THE HERO can be the person beside you.
Cable News Network (CNN) Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida encouraged some 100 Thomasian student leaders to share their lives to others by being a hero in their own simple ways at the fourth Thomasian Leaders’ Congress last February 5.
Peñaflorida stressed the need for “compassion in action,” and challenged student leaders to use their God-given talents and skills to help others.
“There is no need to go outside. No need to go to another place. You can be a hero to the person beside you,” said Peñaflorida, who leads the Dynamic Teen Co., the team that pioneered the “kariton klasrum” project that brings education to streetchildren in Cavite. The project won him the title “Hero of the Year” from CNN last year.
He cited the congress’ venue, the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex as an example, saying students needed to begin at places closest to them, such as by helping clean the building.
“Begin from what is within your reach and unleash the hero in you,” he added.
Lorelei Fajardo, presidential assistant for Central Luzon, told the audience they are not only leaders of the University, but the future leaders of the country and even the world.
“The youth’s horizons are so global, [that] they have the potential to influence change and events far beyond our immediate communities,” Fajardo said.
Fajardo, former presidential spokesperson and alumna of UST High School, said the University has fulfilled its task of molding the youth for the future.
“The faculties here take pride in instilling in their students the ethics of hard work, dedication to God and country, and compassion for those in need, and that these values bind every UST student and alumnus,” she said.
Fajardo called on students to use the upcoming elections to elect responsible leaders for the country.
“You have the potential to address poverty, violence, drug abuse and unemployment, health care and education, and you also have the tools to realize these potentials,” she said.
The Thomasian Leaders’ Congress, held from February 5 to 6, gathered student leaders to discuss the role of the youth in nation-building.
It was attended by University student leaders like Central Student Council president Jeanne Luz Castillo, Student Organizations Coordinating Council president Maria Cecilia Cruz, and Varsitarian editor in chief Emil Karlo de la Cruz. Jilly Anne A. Bulauan
