Carmen scholars gather for 1st congress
Mining the millennial leaders' minds
TOLEDO CITY — The energy was high as 296 scholars from the 17 barangays of Toledo City gathered recently to learn about millennial leadership during the first Carmen Copper Scholars Congress at the De La Salle – Andres Soriano Memorial College in Barangay Don Andres Soriano, Toledo City.
The scholars from Grade 7 to college have reasons to be hopeful as they now possess the greatest weapon they need to break free from extreme poverty – quality education.
The scholars congress aimed to develop leadership traits and practical life skills to the scholars, as they face their challenges and opportunities during this critical season in their growing years.
“Carmen Copper is committed to actively raising the quality of life for each of you,” Carmen Copper assistant vice president for safety, health, environment, community relations and external affairs Ignacio Alburo said.
“We want all of you to achieve your full potential and reach your dreams so you will have a brighter future,” he added.
Topics tackled during the congress included the crisis confronting millennials such as the pressures of social media, digital technology, peer pressure, emotional intelligence, leadership and finding one’s identity and path.
“We learned so much about how to survive university life by handling stress, peer pressure, depression and the threats of social media. Most especially, the exercises helped us learn more about ourselves, our priorities and the path we want to take,” said Leon Abella, a fourth year mining engineering student at Cebu Institute of Technology – University (CIT-U) in Cebu City.
Alburo stressed that it is by complementing academic education with leadership development workshops that Carmen Copper is able to help mold excellent, responsible and compassionate leaders among the youth of today.
The scholarship program is one of its efforts in providing inclusive and quality education for all, as part of its social development and management program (SDMP) commitment. The company’s SDMP focus areas are quality and inclusive education, quality health care services, livelihood, public infrastructure, preservation of cultural heritage and disaster resilience and rehabilitation.
To date, the company has supported 305 scholars and 147 technical-vocational trainees, built 32 school buildings and six health/birthing centers, trained over 500 farmers and about 200 women in livelihood programs, and conducted disaster preparedness workshops.