17th STI NYC IN MANILA

Monumental would be an understatement if one would describe the most attended Metro Manila version of the STI 17th National Youth Convention as the NYC was played with practically all sessions jampacked. Five years ago the total number of attendees of the NYC was 21,000 students. This week, the Metro Manila NYC totalled 21,416 the most ever.

After three years at the SMX Convention Center the 17th NYC in Metro Manila went back to its former home the Aliw Theatre in Pasay City. The curtains opened with ethereal voices of the STI College Global City Chorus singing the the song "Awit ng Paghahangad" which was a very apt Invocation Hymn. The 10 singers also sang the Philippine National Anthem in acapella.

Former NYC speaker and now Vice-President for Communications Elbert L. de Guzman started the ball rolling by welcoming the delegates to the venue. At the same time he asked the delegates to listen well and learn from the speakers who are at hand. Being a former speaker himself, Elbert kept the crowd alive by making them chant as the delegates answered his shout of "It's all about me" with a chant of "It's all about WE!" Elbert perked up the crowd even before the first speaker came out.

One of the most anticipated part of the Metro Manila National Youth Convention is the opening dance number of the NYC Dancers that ends up with yours truly joining them in the latter part of the dance. This year, my very reliable and loyal choreographer combined the "Moves like Jagger" dance music with the song "I'm sexy and I know it!" which was again a big hit for the STI delegates watching.

STI College Bacoor's Ricky Bunag has been with the NYC team the past few years and has joined me since 2003 when we still had convention for High School students. For him this Metro Manila run is special since this is his first time to be a speaker in front of his own STI Students. Ricky tackled the talk "It's all about Me, Myself and I: Self-Development.

On his second tour of duty, veteran trainer, book writer and inspirational speaker Pido Aguilar delivered a moving talk which is entitled "It's all about WE - Me and my Community!" The delegates will definitely remember his most telling advice saying that "We are not Pigs!"

There was a time in the early goings of the NYC that one of the staple names being waited upon was one of the best speakers of the NYC- AKR. He has since passed his legacy to Dennis Evangelista who has been a crowd favorite and a speaker who has made a lot of followers. This event will be something very memorable to him since days before the convention his father died and him still being a part of the convention shows his commitment to making STIers learn more. Dennis took on the topic "It's all about US - Making a difference!"

Another thing new about the event is the introduction of another partner of STI which is TAO PO! TAO PO is another way to become a changeneer and make the government work for us. One of the most vocal about the changes and a staunch advocate of Tao po is ABS-CBN Regional News Head Charie Villa. Charie led the registration proceedings to make sure that STIers become more proactive in making government work for us.

The 17th National Youth Convention, truly a one of a kind experience for every STIer, one that every STIer can be proud of being a part of.

STI COLLEGE OLYMPIANS PEP SQUAD NCC Qualifiers

The STI College Olympians Pep Squad's first step towards making it big has started by joining the qualifiers of the National Cheerleading Championships.

The task was simple, join and enjoy the competition. It was all about seeing what the NCC was all about and get to learn from all the different cheer leaders and cheer dancers who were on hand.

This is a great start for the STI Cheer Dancers who will use their experience to toughen themselves and prepare for next year. Above is a cut from the presentation of the Olympians of their monumental NAASCU performance.

Philippine Collegiate Championship League Awarding

I got an invitation to 

accept the trophy of 

the 2012 Mindanao Champions 

of the 2012 Philippine Collegiate 

Champions League

Yours truly accepting 

the plaque for STI College Cagayan de Oro 

from Mr Joe Lipa and Rey Gamboa

STI College Olympians Volleyball Team wins

The STI College Olympians barely made it to the semi – finals last year as the Our Lady of Fatima University Phoenix shut down their final four hopes by carving out a close 5 set victory that all but halted the hopes of the Olympians for a banner year. As they say, revenge is best served cold as the Olympians bucked a slow start to avenge last year’s loss with an opening day win against the same team 20 - 25, 25-15, 25 -22, 25 - 22 for their first win in the NAASCU opening in four years.

Ponce and Amontos thwart a Phoenix spike

The Olympians relied on the high flying duo of third year BS Computer Engineering high flyer John Ric Amontos and BS HRM Senior Junior Ponce. The two connived to quell every rally mounted by the stubborn Phoenix team. Ably backing up the two are Third year BS Information Technology tosser Rezile Lazaro, Sophomore Computer Science Major striker Jeric Rosas, sophomore BS HRM Rookie Dan Marasigan and, BS Business Management Senior and the Captain Mark Reaño. The six were instrumental in putting the first win for the Olympians in the new season.

Dan Marasigan flies high

The Olympians started tentatively as they got into a maze of errors as the opening day jitters slowly ate them up as their veterans were quite tense which gave the Phoenix a 15 – 8 lead. The Olympians eventually woke up, rallied, lost the first set but eventually got better and there was no denying them the hard earned win over their 2011 tormentors. The game was close in the third and fourth sets with the Olympians showing their poise under pressure by winning the last two sets after both coming from 22 - all ties.

