The Ateneo Way

I've been exposed to Atenean culture for the past three days and so far, I'm not regretting my decision. Sometimes, I still think about what my life could have been if I chose UP Diliman, Manila or La Salle. These thoughts are processed unconsciously whenever I hear about experiences of my friends in those schools. It seemed a week ago that I may have been missing a lot. But a few days into my new life as part of the Ateneo, I'd tell them that as well.

Many people ask me why I chose Ateneo. My parents would often jokingly answer that question with "mas mahal kasi tuition dun e, para mas sulit ang scholarship :p", because I'm not sure I've explained my decision well enough to them. It's really complicated and no single reason is strong enough to stand alone.

I'll start with the wrong reasons people often use to explain this. No, I am not from Ateneo Grade School. No, my brother is not from Ateneo Grade School. No, my parents did not graduate from the Ateneo. It seems Ateneo, or college in general, is seen as a family tradition, with the choice of school as hereditary. Though I plan to "aggresively persuade" my children to study in Pisay, I will still give them a choice, just as my parents have always given me a choice.

No, I was not forced by my parents, because on the contrary, my mom had some other school in mind for me while my dad remained neutral about the matter. It's a great feeling to be trusted with one of the most important decisions of anyone's life.

No, I did not go to Ateneo because we're rich. ANLABO NITO. The only reason Ateneo was in the choices was because I got a scholarship. Thus, this proves that I do not fit in the usual perceived social class of people in the Ateneo.

I originally did not want to have to decide something as important as this. But as many have pointed out and I've been made to realize myself, God gave me the power to choose, unlike most who were forced to one school or one course because there were no other options. It was a blessing in many ways but perhaps the most important is that it was training on trusting yourself when you know that God Himself trusts you to make the decision. It's both empowering and assuring. The implication is that whatever I choose, God would be with me. :D

I did not really imagine myself enrolling in Chemistry/ Material Science Engineering prior to the Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar. I must admit that it was one of the biggest influences on why I chose Ateneo. As someone pointed out, I could have simply fallen into a marketing trick, showing the best of what it has to offer but hiding its worse features. But still stand by this statement: Ateneo is so much like Pisay.

Other considerations I had included the versatility of the course, employment opportunities and an opportunity for holistic development and leadership training. One thing that I really wanted was Catholic education. Though I must admit, I grew in my faith during the time I was away from the rigid religion class, I feel now I am ready to appreciate what I will be taught in theology classes. Though as people say, I could continue to grow in my faith even without theology, I believe a combination of service and study would allow me to see God in a wider perspective. As Jason pointed out in one conversation today, we choose something because we think we will find happiness there. As I have pointed out in earlier posts, true happiness is that which springs from an eternal meaning, which is God. I am extremely confident I will find more of God at the Ateneo (building upon what I found out about Him in Pisay). Not that I would not find Him in any other place but connected to what I said earlier, choosing this school is in fact trusting that He would be with me wherever I choose. This is the choice I made and I'm sure I will know more about Him in this newest journey of my life.

So that's the basic explanation. Haha. I tried an objective approach to this by making a list of categories and giving points per category. It wasn't really helpful because at one time, the scores for the two choices, Intarmed and Chem/MSE, were tied!

The three days at the Ateneo has given me a very surprising impression. Haha. It seems Ateneo has one stark difference with Pisay: it is not people-based! I have yet to understand the inner workings of the Atenean society but so far, this has been my impression. The most compelling evidence is that Ateneo seems to have translated in actual rules and written guidelines many of what may seem to be unwritten traditions in the university setting. Imagine having a Magna Carta of Student Rights and a whole talk on how to relate to teachers. Plus the fact that there will be one whole class on Ateneo Culture for the rest of the sem! Grabe. I suppose this is why most graduates of the Ateneo share a common impression of the whole experience. This is very different from what I hear from UP graduates who seem to have a different story to tell about their experience. Learning about UP culture is more of based on experience unlike the rigid structure of learning the Ateneo cutlure.

But come to think of it, Ateneo is people-based in a strange way. From my observations, it seems the people-based system has been deliberately encoded in the rule-based structure of the Ateneo. This is most evident in the way the enrollment and the Orsem have been mostly handled (efficiently!) by the students. The student organizations at the Ateneo seem to have a certain degree of autonomy but always within the minimum framework set by the school. This freedom seems to be enough to allow for the development of ingenuity, ability to adapt and innovation.

And I have to applaud the efficiency of the way they do things at the Ateneo. I know in real life this will rarely happen, but at least I have experienced what government should aim to achieve.

I am really looking forward to the five years I will spend at the Ateneo. :D