By AJ Alarcon

On Wednesday, September 10, the Assembly of Class Officers (ACO) conducted the Strand Vice Chairperson Elections (SVCE) Leadership Orientation (LeadOr) in the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) Main Building to guide Grade 11 students in deciding whether to pursue candidacy for the Strand Vice Chairperson (SVC) position.

Held from 4:10 PM to 5:15 PM, the program featured four discussions led by former SVCs from School Year (SY) 2024–2025, along with leadership-themed riddles.

Lead On

Earvin Sangalang, former SVC for the Accountancy, Business, and Management (ABM) strand, opened the orientation with a talk on the roles and responsibilities of an SVC. 

He emphasized the importance of community trust, saying, “You’re not just running for the position — you’re running for the people.”

Moreover, the former SVC for the General Academic (GA) strand Enie Belza, followed with a discussion on “What to Do as a Strand Vice Chair.” 

There, she highlighted the many leadership opportunities in Ateneo, encouraging aspirants to not hesitate in applying.

Furthermore, Axel Recla, former SVC for the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand, discussed “What Not to Do as a Strand Vice Chair.” 

During the task, he advised students not to cram campaign requirements and neglect academic responsibilities once elected.

Lastly, former Humanities and Social Sciences (HumSS) SVC Lexi Inocencio shared advice and experiences from her term.

She urged aspirants to stay informed of the election processes, suggesting the use of previously published materials from the ASHS Commission on Elections (ComElec) as references for campaign planning.

In an interview, ACO Vice President Kriztine Estillore reminded aspirants to remain authentic throughout the election process. 

“You need to be true when it comes to projecting yourself, to marketing yourself to your constituents, so that you can also show them the values that we truly share and the projects you really want to implement,” she said. 

“You really need to be 100% sure in everything that you do in the whole process,” Estillore added.

Further details on candidacy requirements and deadlines will be released by the ASHS ComElec in the coming days.