, SC San Pablo President, was among those who were recognized with a Leadership Award.

Ms. Joie Lopez, the CEO of APEC Schools, gave her opening remarks and Vice President Leni Robredo gave an inspirational message and a word of advice to the students concerning the pandemic and the educational system in the Philippines to start the webinar.

The first resource speaker was Bishop Marcelino Maralit, one of the youngest bishops in the Philippines appointed by Pope Francis. He started his talk by asking the participants a question, "What is it you want to build: building walls or building windmills?" This question is about what we would do if opportunities and challenges come into our life. He gave various examples of how people react to bad and good situations in their lives, particularly of what had happened at the beginning of the year 2020. He mentioned four things that he wants us to do especially during this time of pandemic - first is about zooming out problems and learning to see other beautiful realities around the problem, second is that we should connect and reconnect with other people especially our relationships with our family, third is seeking balance in our lives, and lastly is to believe and trust in God and have faith in His plans for us.

Atty. Alex Lacson, a lawyer, businessman, poet, civil society, and NGO leader, was the second resource speaker who shared his story about how he survived and thrived in this world and how he found his own spot under the sun to start his talk. Mainly, his topic was about creating good leaders for the development of our nation/country in the future. He said that any form of leadership begins with personal leadership. He ended his talk after he answered one question from a participant saying “We shouldn’t doubt. We can succeed in this country, if you put your heart and mind into it you can succeed, there were a lot of people who came from nothing turning out to be very successful people today.”

Before introducing the third resource speaker, Dr. Boy Abunda, popularly known as the “King of Talk” and a TV host, gave a message wherein he shared three things related to leadership. He said that the best kind of leadership is the servant leadership concept and that it is important to listen when it comes to being a leader, and leadership is about loving, creating a balance between the mind and heart.

Ms. Aiko Melendez, an award-winning actress, and popularly known as Emilia Ardente-Torillo in the TV series “Wildflower” and formerly elected as Quezon City Councilor was the third resource speaker. Her talk focused on “Leadership in Time of Crisis” wherein she discussed a lot of things that we need to do as a leader especially in this time of the pandemic. After her talk, Mr. Hermilando Dodo I. Mandanas, Governor of Batangas, left a message, emphasizing that “Being a leader, he/she has the responsibility in their family, schools, and community.”

Mr. Ramon Bautista, an actor, comedian, television host, film producer, author, commercial model, and educator was the last resource speaker. “Failure to prepare is preparation for failure” is one thing he discussed in his talk. Also, he explained that the best things in life are very expensive. He ended their talk with a wonderful message, “Laging ngumiti, magpasensya, umintindi, maniwala na may kabaitan ang mga tao, mag-I love you at magpasalamat.”

Elha Nympha, the Grand Champion of The Voice Kids Season 2, delighted the audience with an intermission number after all the talk. Awarding of certificate to acknowledge the speakers happened after their respective presentations.

For the “LIPAt Karangalan” segment, SC Lipa with Ms. Chris Fuentez, Head of School Administration, commenced the awarding for exemplary student leaders from various elementary and secondary schools in Batangas as well as from the different branches of APEC Schools.

Series of raffles were also conducted after the event, wherein the winners received APEC Schools merchandise such as pens, tumblers, notebooks, facemasks, and the special price of 1-year scholarship.

LIPAt Karunungan was a series of Leadership Training with various guest speakers such as entrepreneurs, former student leaders, and media personalities, organized by SC Lipa led by Mr. Kristian Fernandez, Deputy Adviser. The third webinar was the last installment of the “LIPAt Karunungan” series, with the first and second webinars were conducted on January 30 and February 13, respectively. #

report‌ ‌by:‌ ‌Jerry‌ ‌Bombane‌ ‌(Editor-in-Chief)‌ and ‌Lara‌ ‌Jane‌ ‌Macalindong‌ ‌(Managing‌ ‌Editor)‌