INSPIRING THE YOUTH IN NATION BUILDING
“Integrity is the essence of everything successful.”
~ Richard Buckminster Fuller ~
INTEGRITY, humility, passion for service, leadership and excellence. These are just some of the values student leaders learned in Cebu recently, the values they vowed to uphold as they move to help change their communities.
That’s how delegates of the 7th Aboitiz Future Leaders Business Summit (AFLBS) left Cebu last week—hopeful and inspired, and grateful for newfound friends.
Some young future leaders shared how the fun-filled learning experience changed their lives and how the summit inspired them to be promising future leaders of our country.
Christian Lopez, a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology student of Technological Institute of the Philippines in Quezon City, shared that he was honored to be a part of the event, along with top student leaders from other schools.
“I am so privileged because this is only my first year of being active as a student leader and yet I have already been given the opportunity to be part of this prestigious event,” he said.
Christian loves to crack jokes and is fond of sending text messages, a hobby he shares with some of the participants of the summit, who eventually became his friends.
He revealed that the experience was far from his expectations, since he thought he would be joining a very serious event. For Christian, the learning experience was phenomenal, and he wants to share what he learned with other young leaders, for he cherished the experience as a blessing.
Christian believes that sharing your blessings, focusing more on your strengths rather than your weakness and valuing integrity define a leader.
“As a leader, we must have a calm mind for us to work properly and in harmony with our team members… Always have a humble heart and love your family, friends, the people you work with, your country and God,” he shared.
Since 2006, the AFLBS has been bringing together the country’s top 90 college students for a two-day event that will feature activities about business and leadership. The gathering is the Aboitiz Group’s way of preparing today’s potential youth leaders for the corporate world and at the same time, inspiring them to develop renewed faith and hope in our country.
With the theme “Significantly Changing My Philippines,”
the summit made delegates participate in plenary discussions, games and teambuilding exercises that simulate real work and business situations. The activities were meant to prepare these top student leaders for their role in nation-building and motivate them to respond to the everyday call of leadership.
Other students shared the same passion to learn from the summit, eager to inspire others through leadership.
Marmie Dyan Deniega, an accountancy student of the University of San Jose-Recoletos and president of the Supreme Student Council, described her experience as memorable and amazing because she had the chance to meet student leaders from all over the Philippines.
“I am also very thankful because I was given the chance to be part of the 7th Aboitiz Future Leaders Business Summit,” she added.
The Aboitizes’ humble beginnings and the value they put on integrity inspired Marmie, who also vowed to uphold the same values that the Aboitizes espouse—passion for service, leadership and excellence.
“As a young leader, it is important to have the initiative and commitment to what you do. Initiative to innovate and do greater and extraordinary things, commitment to continue what has been started, and hope for the better,” she added.
She believes that small things can make big differences. By continuing what she has already started and guided by her faith in God, Marmie hopes to make a significant change in the Philippines in her own way. She also hopes to inspire other people, especially the youth, to be active in nation-building.
“The change that we are looking for should come from within us. It is very hard to want to see a positive change in the community when we ourselves are not willing to change,” Marmie said.