Reading And Writing (p.t)

READING AND WRITING G13 ENGADA, Von Regina Franchesca T.

February 21, 2019

11 – STEM

Ms. Alma B. Alpay

STUDENT CONGRESS 2019

Student Congress is an annual event of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines or CEAP-NCR Basic Education Commission. This event is dedicated to the school leaders of different basic education schools in the Philippines. And this year, I was lucky enough to be part of the said event because the school gave me the opportunity to attend and be able to learn new things that I can share to my peers and schoolmates. Last February 2, 2019, I was at the De La Salle Santiago Zobel (DLSZ) to attend the 2019 Student Congress of CEAP-NCR with the theme “You are the BELOVED: A Journey Towards the Fullness of Life.” I was with the school’s student activity coordinator, Ms. Jobelle Santelices, along with the two junior high school students. Our call time was seven in the morning and the time of registration for the event was half past seven. We left the school exactly seven in morning and luckily, we arrived before half past seven. The travel time from the school to DLSZ was fast since there was no traffic and after registering, we walked around DLSZ since one of student that is with us was a former student of DLSZ. After the mini-school tour, we went to the Sylvia P. Lina Theater, where the whole event will take place. Since the event is headed by a Catholic association, the event started with a mass. It was followed by the welcome message of De La Salle Santiago Zobel’s School President, Br. Bernard S. Oca FSC and an introduction about the event by the Lasallian Formation and Mission Department Director, Ms. Evangeline de Peralta. After the introduction, we were given a 30minute break. By the time the clock ticks 10 o’ clock, we went back to where the event took place and began the panel discussion with the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation President, Mrs. Jean Goulbourn, Head of Medical Services and Outreach Programs, Dr. John A. Reyes, M.D., and Psychiatrist Occupational Medicine, Dr. Ronaldo G. Elepano III, M.D. The topic of the panel discussion was very interesting and in time to what the society, especially teens, are facing today which is problems in mental health. One of the things that made the talk interesting is how the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation was born. Based on Mrs. Jean Goulborn, the name ‘Natasha’ is her daughter’s name. She told us that the reason the foundation was born was because her daughter,

Natasha, committed suicide due to mental issues, specifically depression. She said that her daughter was depressed, and she wasn’t able to pay attention to what her daughter was feeling. Thus, her daughter committed suicide and led her to build the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation to help the people especially the teens who are suffering from mental health issues. After Mrs. Goulbourn’s talk, the two doctors, who are also part of the Natasha Goulborn Foundation, gave us advices, tips, symptoms, and prevention to depression. After the panel discussion, we were given a 45-minute break to eat our lunch. After our break, we went to the lobby of the theater and we were asked to pick one out of eight concurrent sessions. The topics of the concurrent sessions are as follows: Struggling from parents’ challenges as a couple; Struggling from parent’s expectations related to academic life; Struggling from a loss of a loved one; Struggling from substance use; Challenges in handling romantic relationships; Challenges related to peer pressure; Challenges related to family resources and; Challenges related to sexual issues. Among the eight concurrent sessions, I chose second one which is struggling from parent’s expectations related to academic life. During the session, a lot processed through my mind. I realized and learned lots of things from the speaker. I was able to understand why parents expects a lot to his or her child when it comes to academics and I was able to learn that we should have the strength to talk to our parents regarding this issue in a nice and kind way. I also learned that in life, God is always with us and that we can talk to Him if we are struggling to this kind of problem because He is like our parents who knows what is best for us. As the session ended, we were given snacks on our way back to the Sylvia P. Lina Theater and began with synthesis and integration by Dr. Michelle Alignay, Registered Psychologist and a Doctor in Family Studies. In her talk, she summarizes what was taught and shared in the panel discussion and in the eight concurrent sessions. The short synthesis was followed by the last part of event which was praise and worship by Mr. and Mrs. Capucion. The praise and worship part were full of joy and love for God, we all sang our hearts out for God and praised Him for what He has done and given to us here on earth. After the praising and worshipping God, Mr. Jose Ramelle E. Javier, Chairman of CEAP-NCR Basic Education Commission gave his closing message and then, we all went home. On the way home, I realized a lot of things and I felt ecstatic as I was given an opportunity to attend this kind of event wherein, I was able to learn a lot and could help the people who are suffering from mental health problems. I am extremely grateful and thankful to the school for giving me an opportunity to attend the 2019 Student Congress and hopefully, I could attend to another event like this.