JGSOM
Welcomes Its SOMstruck Freshmen 2004
Nate
Dy-Liacco (4 BS MCT)
Last
June 8, the JGSOM freshmen were treated to a warm and exciting welcome
into the JGSOM community at SOMstruck, the second JGSOM Freshmen
Orientation Night. The event, which was a collaborative effort between the
JGSOM and the four accredited JGSOM BOA orgs – ACTM, AMA, LEX and MEA
– was held at a packed Henry Lee Irwin Theater. It was intentionally
held that evening to coincide with the campus-wide Freshmen Orientation
Seminar (OrSem), the three-day annual welcoming activity for the
university's newest members, which was held this year from June 7 to 9,
2004.
While
the purpose of the OrSem is to introduce the freshmen to the Ateneo as a
whole, the objective of the JGSOM Freshmen Orientation Night is
specifically to familiarize the freshmen to the JGSOM, their home college
in the Loyola Schools, as well as to the faculty and course offerings of
the JGSOM, JGSOM life, culture, rules and regulations. In fact, of the
four colleges that constitute the Loyola Schools, only the JGSOM holds a
separate welcoming ceremony for its freshmen.
This
year, the JGSOM Freshmen Orientation Night was entitled SOMstruck because
the JGSOM wants to send the message to its freshmen that though life in
the JGSOM may seem tough, its graduates become successful in their chosen
field of endeavor – be it entrepreneurship, corporate life, government
and public service, law, sports, or even show business. And that's
because of the kind of training that the JGSOM provides to its students.
Indeed,
success was the overall theme of the program, as Dean Rudy Ang began the
orientation with an inspirational talk, giving the freshmen a quick but
concise run-through of the application and acceptance processes into the
JGSOM. Dean Ang mentioned that although this is the biggest batch of
freshmen that the JGSOM has ever accepted, it also seems to be the
brightest and most promising so far. In the same talk, he also tackled the
JGSOM's thrust toward entrepreneurship, as well as its newest projects,
such as the Junior Term Abroad (JTA) and the JGSOM Business Accelerator (JGSOM-BA)
programs.
After
Dean Ang's opening message, the heads of the four academic departments
of the JGSOM – Dr. Venus Ibarra (Finance and Accounting), Mr. Ricardo
Mercado (Leadership and Strategy), Ms. Anna Mendiola (Marketing and Law),
and 
Mr.
Angelo Tanchoco (Quantitative Methods and Information Technology) – gave
short talks and audiovisual presentations, to further familiarize the
freshmen with what the JGSOM expects of them, and, in turn, what they can
expect from the JGSOM.
In
keeping with the evening's theme of success, distinguished JGSOM
students and alumni, who are successful in their chosen fields of
endeavor, graced the event. Fr. Ari Dy, S.J., a BS Management-Honors
graduate, delivered the invocation. Hosting the event was Salie Acupan, a
Myx VJ and BS ME graduate. Segment co-hosts were Ateneo Blue Eagle and BS
ME sophomore Chris Tiu, print/ramp model, Studio 23 VJ and BS MCT graduate
Audrey Tan, and 2003 Bar Examinations 2nd placer Atty. Harvey Lawrence
Dychiao, a BS LM graduate.
Not
to be outdone, the guest performers were also all talented JGSOM students
– and even faculty. During the intermission number between the
departmental talks, gifted guitarist and singer Migs Escueta, a BS MCT
junior, rendered two acoustic songs, which left the freshmen cheering for
"more". For their part, the Company of Ateneo Dancers (CADS), under
the leadership of Mr. Alf Sanchez, a BS ME graduate and an instructor at
the QMIT Department, presented two dance numbers – one to open the
event, and the other one to start the show proper. The latter number was a
skit/dance about the controversial "dress code" unique to the 
JGSOM.
Needless to say, it elicited laughter from the audience, and even Dean Ang
himself, who is one of those who initiated the efforts of coming up with a
dress code for the JGSOM. The night ended with a rousing rendition of the
theme song from the Disney movie Hercules, "Go The Distance" – a
favorite song of the Dean – by four talented JGSOM juniors: Michelle
Ferriols (BS LM), Karl Villuga (BS Mgt and a member of the Akafellas),
Marianne Delantar (BS Mgt) and Jake Fragada (BS MCT). Although this moving
finale ended the event, without a doubt it also inspired the freshmen and
started them on the right track in their four-year journey in and with the
JGSOM.