If you weren’t able to attend the miting de avance earlier, please open this! This is the speech I gave during the miting de avance, the complete version since I almost went over time so I rushed through the end. :)) It’s not really a speech, but more of a story. Please read, and share this! <3
Home
The night of September 8 2010, I clearly remember telling myself, “I will never forget this day.” I was with KR that day. We went to the BPI main office in Makati, to meet with them about an External Relations project, LexCO. To get there, we took virtually every form of public transportation possible. We took a trike to get out of school, then the LRT, then the MRT, a taxi to get to the BPI office and a bus when we were through. We got off the bus in the wrong place, so walked on the sidewalks of EDSA until we got to Gateway, which was thankfully not that far away. We took a taxi to get to Katipunan, and that’s where KR and I parted ways. I got dropped off in Banapple, and walked the Katipunan Extension until I got to the footbridge, where I found a trike to take me to Ateneo. He charged me double the regular rate, but at that point, I didn’t care. I was just glad to be back in school in one piece.
Public transportation. This may not seem like a big deal to most of you, but for me, it is. I grew up very, very sheltered and very, very protected. I went to an all-girls Catholic high school, was raised in a closed, conservative Roman Catholic family, had the whole yaya-and-driver package and a car to take me wherever I pleased, provided that my parents deemed whatever it is I was going to safe and appropriate. I was allowed to parties and other social events, but I had a strict Cinderella curfew. Until now, my parents still treat me that a kid. I know they mean well, but I’m in college already! Am I not allowed to cross the foot bridge to go to Katipunan? Believe me, I’m not.
Being in Lex, and being active in Lex, however, has forced me to disobey my parents. In Lex, I ended up doing the one thing that they never, ever wanted me to in my whole life: Grow up.
I stand before all of you today as I am most every day. I share with all of you today a story, and in that, a part of myself. We’re talking about Lex, and that’s a very big part. Standing before you today is a better version of the self I used to be. During my stay here in the Ateneo Lex, I’ve matured. Like a steel sword being forged in flame, I’ve had my trial by fire and, like the sword, I’ve come out stronger and more reliable in touch situations.
This is why I stand by what I stand by. In my platform, I placed great emphasis on leadership development, member formation, personal and professional growth, and having fun in the process. The projects and programs I’ve come up with are geared towards the fulfillment of these goals.
Let me paint you a picture: Start the year off with a bang at the External Relations Department’s General Assembly Plus, a mixer for ExRel members where we can all meet one another and learn more about the fun stuff in the year ahead. More than a powerpoint in a classroom, this is where party meets productivity. Then, when you’re just about settled as an Atenean LM major, we’ll shake it up and transform you into a Thomasian LM major, with Legal Management Exchange or LMEX, a student exchange program in partnership with UST. Test out the skills you learned in the classroom with LexCO, an entrepreneurial development consultancy challenge that will allow you to share your business know-how with a small-to-medium enterprise. Come Christmas time, spread the holiday cheer with the External Relations Outreach, that will allow you to extend, expose and experience something outside your everyday life of the business or school environment, by spending time with our less fortunate brothers and sisters.
Throughout the entire school year, you won’t be alone! We will be having leadership training seminars and skills enhancement workshops throughout the school year, as well as individual consultations with PMs and AVPs, and taking all that into consideration the External Relations FGD, a grand gathering to synthesize all the input from the past year.
This is just a small preview of the year I envision for the External Relations Department, and it would be amazing to have the opportunity to share this joy with the rest of Lex. I want people to have the same experience as I did, one that was fulfilling yet fun, in an environment conducive to the development of both skills and friendships at the same time. In short, always excellent, never mediocre.
You know, technically speaking, since I’m no longer a Legal Management student, the Ateneo Lex isn’t my home org. But, Lex will always be my home. <3
I’M TRISHA DESCALLAR AND I’M GAGA FOR LEX! :)
![BACK-to-BACK AVP of the MONTH: SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER 2010
“Ateneo Lex’[s] all-around-girl can do [it] everything for Lex, from representing us to external groups, to contributing to Lex’ branding by sharing her creativity. As a solid pillar of the External Relations, and an artist of the CC, she has gone way beyond what the job entailed her to do. She has truly inspired not just her constituents but also her superiors in Lex with her zeal and energy. She truly deserves more that this recognition—but we are confident that her achievements will go beyond this award.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lfm3hjTYuq1qgtxruo1_1280.jpg)
