Nothing’s ImpoSIBOL for YOUth!: JCI Regatta’s TOSIA Talks tends to budding Ilonggo  Leaders

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By Sem. Ian Dave Gultiano

What does it take to be a leader? What does it mean to be excellent?

An old Chinese proverb counsels that “to enrich one’s family, one does not need to buy good land, for books hold a thousand measures of grain”. Last Saturday, February 18, 2023, through the 2023 TOSIA (Top Outstanding Students of Iloilo Awards) Talks: Sibol, three youth leaders of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Regatta proved that to enrich the family of human society, good land is not a necessity either, for good leadership is enough to hold a million measures more.

Grounded in the belief that leaders can be made to “sibol” (“sprout”) through adversities in life, TOSIA Hall of famer Ro-Anne L. Lozada, Tigbauan Municipal Councilor Adrian S. Camposagrado, and TOSIA 2019 awardee and religious servant-leader Chriselda Elaine V. Ador revealed their wisdom in modelling the way, inspiring shared vision, and encouraging the heart to student leaders from all over the city and province of Iloilo at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary’s Auditorium.

“As an aspirant future priest, I am grateful that TOSIA Talks had helped me discern better what it means to be a true leader” said Sem. Jeff Alcalde, the Community Life Head of St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary “This day had truly been a significant one in my formation as I take the suggestions of our speakers into consideration with regards to how I can improve in my leadership skills.”

From 8 a.m. to 12 noon, the ravenous future servant-leaders of the Ilonggo community filled themselves with bounteous grains of inspirations, wisdom, hope, and empowerment. Moderated by the ever-passionate Elaisha L. Pomida, the event started with welcome remarks from JCI President Agustine Estoque who emphasized the four pillars of TOSIA: Academic, Leadership, Community, and Faith.

“Believe in yourself and use your gifts to help others” he said in his speech’s conclusion, emphasizing service to humanity as the ultimate end of excellence.

Her wounds made her stronger

Ms. Lozada began frosting the cake with her warm albeit passionate talk “Heartbreaks to Breakthroughs: Working Under Pressure”. She began by acknowledging the universal reality of heartbreaks and disclosed her own portions of such- (1) her pain of not being well-off in life, (2) the pressure of being an achiever, (3) the terrified feeling of being alone, (4) failures and rejections, and (5) a “stagnant feeling”- together with the lessons that she had learned.

Coming from a family where economic limitations bereaved her of the opportunity to join extra-curricular contests and activities during her elementary years, Ms. Lozada revealed how she was able to turn the tables around during her secondary years by seizing moments when she was invited to join such endeavors through means like soliciting tutorial sessions from the students of her former teachers and the like.

“Grab your opportunities” she said “because they may only come once”

Graduating Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Accountancy in addition to her achievements as president of the Central Philippine University Student Republic which included Mental Health Day, Academic Break, and decrease in Tuition and Miscellaneous fees amongst others; not to mention a historic feat of being only the third recipient of the TOSIA Hall of Fame Award, Lozada had the decorations of an achiever by every inch. However, that does not mean that she was spared from the pressures of being one. She recalled a time when academics hindered her passions. Soon, she realized that she was not herself without her passions, and thus once more became engaged with extra-curricular activities. She learned to find her “kilig”- to have time for herself to enjoy amidst the pressure of being an achiever.

“Excellence is not limited to academics” she said “there is excellence in community leadership, community involvement, and faith in God. You don’t have to be the next someone. Be the first you.”

Fearless in taking on the giants of academic pressure, economic challenges, and the dilemma of balancing school and passion, the great Ms. Lozada nonetheless imparted how she was once terrified of being alone.  She revealed being diagnosed with anxiety once upon a time. She suffered moments when she could neither sleep nor rest try as she might. She was emotionally, psychologically, and physically restless.

“I was blessed to have the right circle of friends who were there for me when I needed them the most. Through them, I learned to find greatness in spite of my struggles in my period of solitude. Because of them, I was able to learn that every time you question everything, always remember where you came from, where you are going, and who you are. My friends reminded me of how far I’ve come in my journey, of my dreams and aspirations in life, and of who Ro-Anne truly is. For them, I am truly grateful” she said.

Nonetheless, in spite of Ro-Anne’s crown of roses in her achievements, she did not hide the thorns that laid beneath. For instance, she specified a certain search that she badly wanted to join while she was still in under the bane of her mental illness. Falling short of the screening, she blamed herself, believing that her best was not enough. Once again, it was Lozada’s friends who assured her to abstain from thinking in such a fashion.

“I believe that God did not make me qualified for that search so that I can heal myself. In life we cannot control whether or not we fall. But when we do, we can always choose to fall forward. Life is not about winning or losing- it’s about learning in both victories and defeats”. Citing Isaiah 55:8-9, she added that “God’s ways are greater than my ways, and his plans are greater than mine.”

Lastly, Ms. Lozada shared her last heartbreak: the stagnant feeling which she described as “the fear of facing what’s next”, the fear of too much outcome, and falling out of love due to pressure.

“In situations like these, don’t focus too much on the outcome. Rather, ask yourself: ‘is this really what I want?’ Master the art of winning, losing, and learning. You’re never 100% ready. But be that person who strives, perseveres, motivates, and inspires” she concluded.