Jeric Rosas on the move

In the other games, CEU and AMA Computer University got twin kills by beating their respective opponents in the Men’s and Women’s division. The Scorpions beat opening day loser City University of Pasay while their Lady Scorpions beat the STI College Lady Olympians. Newly formed Informatics International College suffered twin losses against the AMA Computer University Titans as their Men’s and Women’s Team both got a rude welcome from the Titans. The St Clare College Saints got a split as their women’s team won over the Our Lady of Fatima University Phoenix while venue host New Era University Hunters beat the Men’s team of the Saints. The Titans lead the Men's Division with two wins while CEU, St. Clare and AMA are tied with one win in the distaff side.

Tosser Rezille Lazaro and Jeric Rosas on the block

11th NAASCU Volleyball Tourney opens

The 11th National Athletic Association of Schools Colleges & Universities opened its 2nd semester sports with the Men’s and Women’s Volleyball taking center stage. The Makati Coliseum was once again the venue for the monumental event with eight teams figuring in the Men’s Volleyball and seven teams fighting it out in Women’s Volleyball.

Leading the way in the Men’s division and this year’s title favorite is last year’s Men’s Runner up the AMA Computer University Titans. The Titans opened their campaign with a 3 – 0 win over the City University of Pasay as the lone game in the opening. This year, the tournament will be a single round robin event with the top four teams making it to a knock out semi finals event. The one game final for bothr Men’s and Women’s will be the culminating event of the NAASCU.

The opening stared with the heartwarming rendition of the Invocation hymn entitled “Love is the answer” and the nationalistic interpretation of the Philippine National Anthem by the New Era University Men’s Chorale. Guest speaker for the opening was former Basketball Collegiate standout, PBA Player, National team Coach and now Games and Amusement Board Commissioner Fritz Gaston. To make the event more lively and stimulate the crowd’s interest, all eight muses of the different teams were introduced. STI College’s Monica Martinez was judged as the Best Muse among the eight other competitors who are also players of their respective teams.

The Team’s playing in the Men’s division are AMA Computer University, Centro Escolar University, City University of Pasay, Informatics International College, New Era University, Our Lady of Fatima University, St. Clare College and STI College. In the distaff side the seven teams are AMA Computer University, Centro Escolar University, Informatics International College, New Era University, Our Lady of Fatima University, St. Clare College and STI College where the AMA Computer University Lady Titans are the defending champion.

What made the opening of the NAASCU Volleyball Tournament all the more exciting was the third staging of the NAASCU Hiphop dance competition. The Our Lady of Fatima University bagged first place in the competition with an average score of 89% while the AMA Computer University Dancers came in second and the Centro Escolar University Scorpions came in third. Dr. Ernesto Jay G. Adalem declared the games open and as metioned the lone game between AMA and CUP was won by AMA. Stay tuned for updates on the 11th NAASCU Volleyball tournament and other forthcoming events.

17TH NYC in CEBU

THE 17TH NYC AT

THE CAP DEVELOPMENT CENTER

IN OSMEÑA, CEBU CITY

STI COLLEGE CEBU'S DEPUTY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR

REBECCA ANCHETA WELCOMES THE DELEGATES

FROM STI MANDAUE, DUMAGUETE, CALBAYOG AND SURIGAO

THE ONE THE ONLY THE ORIGINAL

BILL KOSME

ALVIN "ALF" BELEN

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME, MYSELF AND I

SELF-DEVELOPMENT

IT'S ALL ABOUT US - MAKING A DIFFERENCE

FERDINAND "RICKY" BUNAG

IT'S ALL ABOUT US - ME AND MY COMMUNITY

CARLOS "PIDO" AGUILAR

GUEST STAR

MAVI LOZANO OF TV 5

STI STUDENTS GRAPPLE FOR

THE ATTENTION OF MAVI

Happy New Year

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO BLOGGING RIGHTS READERS

MHELLY XMAS

TO EVERYONE

FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS

THANKS FOR READING MY BLOG

AND HOPE TO WRITE MORE STORIES

NEXT YEAR

STI COLLEGE OLYMPIANS PEP SQUAD

THE STI COLLEGE OLYMPIANS PEP SQUAD

11TH National Athletic Association of

Schools, Colleges & Universities (NAASCU)

Performance

11th NAASCU CHEERDANCE COMPETITION

CENTRO ESCOLAR UNIVERSITY

CHAMPION

OUR LADY OF FATIMA UNIVERSITY

1ST RUNNER - UP

CITY UNIVERSITY OF PASAY

2ND RUNNER - UP

STI COLLEGE

4TH PLACE

NEW ERA UNIVERSITY

5TH PLACE

ST. CLARE COLLEGE

6TH PLACE

AMA UNIVERSITY

7TH PLACE

INFORMATICS INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE

EIGHTH PLACE

STI 17th National Youth Convention launches in Baguio

Students of STI College Baguio interpret the Invocation Hymn

All roads lead to the CAP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center on December 5, 2011 for the STI 17^th National Youth Convention with this year’s theme “It’s all about ME, It’s all about WE!” STI’ers from different regions in the country are all excited to be part of the convention since the one of a kind approach of the convention aims to give students added knowledge that they usually don’t learn in school.

