YOUNG ATENEAN LEADERS. The participants of this year's Ignatian Spirituality and Leadership Program of Xavier University gather together for their morning praise. Photo supplied by the Office of Mission and Ministry.

More than a hundred freshmen at Xavier University embarked on a program that aimed to form student leaders from campus organizations to become“leaders of character” guided by Ignatian principles and ideals.

The two-day Ignatian Spirituality and Leadership Program (ISLP) was a flagship program of the Office of Mission and Ministry through the collaborative effort of all the formation units of the university held from Feb 6 to 7 at the Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (Searsolin).

“The program hit me in a way that others choose and believe in my potential of bringing change in my own small ways in our organization,” shared Kenneth Norman O Honculada, an XU chess player and one of the ISLP participants.

The event drew together student organization heads, artists, athletes, block representatives, peer facilitators and volunteers with emerging leadership background.

In one of the sessions, young leaders imparted their personal Ignatian leadership journey and how they live out the Ignatian values and principles in their present work and relationships.

“At least a few people, especially my coach, saw that potential in me and therefore I just can’t turn down the challenge,” Honculada said, adding that “The whole experience paved the way for me to know myself more. It gave me time to reflect, it allowed me to appreciate my skills and capacities, be thankful of how others see me as an individual, and of course also be grateful for my weaknesses and incapacities.”

To deepen the Ignatian spirituality of XU student leaders to create an impact in their organization and to the larger community, ISLP follows a multi-level approach which starts from first year up to the senior year. The first level focuses on the Ignatian core values, development of interpersonal skills (cura personalis) and cultivation of a reflective attitude.

The discussions and speakers at the event included self-leadership by Palanca-winning writer and executive assistant to the XU president Dr Ma Elena Paulma, valuing one self and others by Fr Guillrey Anthony Andal SJ, “Ignatian Spirituality: Why we do what we do” by Fr Neupito Saicon Jr SJ, and cura personalis in the life of St Ignatius Loyola by Ma Flerida Nery.

“I think it is an act of a true leader, being the one to step up, being the spark and inspiration to others, to touch people’s lives, being the engine to drive others in building dreams, and most especially, to see other people’s potential of becoming leaders themselves,” Honculada related.

“To simply put the whole essence of my experience: in order to contribute to change, I first have to step up and be the change.”

XU’s ISLP forms part of St Ignatius’ legacy as an extensive mission of the educational network of 189 Jesuit institutions of higher learning globally.