Enderun Welcomes the Freshmen in Style
Photo by Dan Samson
More than 200 new faces passed through Enderun’s doors for this semester’s edition of the Freshman Orientation organized by the Office of Student Services and the Enderun Student Government.
Held last June 16 to 17, the most recent additions to the Enderun family went through a series of activities that would help them assimilate easier to The Enderun Way. The freshmen were then broken up into groups guided by student facilitators. Getting-to-know-you activities were handled by these ‘facis’ so that the freshmen would get to know and bond with each other.
It was none other than Enderun President Mr. Javier Infante who welcomed them and gave a speech on what the school is all about. Miss Marissa Felix then gave them an introduction to one of their subjects: GE 100: Enderun Experience. Olaf Gotladera also talked to the students taking up the ADF + Enderun Certificate in Culinary Arts program.
After lunch, the freshmen were given a campus tour to familiarize themselves with the Enderun campus. The facilitators shared their own personal experiences in school and gave them tips to ensure that they know where they should go, or whom they should talk to when they need something.
The first day ended with a Student-Faculty Mixer, which aimed to introduce the new students to Enderun’s faculty.
Asked about the freshmen, Janelle Ng and her co-facilitators agreed that the freshmen were hesitant and very shy during the first day. However, she adds that they eventually warmed up to each other after doing the getting-to-know-you activities.
Cosric Angeles from Group 6 “Team Bazooka” has this to say after the first day: “After Day 1, I was thinking that it is going to be a new environment, so I felt a little bit uneasy ,but afterwards when everyone was so chill, smiling and friendly, I felt relaxed. It was an awesome day!”
The second day started with more “Faci time,” where the facilitators talked about school regulations that the freshmen need to know by heart. They also gave more tips on knowing their way around the school, which professors to choose, the school dress code, and other academic matters such as internship.
Ms. Andy Tuason and Ms. Marga Tupaz then gave talks on Grooming and the Dress Code and an Overview on Student Services, respectively. There was also an orientation of the foreign students by Ms. Tanya Zialcita.
The freshmen were then exposed to the different registered student organizations (RSOs) of the school in the Org Fair held at the Courtyard. The various RSOs set up booths and talked about what their org has to offer to recruit new members. Several new orgs also debuted, such as Revelation and The Bridge. Cultura’s booth was adjudged Best Booth for the Org Fair.
More faci time followed, and then the highlight of the two-day affair – the Amazing Race – was set to begin. It started with the Longest Line at the Multipurpose Covered Court, and then the groups scattered around the campus to complete all the stations. The obstacle course was easily the most memorable station for the freshmen, as it involved them making their way through a web of string while the facilitators bombarded them with water and threw water balloons filled with starch.
The orientation ended with band performances and the awarding ceremonies.
Vince Chua, Alexis Lustre and Mandy Umali’s group of freshmen, Group 13, won the Amazing Race while Tiffany Santos, Alex Dy and Monique Caparros’ group of students were chosen as the Best Group for the orientation. Posh Famorca, Benz Zabala and Paolo Rabat were given the Most Hardworking Award for all their contributions to the success of the Orientation.
Another freshman, Alexa Pastrana shares, “The two-day freshman orientation was splendid! I felt welcome and it almost felt like home. The upperclassmen were very kind and understanding. The games and activities were extremely fun. To sum it all up, I had a grand experience! I learned, had fun and most of all I loved it!”
To the Batch of 2015, Welcome to Enderun!