STI’ers are once again treated to this one of a kind extravaganza that has been a much awaited event for all STI students. This year’s STI National Youth Convention focuses on the students being guided through various topics that will enhance their self development to become better members of the community through three action packed presentations.

The first topic entitled “It’s all about ME, Me, Myself and I: Self Development” was delivered by Mr. Edwin Superable, a faculty member from STI College Novaliches.

The second topic, entitled It’s all about WE - Me & My Community was delivered by veteran trainer and author of numerous books on Abundance, Mr. PIDO AGUILAR.

Finally, the third topic entitled It’s all about US – Making a difference, was delivered by STI College Bacoor’s IT Instructor Mr. RICKY BUNAG

The national youth convention aims to systematically provide opportunities that would trigger discovery, clarification, establishment, and enhancement of specific values for STI students. The NYC will then go to Kalibo, Bacolod City, Ormoc City and Cebu City in January, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City and Davao City in February, Naga City and Puerto Princesa City in March.

Fourteen STI schools from North Luzon totalling two thousand eight hundred students and faculty members were there to witness the event. STIers from the Ilocos Region (Laoag and Vigan ), La Union, Pangasinan (Alaminos & San Carlo) Tarlac, Nueva Ecija (San Jose), Pampanga (San Fernando) Bulacan (Balagtas and Malolos) Isabela (Tuguegarao, Ilagan, Cauayan & Santiago) and host Baguio City were on hand to watch the launch of this nationwide event that will run until March 2012.

TD Kuya Video

While in High School we were immersed with the Tulong Dunong program in which we were tasked to teach four students from a public school. The program which was a pet project of Fr. James O'Brien helped a lot of underprivileged kids go to Ateneo High School and eventually College. When Fr. O'B died the program suddenly took a not so good turn as funds were scarce and money was hard to get. Enter the Tulong Dunong Perpetuity fund which aims to raise 50 Million Pesos to send 100 scholars to Ateneo. below are ways to donate:

Mobile Donation

Help TD using your mobile phone.

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o give a one-time donation:

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2. SEND to 5333 (for both Smart and Globe subscribers)

3. RECEIVE the following message:

Thank you for joining the band of bros. to help send 100 TD scholars to school. We'll send your MMS pic shortly. P(amt)/mms. Part of the proceeds goes to TD Foundation. To pledge monthly, txt TDKUYA100 ON to 5333. P(amt)/mms.

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To register your information so we can contact/ update you on the latest TD activities:

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Join the band of brothers! Txt TDKUYA100 ON to 5333 to support 100 scholars every year. P100/mms. Part of the proceeds goes to TD Foundation. For more info, visit www.tulongdunong.org.

From: 5333

RE BLUE TION - Ateneo Alumni Homecoming 2011

The Mass at Gesu

When the Ateneo Blue Eagles won the UAAP Title for the first time in 1987 they were invited to to the Ateneo Alumni Homecoming at the Ateneo High School covered courts to be given a heroes welcome for finally nailing the ever elusive UAAP crown. Fortunately, me and my friend Jeffrey Tan also got invited since we were tasked to introduce the Blue Eagles to the Ateneo Alumni. Back then, what we did was kind of a novelty since we introduced the team through a rap number with Jeff Tan acting as the boom box and me introducing the team through a rap we made. Mingling with the Alumni back then made me belong to the community and was really looking forward to 2012 which is the year that our batch will be silver jubilarians.

The Blue Babble leading the way

December 3, 2011 came and the last of our upperclassmen hosted the Ateneo Alumni Homecoming with their brand of celebration entitled ReBLUEtion. High School batch 1986 saw their final quarter in High School halted as the 1986 EDSA Revolution took away the remaining two months of classes which was not the best way to end the best times of your lives. But the 1986 batch became closer to each other even after their last months in the Ateneo High School was abbreviated by the revolution.

Ateneo HS Batch 1987

Jubilarians from different batches were there to celebrate and the one thing nice about attending Ateneo gatherings is the prospect of seeing lots of friends who I have not seen in ages. From the Ateneo HS Batch 1961 I saw the father of my good friends and same goes with the other non jubiliarians who were just there to enjoy the evening. For me there were two highlights of the evening, one is the launch of the Tulong Dunong MTV which was a song of the APO Hiking society that was rewritten and now sung by Parokya ni Edgar. The song includes lots of Ateneans who were also former TD Kuyas showing what TD is all about. I was lucky enough to be part of the launch together with my former TD teacher Onnie Martin.

Batch mate Pike Fernandez - a one of a kind homecoming

One of the best part of the event was the turnover of Batch 1986 to our batch of the Symbolic Eagle. Imagine, having seen the Ateneo Alumni Homecoming for the past 24 years its already our time to host and as of now I am so excited for our batch to celebrate more than 25 years of of being a part of the very prestigious University that breeds men for others. I am who I am because of the Ateneo. That is why its time to give back and hopefully come the 2012 Alumni Homecoming I hope that there will be a lot of Ateneans who will be happy of our hosting.

Batchmates with new friends