LYS 2017’s speakers discuss leadership standards
With the theme for this year’s Lasallian Youth Summit (LYS) “Raising the Standards of Leadership,” featured guest speakers from different sectors of society shared their own attributes of what an effective and true leader should possess in the workplace to almost 3,000 4th and 5th year students as well as student leaders from campus organizations at the event held at the Ugnayang La Salle (ULS) yesterday on April 8.
Lasallian Character, interpersonal skills, personality capabilities and focus on leadership were among the topics discussed by the summit’s guest speakers.
The first guest speaker, De La Salle Philippines President Br. Jose Mari Jimenez FSC, who has been a teacher for 23 years, shared that an inspiring leader must do something for the good of somebody, inviting the participants to become Lasallian volunteers who teach the children.
“Kids are great, marvelous, and working with them is something that I’ve always found inspiring. If you think that it’s the kind of experience you want to have, we’d like to challenge those of you who are graduating, to think about offering a year of your life working with these kids in the communities,” Br. Jimenez said.
Afterward, Senator Risa Hontiveros stressed that interpersonal skills require timing, negotiation, and empathy, as well as well-placed criticism and feedback.
“It’s (interpersonal skills) our ability to work with others. Napakaimportante ng tamang pag-uusap at pakikipag-usap when it comes to leading others. Interpersonal skills have brought people enormous amount of success. Pope Francis, Mother Theresa of Calcultta, and Dalai Lama are just some people who have mastered interpersonal communication,” the senator said.
On personality capabilities, Luzon Commissioner Percival Cendaña of the National Youth Commission, the third speaker, said that leaders need to be disturbed first, to rise above individualistic concerns, challenge oneself to participate, and find solution to problems.
“Leadership is not just an extraordinary skill. It’s a crucial life skill… You cannot be a leader, if you don’t participate,” Cendaña said.
The last speaker, actress and children’s book author Maricel Laxa-Pangilinan, encouraged the graduating students to know your purpose in life, make eye-to-eye contact with people in communicating, balance the online and offline world, and lastly, have faith.
“If you have so much fear in your heart not knowing what the future will be, use that for your positive gain. You are uniquely design for a very special purpose that is already written in your DNA,” Pangilinan said.
Council of Student Organizations (CSO) President Marj Adrias said the summit, which is intended for graduating students, aims to produce excellence in the leadership in various fields.
The first Lasallian Youth Summit, which focused on social involvement, power of volunteerism, and the “De La Salle Way,” was held on July 11, 2014 at the ULS.
In coordination with the OSS, the LYS was organized by CSO in partnership with Junior Financial Executive of the Philippines and the DLSU-D Communication and Media Society.
Earthquake tremors felt in ULS
Towards the end of the event to the surprise of the audience, earthquake tremors were felt in ULS and the ceiling lights were reported to have been swaying.
A series of earthquakes, with magnitudes ranging from 5 to 6, hit Batangas Saturday afternoon, April 8. According to Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), the epicenters of the earthquakes were located just a few kilometers from Mabini, Batangas.
Intensity IV is reported to have been felt in Dasmariñas, Cavite, Intensity V in Tagaytay City, and Intensity III in Bacoor, Cavite.
Students were advised to remain inside ULS during LYS as the event carried on.
As of press time, the CSO and OSS are yet to release a statement on the matter.
