by John Nicolas Olitin (Isochore)
With the Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) in the Philippines being eased up to make way for the General Community Quarantine (GCQ) despite COVID-19 cases in the country not lessening, The UPLB Genetics Society (GeneSoc) held its first remote and virtual election via Zoom Meetings on June 1 to 23, 2020.
On its 37th year, GeneSoc prepares to transcend excellence through passion and service by fulfilling the organization’s goals through various activities and events – now tailored for the current needs of the people. GeneSoc now has their new set of officers, including President-elect Kenneth Tria, who are ready to tackle the challenges of our current time.
John Kenneth Tria (Allosyndesis), President/Executive Committee Head
Kenneth has a simple view of himself: he works hard, he is kind, and most especially, he has a sense of humor. As president, his goal this academic year is to help his members in their studies, and to keep them safe during this pandemic. Kenneth always keeps things casual with the members and to give them a safe space during meetings so it can somehow serve as a breather from their academics. In his term, he seeks to strengthen Passion, Excellence, and Service in the 37th Year of GeneSoc. His goal is to continue upholding the science of genetics in the context of social relevance and serve our countrymen along with the alumni amidst the pandemic while keeping the welfare of the resident members in check. He and his fellow officers prepared plans for online and blended learning set-ups to accomplish the objectives of the organization while still keeping everyone safe and at home.
John Dane Valdez (Allosyndesis), Vice President/Membership Committee Head
JD is usually a laid-back person, and he can still find the time to relax despite all the pending requirements for his academics. However, when the time to be serious comes, he can always put his 100% be it in academics or org work. JD is usually shy towards strangers, but he can become congenial and outgoing once people knew him better. Given the pandemic, reaching out to prospective applicants to the organization has become difficult, and so, JD plans to conduct more activities materials, which can be in the form of pub mats or AVPs, that can help in introducing the organization to people in order for them to know the org and the members better. For the Membership Committee, he plans for the members to become more active in the organization by regularly conducting activities that strengthen the relations not only among resident members but also with the alumni. A major activity for the Membership Committee is the process week, and JD plans to organize it for the online setting in such a way that GeneSoc can competently instill the values of the organization to aspiring members.
Carmela Maloles (Isochore), Secretary/Documentation Committee Head
Carmela thinks of herself as an adorable person with a bright personality who tries her best to understand and be patient with everyone. She is good with managing and communicating with other people, especially when there is a need to be professional and serious. As for her plans, Carmela will try to focus on perfecting the basic tasks of her committee to train herself and her members that upon passing the torch, they may be capable enough to become the next secretary.
Rani Athena Fabros (Isochore), Treasurer/Finance Committee Head
Rani thinks of herself as reserved, but headstrong, persistent, and beautiful. Being the Treasurer and Head of the Finance Committee, she and her committee members will be innovative and push through with online fundraising activities to financially support the various activities of the organization.
Jessica Mae Cortezano (Polyplex), Public Relations Officer/Public Relations Committee Head
Jessie describes herself as strong, yet weak: people always see her as a woman with a powerful personality, but in reality, she says she hides her fragile self to the world. She believes that she can help people gather their strength to move forward with her personality, even if this is not always the case. As for her plans for the Public Relations committee, Jessie wants to focus on getting the members to introduce our organization to people with the use of social media. She also wants to update the GeneSoc’s website, as it serves for the organization’s publicity. She also wants to promote inter-organization connections as the orgs within the university need to support each other, especially during this time. Regarding her committee members, she wants to show them the importance of Public Relations as a committee, and she wants them to value and love the committee more like a family even though they have heavy workloads with their efforts unrecognized. Nevertheless, she believes that without this committee, the projects of the organization will not be as successful as it should.
Nelieza Tubeza (Polyplex), Education Committee Head
Nelieza sees herself as an average individual, but she always finds joy in learning new things, especially if the topic interests her greatly. Under Nelieza, the Education Committee will deliver the ‘feels’ of the Genetics Week and Bio 30 Week exhibits in a remote learning setup. She also wants to keep helping Bio 30 students and make the tutorials more approachable and welcoming, especially since most students are experiencing anxiety in their course requirements.
