Aguileons, Soaring and Roaring in the recently concluded Ped Xing VI: ASEAN and the Road Ahead

Recently, our students participated in PED XING VI, a two-day camp (seminar), hosted by UP Political Society and endorsed by the Department of Education as an avenue for high school students to be aware of relevant political, economic and social issues happening or will happen in the coming years. This year’s PED XING Conference, ASEAN and the Road Ahead discussed the relevant issues and future prospects of ASEAN particularly the ASEAN Economic Community as a mechanism to forge the member states into a single market and its possible effects in the coming years. The event featured several competitions such as debate, quiz bee, essay writing and poster making in the aim of providing venues for the application of insights from the talks of scholars and practitioners in the field, as well as to test student knowledge and familiarity on ASEAN, its member nations, and the current issues involving this 10-nation bloc.

Nine of our students participated in the event (five for the competition composed of Jacqueline Louise Cruz (9 Tagore) for the poster making contest, Beatrice Grace Berida (11 Yunus) for essay writing, Aaron Joshua Tan (10 Singh), Samantha Abbygayle Viliran (11 Yunus) and David Ezekiel Asuncion (11 Yunus) for the debate and four as spectators: Charm Jae Garcia (8 King Sejong), Elisha Keith Asuncion (10 LKY), Maria Christina Silvestre (11 Yunus) and Malvin Daniel Ramos (11 Yunus)
The conference showcased three lectures, which discussed the 1.) Overview of ASEAN, its history and achievement as a multilateral organization, 2.) The Philippine Foreign policies concerning ASEAN and our contributions to the organization as a founding member and 3.) The current achievements of ASEAN vis-à-vis its goals and the possible repercussions of regional integration.

As for the competition highlights, 10 institutions composed of private, national and science high schools participated in the event. Most of them came from NCR and Region IV. For the essay writing and poster-making contest, Trisha and Jackie worked on the topic: “How do you envision the future of ASEAN?” Trisha won the first place with an average score of 94% and with a close fight Jackie won the second place in the poster-making contest with an average score of 83.5%. For the debate, the teams worked on 4 motions:

1.) THB that ASEAN countries should enter into an intergovernmental military alliance to ensure peace and security in the region and 2.) THW create an ASEAN parliament in which the students defended the government and opposition side respectively. For the semi-finals the students worked on the opposition side of the motion THB that ASEAN should be disbanded and for the finals round THB proposes the postponement of the ASEAN Economic Community from 2015 to 2025 in which the students defended the government side. The debate team won the 2nd place and Meridian team was the overall champion of the said event.

More than winning and being able to excel in those events, we believe that the highlight of the seminar is the bittersweet stories and experiences that the students faced in the duration of camp:

1. Since it is the first time of the students to compete outside Meridian, particularly the debate team (a SAP-recognized club), the competition served as an avenue for them to gauge their capabilities and reflect on their points of improvement as a student and as a debater. The very first match that they had was with Ateneo High School and this team really challenged and humbled their spirits. Given the presence of an experienced team in the house, the students were really shocked and at the same time challenged on their first defeat. But the good thing about the experience is that they were able to truly assess their leverage as a team and at the same time learn some techniques and manners of delivery to make their speech more effective. They realized the areas that they needed to polish and tighten as a debate team. Who would have thought that the two teams would face each other again in the finals?

2. The event also served as an avenue for Elisha to express her support to his brother. Elisha sent me a message if she could join the event because she’s really curious and she wants to learn.

3. We are able to see that the students’ hunger for learning and seeing the world outside Meridian as they are constantly asking the speakers questions regarding the issue discussed after every talk. And they were able to establish connections with the students from other schools. We also saw the competing team’s ownership in the events and fighting not just for themselves.

4. Meridian as a village was clearly seen in the events as their fellow Meridian students, teachers and their family supported them throughout the event. The students went the extra mile but so did our teachers – particularly Teachers May, Peace, JP, and Janet who were with the students every step of the way. We had less than two weeks to prepare specifically for the event. Nevertheless, it was in the students’ everyday training in school and the perspective that they carry that brought them quite a distance.

5. The students had the positive reaction at a challenging time. If not for their initial defeat at the beginning versus Ateneo, they would probably never learn to step up, to attempt to surpass their limitations and face “Goliath” head on. Some teachers commented that David, Aaron, and Samantha were completely different during the second day. Instead of being discouraged, they came visibly more prepared, more courageous, and more confident. The event also verified Trisha Berida’s superior writing skills (we heard that her essay was the judges’ unanimous choice) and Jacqui Cruz’s visual creativity was again very visible as she competed head to head with the contestant from Mandaluyong Science High School in the poster-making category where she finished a close second.

Combining all the scores of the 10 competing schools in all competitions during the 2-day event, Meridian finished as the highest pointer. Thereby, the team ended the event as the overall champion.

Looking at how the event turned out, we deem it as a positive exposure for the students. We look forward to joining other inter-school competitions and hopefully make it to national and international competitions, as these would really help them in harnessing their skills and talents and at the same time widen their horizons. Of course, this dream will entail more trainings and exposures but seeing the student’s willingness to do it one step at a time, we believe that this will be possible.

It has really been a great time of learning and witnessing God’s providence for the students, as they were able to make it and win and most importantly the stories that were carved in their hearts and God’s promises fulfilled in the course of the seminar. If the debate team did not initially lose to Ateneo during the preliminary rounds of the debate, the outcome could have been very different. Indeed, the Lord wanted to teach something first in the character and hearts of the students.

We know that our students can do so much more. Looking at their eyes, we know that they are not doing this just for themselves. They wanted to represent Meridian as best as they could.

In the end, it remains our hope and prayer that our students truly become excellent trailblazers in their respective fields. But beyond awards and medals, we truly hope that their hearts and character continue to journey – as they mature and gain more experience. Through victory, may they still choose humility. In recognition, may they still choose service. And through journeys, may they run their marathons victoriously as they carry their generation and country with them.

May the Lord be praised.

Thank you for your support and prayers and to God be the glory!