IN NAVIGATING THE unfamiliar terrains of university life, freshmen often rely on a leadership figure who can relay their collective concerns and amplify their voices. The responsibilities of a First-Year Level Representative of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) are no easy feat. Despite being among those still figuring out their new college environments, the individual who assumes the role of such must be equipped with the right skills to ensure that they are fit for the position.
But what exactly does it mean to be the freshmen’s representative? The Bedan sought answers from those who have walked down such paths during their freshmen year.
A page from the leadership skills checklist
For Beige Benedict Campbell, former CAS Student Council (SC) First-year Representative during academic year 2023 to 2024, the students must look for a candidate who is “dependable or accountable.”
He furthered that such a candidate must be “…high-minded enough to have a purpose; a leader who will take sufficient time and attention to listen and who fully appreciates and communicates their desires, along with the interests of others, and not forget to really regard their welfare.”
On the other hand, Akiah Loveigne Agbanlog, the first-year Representative last academic year 2024-2025, remarked that one must be “very approachable” to take on the role.
“…[Y]ou [should] have that welcoming aura na everyone will really look forward to talking to you or to asking for your guidance or your help in things that they might need,” she explained.
Representing with a purpose
Campbell explained that a batch representative “serves as the medium” through which the SC communicates and attends to the needs, concerns and suggestions of the students. They are tasked with being the bridge between the newcomers and the larger part of the SC.
Agbanlog also mentioned that their primary duty is to answer the freshmen’s queries, along with implementing their platforms and projects, signifying that their job is to “make their life easier in San Beda University.”
Aside from the usual dissemination of announcements and advisories, she also explained that the first-year representative is also tasked with representing freshmen in situations where Board of Discipline cases may arise.
“You’re gonna lawyer them because you’re gonna be there as their representative and as someone who will listen to their case,” she said.
Move it forward
Once unified through their former positions, both Campbell and Agbanlog imparted some of their platforms that they wished their predecessor would continue on for this ongoing academic year.
Campbell hopes that his Adulting 101 Seminar will live on, as he believes it to be essential in developing and preparing young individuals, such as the freshmen, in handling the obligations that come with their adulthood beginnings.
Agbanlog, in emphasizing the aspect of attending to the students’ needs, wishes that the new first-year representative would prioritize the implementation of adding more available gadgets in the Information and Media Center (IMC), for the students’ perusal.
She established its significance by explaining that “…Not everyone has a secondary device that they might use, which leads them sometimes to failing the subject or not being able to take the test.”
Regardless of which political parties the candidates may come from, upholding these duties with utmost diligence precedes more than just a mere obligation. It is a testament to committing to the development of a transparent and trustworthy way of student governance.
A candidate, after winning, becomes unclothed of their political color, and starts operating under the banner of Red and White, in service not of oneself, but of the Bedan community.
As true change takes more than just a single term, what students must seek is a leader willing to set aside their own interests, implementing platforms and projects meant to be carried forward in the spirit of service that transcends beyond terms.
(with reports from Paris Isaac Falcone)