Explore the arcade of leadership with Paulinian student leaders in STEP UP HLT
By Ghia Espino
The Student Coordinating Team (SCT) hosted their annual Homeroom Leadership Training entitled STEP UP: Game Changers of Tomorrow on October 6, 2021 via Zoom. This project aims to prepare the elected student-leaders throughout the High School Department for their respective positions. The event was divided into two waves.
Level 1 was STEP UP: Press Play, which consisted of a series of blasts involving the tasks and responsibilities that every position entails to inform the student body. The election dates were September 15–17 for the Grades 7–11 Homeroom officers, September 29 for Grade 12 Homeroom officers, and October 4 for the Senior High School Track Representatives.
For the first half of Level 2 entitled STEP UP: Power Up, the newly elected officers were given glimpses of what to expect and prepare for HLT day. It included blasts like a 3-day countdown and the program flow of the activity. The second half of level 2 was the leadership training event itself entitled STEP UP: Game Changers of Tomorrow.
The student-leaders had their induction and batch activity planning for the Paulinian Appreciation Week pre-HLT. Consecutively, the program proper started at 3pm. This year’s keynote general speaker was the Philippines’ current Vice President, Leni Robredo, who was also the speaker for the 2017 installation of the same event. VP Robredo’s inspiring words focusing on managing leadership responsibilities in the online set-up allowed the participants to gain better perspectives on how to handle their respective posts.
Afterward, officers proceeded to head to the breakout rooms according to their position. There were a total of five sessions, each given by remarkable alumnae: Sam Apilado, the SCT President for S.Y. 2020–2021, gave her talk to the CFC officers about identifying Issues and taking initiative; Louise Navarro for Academic shared about organization and communication; Jillian Lim for Spiritual tackled honing spiritual and holistic health; Ysa Lanza for Socio addressed promoting well-roundedness; and lastly, Pauline Majarucon discussed project management and delegation for organization leaders and track representatives.
The Creatives team, consisting of Gabby Castillo, Max Fontanilla, Maggie Munoz, and Cecil Pascual, the people behind the success of this event, also deserve a round of applause for the smooth and informative flow of the project.
The project heads have a few words regarding the preparation, process, and outcome of the project. Hannah Castillo, the SCT P.R.O. stated, “As we continue to accomplish our projects one by one for this school year, it’s always a pleasure for us to be able to bring inspiration, knowledge, and enlightenment, most especially during this set-up.” Ariana Espiritu, the SCT Treasurer added, “Despite the online shift, we are still committed to materializing the objective of this training — to aid in shaping our fellow student leaders into becoming an effective leader who is devoted to performing the duties and responsibilities inherent to their post.” Jolie Lim, the SCT Grade 9 Batch Representative also mentioned, “Working alongside people with different work ethics and methods opened my eyes as well, so I felt like not only was I heading the project but I was also one of the participants who the event aimed to help.” Lastly, Cammie Tirona, the SCT Grade 8 Batch Representative believes that “every step had to stay true to the goal of the project, which was to inspire and empower future student-leaders, and one’s passion to achieve that goal will truly make the difference.”
From this event, the elected student leaders were enlightened to discover different ways in effectively handling their respective roles and responsibilities. Notable insights on leadership were also attained, especially due to being in an online set-up for the second year. Just like the tagline for the event, they are truly the game-changers of tomorrow as they take a step to lead the student body.
