I stepped into the organization a lost soul. I lacked direction. Having been a student leader for many years, I knew I found joy in leadership – to be able to create lasting impact to people and take pride on the thought, “Yeah. We did that.” Unfortunately, good things do come to an end and leaving the university created a hole, which I fully understood at the time, given that I needed to focus on other matters – specifically, my career.
Reality after graduating was a whole other beast of a journey in itself; not only did I needed to figure out what I wanted to do, I also needed to understand who I was. Who do I want to be? What now? I was facing so many questions yet only tackling them in the scope of this small world that I was limiting myself in over the years, especially over the pandemic, by merely focusing on my job.
But as good things come to an end, so do bad things apparently. The pandemic ended and it gave me more than enough time to re-evaluate where I was at. Ironically, the career that I had been building this whole time isn’t the career I now envision myself to pursue. I found my new passion but I didn’t have direction. I needed guidance.
Then one uneventful day, I messaged my good friend, Treasurer John Chin of JCI Davao, and asked him how I could join the organization. A week later, I was in an OTI where I knew nothing about yet changed the trajectory of my life.
I really only wanted to join just so I could build a network, find mentorship, and learn the skills I needed to start my business, but I achieved more than that. I found my reason to stay. The dull life of just working and playing video games changed into an eventful life of meeting lots of new people, learning social and leadership skills, and, most importantly, making an impact on peoples’ lives. This was so much more than I ever expected.
I co-chaired my first project a month in after joining the chapter. I joined core teams for 4 other projects. I chaired 4 Onto’s, which is handling the delegation for participating JCI Events outside Davao, including NatCon 2024 held at Clark. I also worked on Logistics for Midyear Academy 2024 which was stressful as hell since we were basically a small team welcoming around a hundred or more Presidents coming from all over the Philippines into Davao City and providing them transportation. But despite the stress, I really enjoyed all of it. My Baby Jaycee year was nothing short of amazing and this outstanding amount of growth, also, wouldn’t be possible without the wisdom
and passion of VP Anton Kintanar and the leadership of Pres Carlo Franco Santos. They both made me feel like an equal and that I belonged in this brotherhood.
The joy I felt all those years ago—it’s back. Leadership has found its way back to me.
The joy I felt all those years ago, it’s back. Leadership has found its way back to me, simply by putting myself in an area of opportunity that is JCI Davao. What a gift it is to be able to build your passion, while creating positive change.
I have reignited my flame.
