ALGCIT DORM 1. Xavier Ateneo holds the topping off ceremony for the first ALGCIT scholars' dormitory on Saturday, April 7. From left to right: TESDA OIC provincial director Gerry Quiblat, Xavier Ateneo VP for administration Edison Sasoy, Archt Apolonio Cruz of Aidea, SP Castro Inc director Pinky Castro-Roxas, Xavier Ateneo president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, Filinvest Development Corporation Utilities Inc president and chief executive officer Juan Eugenio L Roxas, and Xavier Ateneo Board of Trustees chairman Francisco Guerra.
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines — Xavier Ateneo had a topping off ceremony for the university’s newest building that will serve as the residence of the inaugural 160 scholars of the Andrew L Gotianun Sr Center for Integrated Technologies (ALGCIT) Senior High School.
The event was held on Saturday morning, April 7 (on the birthday of St Francis Xavier, the university's patron saint), at the Manresa Farm Complex, where the dorm is located.
In his message, Xavier Ateneo president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ expressed his gratitude to the Gotianun family for their generous donation of building a new school for the poor.
“When I first heard about the Gotianun proposal, my initial reaction was that 'it sounds too good to be true,'” Yap recalled. “In June 2016, I was called by the Gotianun family and in our first meeting at their head office in Bonifacio Global City, they said that they wanted to build a tech-voc senior high for the poor but deserving students. ... It was really a pleasant surprise. Then ALGCIT came about. Truly, our God is the God of Surprises.”
Part of providing ALGCIT scholars with proper skill-training and quality education is the dormitory where they will be accommodated for the three-year program. The first two years will be allotted for academics and coursework, while the third year will be for their industry internship.
Most of these scholars are students who are willing to learn but don’t have the means to as they come from financially-challenged families. The scholars are carefully selected and screened by the Admissions and Aid Office.
XU's VP for basic education Dr Dulce Dawang also expressed her gratitude to the Gotianun family: "Allow us to thank again the generosity and benevolence of the Gotianuns who are funding this tremendous project we call the ALGCIT, with the aim of helping poor and deserving students get the quality education in a technical-vocational senior high school. This will eventually prepare them for life skills and help them provide for themselves with negosyo (business) and/or trabaho (employment)."
"This project has also challenged the university to rethink the concept of its SHS Tech-Voc track and catalyze its transformation to become a premier Tech-Voc Senior High School," Dawang added.
XAVIER ATENEO LEADER. Xavier Ateneo president Fr Roberto C Yap SJ welcomes the guests at the ALGCIT Dorm 1 topping off ceremony on Saturday, April 7.
“This building that we are topping off today is really the heart of ALGCIT,” Yap said. “It’s where most of the key character formation and values education — the hallmark of Jesuit education — will happen for our ALGCIT scholars.”
He shared that though running a technical-vocational school is uncommon among Jesuit academic institutions, this is a challenge and opportunity for Xavier Ateneo to help develop the tech-voc industry in the country, particularly in Mindanao, and to help accomplish the dream of the Gotianun family, who were also educated in Jesuit schools and universities.
“They had many qualities that they said the school has to be,” Yap said. “First, that it will be a tech-voc senior high, where the graduates should be ready to work right away after graduation, to be employment-ready. Second, it has to be a full scholarship. ... Third, that ALGCIT will be a residential program, where we will provide not just academic support in the dormitories, like study periods and tutorials, we will also provide a strong character formation or values education.”
The first cohort of ALGCIT scholars will be composed of 160 students from various areas of Northern Mindanao and neighboring regions.
“We are excited to welcome our first batch of ALGCIT scholars next month as they will engage in a three-week summer enrichment program,” Xavier Ateneo SHS principal Dr Rogelio Gawahan said.
On behalf of Filinvest Development Corporation chairman Jonathan T Gotianun and the Andrew Gotianun Sr Foundation, Juan Eugenio L Roxas, president and chief executive officer of FDC Utilities Inc (a Gotianun company), graced the topping off ceremony. Guests in attendance also included representatives from the public and private sectors.
The first ALGCIT dorm is expected to be completed on May 31 in time for the opening of classes for AY2018-2019. The construction of two other dorms will follow.
Xavier Ateneo's Advancement Office also launched at the same event the "ALGCIT Facilities Naming Rights Program" with the purpose of building long-term partnerships with different organizations and individuals. Under the naming rights program, the facilities (such as the dining hall, study rooms, dorm rooms, and laboratories, among others) will be named after the donors or a dedication of their own choosing.
Based on its program background, the ALGCIT Senior High School features (1) quality instruction and learning environment, (2) intensive Jesuit-Ateneo formation, and (3) an extended academic, community, and on-the-job experience. Tuition, matriculation, board & lodging, books, uniforms, and other school fees are all covered by this scholarship.∎
ALGCIT DORMS. Simulated aerial view of the three ALGCIT dorms, courtesy of Aidea Inc.
DORM LIFE. Xavier Ateneo Board of Trustees chairman Francisco "Frank" Guerra III recalls his college dorm life in his message during the topping off ceremony for the first ALGCIT dorm. He says: "[The dorm] is where you will learn what it's like to live with other people who are different for us, with different opinions, from different cultures, and of different backgrounds. The interaction is going to be tremendous. This is why it's such a meaningful occasion to start our journey with a dormitory."
GENEROUS SCHOLARSHIP. In her message, Xavier Ateneo VP for basic education Dr Dulce Dawang thanks the Gotianun family for building the ALGCIT at Xavier Ateneo and for helping in the development of tech-voc education and industry through this generous scholarship.
ALGCIT SCHOLARS. Xavier Ateneo Senior High School principal Dr Rogelio Gawahan says, “We are excited to welcome our first batch of ALGCIT scholars next month as they will engage in a three-week summer enrichment program."
NAMING RIGHTS. Xavier Ateneo Advancement Office director Rodelo Andrew Reyes leads the launching of the "ALGCIT Facilities Naming Rights Program" with the purpose of building long-term partnerships with different organizations and individuals. Under the naming rights program, the facilities (such as the dining hall, study rooms, dorm rooms, and laboratories, among others) will be named after the donors or a dedication of their own choosing.