The Transformative Leader

Following Lozada, Councilor Camposagrado imparted his wisdom with regards to how one can inspire and rally others under a shared vision through transformational leadership. The Honorable Camposagrado argued that in the youth’s fervent desire to change the world and make an impact, there is a need not for mere leadership but for transformational leadership. The main goal of transformational leadership, according to him, is to provide people with the opportunity to dream- especially in the contemporary age when doing so seems too problematic and expensive.

Quoting John Quincy Adams, he encapsulated that “if your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and be more, you are a leader”.

The young councilor from Tigbauan offered three I’s that transformational leaders can do to accomplish their dreams for society: the first being influence, second inspirational motivation, and third, intellectual stimulation.

“Walk the talk. Work hard. Be a role mode. Be ethical. Inspire. And emphasize a common mission. That is how you influence in a nutshell. That is how you become the ideal role model. You win trust through actions. But beyond that, you need to also prioritize your followers’ needs above your own” he said.

Camposagrado also added the need to develop a promising and consistent vision with captivating stories and emotional appeals in order to provide inspirational motivation for one’s followers to work harder. Finally, he proposed an equation of mentoring, encouragement of creativity and “outside the box atmosphere”, tolerance of mistakes and failures, and calculated risks as the formula for intellectual stimulation.

“Nagmahal ka na ba?” he suddenly asked, earning a barrage of giggles and teases from the audience “a key to a better relationship is better communication. Transformational leaders need good relationship with their constituents with better communication”

He encouraged youth leaders to avoid barriers in communication through getting to know their people, their respective backgrounds, and their experiences more. He emphasized the need for transformational leaders to understand the gap of knowledge between those have the means to access legitimate information and those who have not.

The young government leader also shared some concrete actions that he had accomplished as a transformational leader including his personal advocacy of the war against single-use plastics which inspired him to spearhead the movement “EstrawngHeroes” which sought to curb the use of plastic straws. Among his other accomplishments included Ati (aeta) empowerment, the Tigbauan Environmental Academy (which seeks to expose young people to locally-produced alternatives to single-use plastics), and “Kawsa ta Suga ta” (which empowers women in households with inadequate energy to switch to renewable energy).

“Leaving a legacy is not about preserving one’s name. It is communicating change in the community. Communicating change is communicating empowerment and transformation” he said.

The good, the bad, and conversion

Ms. Ador divides her story to two parts: the good and the bad. Since pre-school she was always top of her class, an academic achiever, competitive, and graduated valedictorian in both elementary and high school and Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.

However, life was not a bed of roses for her. At three years old, she was sexually molested by blood relatives. That event broke her and made her feel as if something was taken away from her, leaving a gaping hole needed to fill in.

“Although my parents were the most loving people that I know in the world, their parental love did not seem enough to fill that gaping hole inside me. Perhaps, that was my motive for being an achiever- I wanted to compete to prove something to myself, to fill that gaping hole, to please people, to gain attention” she shared.

This paved the way to an existential crisis where she was left questioning “without my talents, without my achievements, without my ambitions, what am I?” Eventually she became suicidal, started practicing self-harm because nothing seems to fulfil her. One day, in the midnight of her despair, she asked God for a sign which would be answered in the form of a Bible.

“Reading the scriptures made me realize that God is not just love: He is also just, holy, pure, and perfect. God will make things whole for those who repent” she said.

She added that it is the above-mentioned realization in her search for something to fill in the gaping hole that she felt which led her to the truth that balances all things and the world. She ended her segment by serenading the crowd with the song “In Christ Alone”.

In the succeeding open forum and talk show segment, the speakers further elucidated their takes on salient questions from Ms. Pomida and the audiences.

“When I received my [TOSIA] award, I asked: ‘what’s next?’ TOSIA reminded me to be grounded in spite of being an awardee. You have to be yourself. You [addressing the audience] are all outstanding in your own way. Keep on doing what you’re doing” was Ms. Lozada’s answer to Ms. Pomida’s enquiry with regards to how TOSIA shaped her life.

When asked how she would define “outstanding” Ms. Ador said that being outstanding is simply not limited to self-development. Rather, the totality of being outstanding is measured in making an impact on others by being the best version of one’s self.

“TOSIA does not demand you to be another person, it asks you to be the best version of yourself” she said.

Meanwhile, the Honorable Camposagrado proffered a three-pronged action on government, community, and individual scale that can be taken with regards to the gulf in knowledge between the higher and lower ranks of the economic hierarchy.

“The government has the responsibility of instituting ordinances in response to safeguarding information. As for the community, there ought to be a widening of the breadth of informed voters. Those who have access to knowledge and information must communicate more with those who don’t. But they must also be sensitive enough not to be too aggressive. The same goes for the individual. Discern with the information that you have, and try to be understanding with other people in your communication” he said.

When asked of the one word that they want their audiences to remember, Ms. Lozada proffered “Greatness”, Ms. Ador “Grace”, and the Honorable Camposagrado “Community”.

Mr. Eleazar Danila, chairman of TOSIA Talks gave the closing remarks, summarizing the events’ message as a call to inspire meaningful impact in society- a call to action, to model the way, to create a common vision, and to encourage the heart.