Who is the chief driving force behind the new but smoothly running wheels of our freshly accredited org? Meet Luigi Onglao, proudly clad in his AECES shirt on the day of this interview.

            Being the AECES president is definitely no easy job.  AECES’ Big Boss says he has three main roles: macromanaging the organization’s operations, guiding AECES in achieving its goals and providing direction to the org’s endeavors.  He has also taken it to himself to boost the morale of every member in the quest for AECES’ greater development.  “I desire to be proud of my org,” he declares.

            This desire had driven him to run for the prestigious yet rolled-up-sleeves-for-work position of President, along with his zealous want to help others, the aid of his past experiences with different orgs and his many capabilities which make him truly fit for the job. He admits that it was only in the latter part of his college years that he became an active AECES member, thus serving as a living reminder for all of us that it is never too late for us to get actively involved with our home org.

            Luigi has many things up his AECES sleeves. He plans to strengthen the org’s spiritual roots (o diba, holistic? J).  He also wants to develop the project-head system further to ensure membership empowerment and participation for more efficient implementation and management of quality projects. “Hindi lang basta-basta project, dapat may dahilan kung bakit gagawin” he asserts.

            When asked if what animal would he choose to be, he wonders aloud “Teka, ano bang animal ang matakaw?...Ah, ayun pig! Kasi puro kain at tulog.”

            And have you ever wondered what part of a circuit would he choose to be?  Luigi states “I choose to be a humble wire, connecting the members, departments and projects.”

            Awwww…pang president nga! Cheers for our Big Boss!

           “Para sa mga walang pera, kuripot, at tinatamad maghanap ng libro…” runs the catchy subject heading of e-mail ads for the AECES Book Referrals. The culprit? Raisa Ante (IV – BS ECE), the new and bubbly VP for Acads for SY 2006-07, has been indeed caught red-handed. This previousdoes not regret shifting to ECE at all. In fact, she even finds time to help students in need of academic help. “I enjoy it!” comments Raisa enthusiastically.

            Currently, Raisa Ante aims on improving the service provided for by the academic department of the newly accredited AECES (Hurray! Kudos to the team!). Aside from the Tutorials and the Book Referrals, the Acads Department is gearing up for the launching of the ECE Survival CD and Sample Test Drive.

            “The ECE Survival CD will contain 6-7 programs that you will eventually need such as Electronics Workbench, Graphing Calculator, and SciLab. It will be distributed in the first GA.” (Watch out for that!) The Sample Test Drive, on the other hand, has already been started last year. “It hasn’t gained enough support formerly, but I am hoping that this time around it will push through,” says Raisa with fingers crossed. Included subjects are ELC101-107, PS 14, Ch7 and 8, Ma18-22, EngMa101-103, and EngPs141-143. The project also intends to collect projects from ELC111.

            “The Tutorials and Book Referrals are other projects I’ll be busy with. I really want to help students,” asserts Raisa.

            But wait, before the conversation ends, two questions from yours truly: If you were an animal, what would you choose to be? And…why? “A bird. Why? Because I want to fly.” How about a part of a circuit? “LED. Because I brighten up the room.”

            “Magpasaya ng tao!” beams Clare Dy (IV – BS ECE) and Daryl Gaerlan (IV – BS ECE), as their objective for the SY 2006-07 as VP and AVP for Human Resources, respectively. “But seriously, we want to foster camaraderie and friendship between AECES members,” explains the two. “We’re also concerned with promoting membership and activities for the community,” they continue.

            So far, they have accomplished one task, the Orsem Video, out of five. Remaining are the Christmas Party, Sportsfest, Buddy System and Palarong Pinoy. The last two are the latest additions to the projects that have been done before.

            The Buddy System mainly aims to bridge the gap between the relatively new ECE students (the freshmen and the sophomores) between the juniors, seniors, and superseniors. “Actually, we are meeting on June 28, Wednesday, so that we could finalize the details regarding this project,” says Clare. “To put it simply, it’s the counterpart of the orientees’ TnT in the school’s Orsem. What usually happens is that they eventually lose contact. What we want to achieve here is that it stays all year round, and hopefully throughout the student’s stay,” explains Daryl. “Yes, they can do this by going out but definitely the gimmicks should be wholesome,” adds Clare, with the emphasis on wholesome.

           Palarong Pinoy meanwhile is sort of an outreach program that is tied up with the AECES Week.

           Last year’s VP for Human Resources Mark Abat played a big role on motivating the two to head the department. “Mac influenced me in doing this,” says Clare. “I had fun last year, especially with heading the AECES Raffle with Faye. It was very fulfilling and I definitely want to repeat the experience.” Daryl goes, “I was also encouraged by Mac. Aside from that, I wanted to try it. And now, I discovered that there’s much more to it.”

           But wait, before the conversation ends, two questions from yours truly: If you were an animal, what would you choose to be?  “Mutated lizard turned Godzilla.” Kasi love ko ‘to,” quips Clare. “Snake. Kasi nanunuklaw. J” says Daryl. How about a part of a circuit? “Resistor! You can’t resist me!” says Clare with a laugh. Daryl? “Plug. No comment.”

           Armed with a warm smile, the new VP for External Affairs Faye Janelle Aninipot (IV-BS ECE) greets me hello as I enter the AECES Room (thirty minutes late). When asked about her duties, she answers “Basically, it is the arm dealing with external affairs. Haha! Uhm, to expound, it’s responsible for coordinating with certain organizations in and out of ADMU…companies included,” quips Faye.

            There are four major projects that she’s overseeing this year; Campus Exchange, Company Tours, Company Portfolio, and Alumni Database with the last two as new ones.
            “We want to make the alumni still feel welcome in the AECES Community,” says Faye of the Alumni Database. “On the other hand, the Company Portfolio is also very helpful to those who will need funds for their thesis,” she continues.

            Currently, she is busy coordinating with ECE students from LaSalle for the Campus Exchange. However, they are expecting it to be held on October as it is what their schedule (tri-semester) allows them to. Meanwhile, they are hoping that this time around, UP could make it.

            This former EA core group member was inspired to take on the lead when she found the work interesting and of big help.

            “There are lots of opportunities given by the External Affairs, really. And it’s a chance to get to know other people as well!” says Faye.

            But wait, before the conversation ends, two questions from yours truly: If you were an animal, what would you choose to be? “Tazmanian Devil.” And…why? “Growl!” How about a part of a circuit? “I would like to be the ground. Kasi kahit saan meron, kahit saan kailangan. At hindi siya nakakakuryente.”

            Paperwork anyone?

            Handling the documentation of an org’s every operation could be extremely tedious and wearisome.  But Stephanie Tan, the new VP for Secretariat and Documentation handles it all well with just the right mixture of efficiency and poise, even when under pressure.

            According to her, she has two main roles to fulfill, that of recording/compiling the minutes and documents for meetings and projects, and managing the org’s paperwork.

            At first, she ran for the position of VP because “Wala akong magawa eh,” she quips, “And kung mag-aactive na nga lang sa isang org, eh di sa home org na,” she continues.

            But as time passed, the initial reason of walang magawa soon gave way to deep commitment, as seen in her continuing hard work and improving performance in AECES. 

            Speaking of improvement, this is what she also expects for the org this year.  She hopes for better projects and successful expansion. And “sana dumami rin yung members,” she wistfully says.  Well, the fulfillment of these things certainly won’t be impossible with her, her skills, and ehem, her charm, pushing AECES to the top.

            And what animal would she want to be? “Ayoko maging animal eh,” she giggles.

            Well how about a part of a circuit? “Op-amp, because I amplify operations.”