STI 15th NYC in Metro Manila

They came in droves. 18,000 STIers braved the Metro Manila traffic as the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City became the Mecca of STI faithfuls who witnessed the STI 15th National Youth Convention. Forty STI Colleges from Metro Manila and nearby environs were at hand to witness this spectacular roadshow presentation that featured a bounty of things to learn.

As mentioned over and over again, this is STI's claim to fame, STI is the only school that conducts a nationwide convention for its students. This convention is also a testimony of how STI has grown in the past years. The influx of students that flocked the SMX Convention Center is simply something that no other school in the Philippines can match. So lets just brand these two days STI DAYS!

The Convention included a powerhouse cast of veteran speakers and guests. First to present were members of the Globe Labs team from the Telecommunications industry Globe. Greg Igaya and Sherwin Sowy took turns to give their side on how Globe Labs , an innovation driven group, can shape their future. At the same time, their various takes on innovation showed that Globe Telecom is really in a look out for that technological breakthrough that Filipinos might discover. Who knows, STI Students might be the ones who can do that.

Veteran inspirational and motivational speaker Pido Aguilar took the second topic with much gusto. His take on how STI students can become influential is one for the books. Summarizing it into three important components his Give, Receive and Spread speech gave STI students a better perspective on how they can become modern day heroes. His song Bayani Ka is still playing over my head as I write this blog. Finally, Internationally acclaimed speaker Dennis Evangelista anchored the convention with his zany antics and one of a kind take on how STI students can be hired. The life of Mr Evangelista is a living testament that we can all succeed if we want to. I believe that a lot of STIers will be talking about him for a long long time.

Providing entertainment were the 2009 STI Talent search champions. 2009 STI Idol Grand Champion Charmaine Nodado of STI College Las Piñas left the crowd in awe with her one of a kind rendition of "My Redeemer lives!" I kept reminding everyone that it was an invocation Hymn but the crowd still clapped after she sang. My back up dancers are the Katz Republic, the 2009 Grand National Champion, who also gave one intermission number. Providing additional entertainment are three good looking commercial model artists - Neil Coleta, JR De Guzman and Enz Guazon. The crowd really loved their performance. This one is now finished and I hope that next year we can top it again.

LABOR DAY JOBAPALOOZA 2009 - A resounding success!

Close to 30,000 jobseekers flocked the SMX Convention Center on Labor day to join the biggest Job fair the country has ever seen.  Spearheaded by the Department of Labor of employment, this Jobapalooza is also the collaboration of many heads namely the DOLE, the main sponsors and the employers themselves. Partnering with DOLE is Jobstreet.com which is the no. 1 jobsite in the country which has more than 6 million registered jobseekers which includes me. Well I registered so that I may know how to register since we took care of the registration needs of the event since the mobile caravan was launched.

 

Mayday, Mayday...7557 got hired today

Aside from Jobstreet.com  one of the major sponsors of the event was Globe Telecoms, Banco De Oro and the SM Group of companies, the City or Manila and Pasay, the Philippine Online Chronicles, Philjob.net and the STI Education Services Group which took care of the registration. STI provided 50 computers for the event plus manpower to help on the registration. As I wrote in this blog even before the event STI has already helped in the pre - registration by way of the STI Mobile Caravan.

 

STI Student Volunteers Getting Ready

Prior to the event, pre registered jobseekers totaled more than 20,000 and a lot of them got their final interviews as 7557 jobseekers were employed on labor day. There were 330 employers that joined the Jobapalooza and the long lines of people waiting for their turn to make it inside and submit their resumes made the day also fulfilling for employers who were ready to get new employees. Leading the way were call centers, BPOs and other big companies with multi businesses like SM.

 

The Registration Scene

The registration of the participants was quite a tideous task but I am glad that our STI volunteers pulled through.  Its no joke sitting there for hours and receiving registration slips and helping others register specially when you entertain 20,000 people.  The combined team of STI Headquarters, STI College Global City and STI College Taft plus some other volunteers from STI College Cubao proved to be a great mix of STIers working for a worthy cause. If there is one thing they learned today, its that applying for a job is no joke.

The Internet Kiosk, Computers by STI, Internet by Globe

At around 10:30 AM Jobstreet Country Manager Grace Colet was alarmed that the number of people who flocked the SMX Convention Center was twice than what was expected. Crowd control seems to be the problem now and how to manage the flow of people coming in and going out. Grace pulled togehter her men, together with some people form DOLE and also some from our team to help out in making sure that the people are line up correctly so that no more problems on getting out of line will be met. When the coast cleared up at around 5:45 pm when the lines were cut and the employers already tired of a whole day’s work has already closed shop, the job fair finally ended.  

My congratulations to the small group of friends that has spent countless hours in making sure that we deliver what we promised, from DOLE Lites Villoria, Globe’s  Nonie Busuego, Manolo Nava and Ryan Fernandez, BDO’s Mau Laus and Leah Lau, Jobstreet’s Lindsay Querubin and my partner who pieced everything up Karen La Rosa, congratulations everyone for a JOBapalooza well done. My hat goes off to jobstreet for their team that never got tired in making sure that the everyone got entertained.  I was also moved by Jobstreet’s Grace Colet who thanked all our STI students one by one for their help and participation. Thanks Grace and Lindsay.  

Zerina, Rynee, RJ, Geann, Rezyl with Aga

After a full day of work to help people get work, it was time to unwind. I was lucky I was accompanied by my 5 galpals, Zerina,Rynee, RJ, Ge-ann and Rezyl. It made working all the more light and enjoyable. We are lucky that Globe sponsored a concert that featured Hajji Alejandro, Rachel Ann Go, Rivermaya and Mr. Pure Energy himself Gary Valenciano.  This worthwhile endeavor is something that we will talk about in months to come. Now let’s prepare for JOBapalooza 2010!

Campus Katz & All-Star Dancers combine forces

Here is an intermission number during the STI NYC at the SMX Convention center. The video shows the joint forces of the The STI College Paranaque's Campus Katz, an all male dance group, together with the All-female dance group - the STI All-Star Dancers. The song is "No Air by Jordin Sparks and 4 Minutes by Madonna & Justin Timberlake"

The STI NYC's new home in Metro Manila

Students line up outside the SMX

STI College is the only school that conducts a nationwide convention for its students. In previous posts I mentioned that the convention goes to various cities nationwide to give STI students additional knowledge on certain topics that are not usually taught inside the classroom.

Welcome Streamers

The NYC's biggest draw continues to be the Metro Manila Convention. STI students coming from Bataan, Olongapo, Bulacan, Pampanga, Lucena, San Pablo and other far flung areas join Metro Manila studes in witnessing this spectacular roadshow presentation.

STI kits are a thing of beauty

The STI National Youth Convention has been at the PICC for 9 years, the This year the NYC has found another venue to give its students one of a kind edutainment, the NYC is now at the SMX Convention Center. The

The SMX was flocked by 15,000 STI Students

The SMX Convention Center is just beside the Mall of Asia and its towering new building just shows that the NYC is truly expanding. The SMX function rooms 2 to 4 was picked to accommodate the 3,800 STI students per session. The NYC gave STI schools a lot to brag since it also gave the students an opportunity to shop at the Mall of Asia.

The NYC is just happy to be in such a great venue.