Bryan Harold Vital (Polyplex), Projects Committee Head
Bryan keeps it short on what kind of person he is—assertive and introverted. Because of the pandemic and remote learning environment, he plans to conduct an online exhibit for Genetics Week and Bio 30 Week. He also plans to hold events such as art contests to adapt the aspects of the Projects Committee on an online platform while helping the organization achieve their objective in spreading the awareness about the science of genetics.
John Lawrence Dionisio (Retron), Technicals Committee Head
JL would describe himself as someone who loves self-care but prioritizes first and foremost the comfort of his surrounding people. As the Technicals Committee Head, he plans on making his committee a firmer backbone for the organization. The changes that JL has in store for the committee will aid not only the future Technicals Committee Heads, but also all the events of the organization. The aim of the Technicals Committee for this term is to support all the committees and add manpower for the activities of the organization, and to keep the relationships of the resident members and alumni virtually.
Daniel Varias (Isochore), Editor-in-Chief (GENEWS)
Dan remains driven, passionate, and devoted to the things he loves and values. He always yearns to be a vector of innovations and legacies. For this term, Dan plans to establish GENEWS as a well-esteemed and competent student publication that upholds and promotes Genetics as a relevant science to the masses. To do so, he started building an improved system of leadership and organization within the publication to ensure the most efficient production of issues and articles.
Camille describes herself as a person interested in a variety of stuff, is always eager to discover and do something new, and enjoys experimenting with her ideas. As much as possible, she wants to unite the ideas of Publicity Committee members to produce trendy and unique publication materials without exhausting the committee. She wants to help them improve their skills and her own through brainstorming with them. Regarding changes, Camille has already organized task delegation to ensure that everyone can showcase their ideas and skills into the works they want without compromising everyone’s academic loads, especially during this time when learning is remote and the organization’s exposure relies mostly on publicity materials posted online.
Aimee Montes (Isochore), NIGQC Committee Head
Aimee has just four words to describe herself: happy, friendly, fun, and a crammer. For the National Intercollegiate Genetics Quiz Contest this year, she plans to carry out necessary changes to the event, i.e., conducting the event virtually—all to make it memorable and successful. According to Aimee, the NIGQC is different every year, so the changes that she and the committee heads make are regarding assignments, platforms, communication and coordination with participants, and the overall mechanics.
Nikki Matta (Helraiser), Genetics Camp Committee Head
When asked to describe herself, Nikki said that she is a curious individual that tries to explore a lot of things. She is also a dedicated person and will work hard to obtain the things she wants to achieve. Nikki is planning to use online platforms like Zoom, Discord, and Google Meet in conducting an online version of the Genetics Camp, which will include activities like seminars, quiz contest, debate, and more, much like it would in a regular Genetics Camp.
Hannah Louise Cueto (Polyplex), Outreach Committee Head
Hannah is an empathetic person who likes to listen to other people’s stories, although she appears shy at first glance. She is hardworking, and she finds serenity when she organizes and arranges things on a list. Because of the pandemic, Hannah has opted to conduct a donation drive for One Gene, One Child instead of the usual on-site hosting of activities and interacting with the children at the Hope Intervention Center. The donation drive seeks to provide the center with resources like bond paper and ink that they need for holding online and modular classes.
Aljon Karl Garcia (Polyplex), VYLH Committee Head
Aljon loves sleeping and reading about insects. As an additional fact, his favorite movie is The Hunchback of Notre Dame. As the current Volunteer Youth Leaders for Health Committee Head, he plans to revitalize and increase the number of organizations affiliated with VYLH-LB, and to take part in online awareness campaigns of VYLH.
With a new set of officers comes a great responsibility for each of them to guide the organization to even greater heights. Cheers to this term’s officers and cheers to GeneSoc’s continued excellence!
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