Nov 28, 20224 min read

Team Spirit, Summoned!

Written by Nicola Franchesca C. Tapan

Thank you Pubmat by Aubrey P. Rodriguez

"𝐈𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟" – Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company.

𝐅𝐫𝐢-𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 was this year’s team building title, with the goal to bridge the gap between people that was vitiated and were stipulated to isolation due to COVID-19. With almost three years of virtual learning and seminars (webinars), we are now progressively transitioning back to a personal setting; hence, making this the first face-to-face event hosted by JPMAP-PLM in the Pamantasan in a while. This year’s theme, which has a hint of Halloween to it, symbolizes the metaphorical resurrection of the sociable and cordial traits that are often dormant in most people.

The one-day program was divided into two sessions, held in the morning and afternoon at Justo Albert Auditorium and Tanghalan Bayan, respectively.

The event’s registration opened at 9:00 AM, and an opening prayer was held at 10:00 AM to officially begin the program. The morning session’s moderators, 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐧 (Chairperson for Events and Membership) and 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐚𝐜 (Committee Officer for Events and Membership) then introduced 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨 𝐂. 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐞 for his opening remarks in which he expressed his happiness since there was finally a face-to-face event and welcomed the HROM students of the Pamantasan.

The JPMAP-PLM was grateful to be able to invite 𝐌𝐫. 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐁. 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐬 𝐈𝐈, 𝐉𝐃 as the keynote speaker in order to intellectually bolster and expand the knowledge of the future people leaders. Mr. Layos discusses the basic principles of Leadership, Culture, and Power. He described leadership as the simple actions or series of consistent acts, as well as the process by which one person influences another to accomplish a shared objective. Mr. Layos then taught the participants the definition of culture and how to memorize it with a mnemonic, “Nood TV Sa Bahay” which equates to Norms, Traditions, Symbols, and Beliefs. And lastly, he encapsulates power as the potential to influence another to do something that he otherwise would not have done without the influence. In summary, Mr. Layos’s intention to impart to HROM students how to be competent and efficient leaders was fulfilled.

The participants were then given a boost with an icebreaker by committee officers for fellowship, wellness, and sports 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐃𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧 and 𝐀𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, which involved an altered version of the well-known children’s game “bring me,” taken in conjunction with an object to be provided by a riddle conundrum. The icebreaker signaled the conclusion of the morning session and provided a taster for the subsequent activities that were organized in the afternoon session.

In the afternoon session, mostly physical coordination and teamwork skills were tested. It was built up of three activities and was moderated by 𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠 (Committee Officer for Research and Publication), 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐳 (Vice President for External Affairs and the Director for Ways and Means), and 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐬 (Auditor and the Director for Fellowship, Wellness, and Sports). The participants were divided into 15 teams that were composed of ten members each.

The first activity entitled, “𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐧𝐭” was a scavenger hunt in which each team had to designate a member who would look for the treasure while wearing a blindfold on the Pamantasan field. A question is being posed in that treasure, and the team that finished the activity the fastest received the highest points. The second activity was a relay race named “𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐬-𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞,” in which all team members were required to compete. The fastest team member to complete the race received the greatest points. Finally, the last activity entitled, “𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧,” where prints of hands and feet were placed on the ground, and each participant had to leap to follow the images until the game was completed.

Following the three exhilarating and rewarding games, the players were surprised by a bonus round in which a number of black buttons were hidden around the Pamantasan, and each black button they discovered would grant them an additional five points, which would be added to their overall score.

As for the awards ceremony, 𝐑𝐞𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐜 was crowned as the best OOTD (Outfit of the Day), while 𝐉𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐳𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧 bagged the team player award, and the best team spirit was awarded to 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟎. However, the revelation of the three activity winners was the event that had all of the participants on their feet. 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝟑 came in third with 106 points, scoring 107.33 points was 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟏 earning them the second spot, and 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝟏𝟑 took first place with 119.70 points!

This year’s team building program was a huge success in igniting both the mental and physical aspects of teamwork. Undoubtedly, the event was productive and successful. The emphasis on teamwork at this year’s 𝐅𝐫𝐢-𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲: 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 has rekindled each HROM’s commitment to collaborative work. No man is an island, as the adage goes, since doing what we love for others as well as ourselves makes life more enjoyable, bearable, and worthwhile; not because there is something to gain, but because there is purity in the hearts of everyone and the willingness to influence others to move forward.