AYLC Batch 2011 graduates: a year after the Congress

Batch 2011 did not just graduate from college but also from their AYLC cycle.

Highlighted by the batch’s graduation party last May 26, tagged as “Shindig 2012: Ignite. Accelerate. Drive.”, these 81 alumni of Batch Kislap shared their leadership stories and celebrated their accomplishments one year after their AYLC experience in February last year. Ayala Group executives and Talent Net joined the fresh graduates and offered guidance and advice as they discussed about how AYLC has influenced their leadership and career.

Lily Jean Cacatian, who finished BS Development Communications, Magna cum Laude, from the University of Southern Mindanao, shares that AYLC strengthened her passion for nation-building. “I kept on joining and I volunteered myself for more community and extension works and even had my own project implemented.”, said this SK Kagawad, who was also a Senator of their University Student Government and President of the Development Communication Society.

Cacatian pushed for “Go Green!”, a rehabilitation project of the Kabacan Watershed in Cotabato through a comprehensive tree-parenting program that continuously monitors the growth and protection of the seedlings. The project was implemented at Brgy. Pisan, Kabacan, Cotabato, last September 2011 and was turned-over to the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office last March 2012.

Another fresh graduate of Batch 2011, is Michael Angelo Abarcar - a BS Accountancy Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, who says that the concept of Servant Leadership has changed his perspective on taking his responsibilities as a leader. Abarcar spearheaded his first major community project entitled the “Pag-asa sa Pagbasa: Flickering Hope to the Youth of Pangan-an Island through a Functional School Library” through a grant from the Colgate Fresh U Project. Abarcar and his friends worked for a mini-library for Pangan-an High School in Cebu, and was so engaged with the community that they also sought for another grant for more community projects.

This time from the British Council’s “I am a Changemaker” and Starbucks Shared Planet Award, Abarcar and his group started a social enterprise project called “Gasa sa Guso (Gifts from Seaweed): An Integrated Education and Entrepreneurship Program for the Pangan-an Island Youth”.  This aimed to operate a sustainable seaweed farm as an alternative livelihood for the community since there has become a decrease of fish stock in the island. “Right now, we are organizing the community because eventually, we would encourage them to form a cooperative so that they will own the enterprise.”, Abarcar said.

Jay-R Mendoza on the other hand, was an advocate of youth leadership. He conducted a leadership training for 72 of the most promising youth leaders in Rizal Province, and even invited his Kislap batch mates Aeron Christian Morado (former President of the Far Eastern University Central Student Organization) and John Aries Tudla (Student of the Year of the College of the Immaculate Conception) to speak as panelists.

“AYLC ignited the realization that the service I could give should not be confined within the four corners of our University”, shared Mendoza, who graduated Magna Cum Laude of Bachelor of Secondary Education from the University of Rizal System – Morong, and received several Leadership Excellence awards during his graduation.

Katrina Lee, a BS Business Administration, Cum Laude graduate of the Ateneo De Manila University, also reveals, “AYLC has inspired me to love my work and involvements with more passion, bring them and my teams to "the next level," and face challenges with more courage and trust in the people around me.” Lee, as an officer of the Tugon Ateneo organization, headed the Tugon Weekly Area Insertions and Day-Outs. This brought together organization members and NSTP students to interact and help in the healing process and development of sexually abused girls through various development programs and activities.

These are just some of the many inspirational stories of the 81 Ayala Young Leaders of Batch 2011. These testimonials express how AYLC has influenced their leadership and their personal lives.