Summer SERVICE
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To whom much is given, much is expected. As Pathways founder Harvey Keh believed so, so does Pathways’ Marikina participants.
83 select high school students – mostly 2nd and 3rd year students – from all over Marikina graduated from SERVICE’s Pay-It-Forward summer tutorial programs in a graduation program held last May 29 at Ateneo de Manila’s Escaler Hall. SERVICE (Student Enthusiasts Rendering Vision and Impact on Competitive Education), which was established in 2005, is the collective name of Pathways participants based in Marikina. As recipients of scholarships and financial assistance themselves, SERVICE aims to give back to society by promoting scholastic excellence and the provision of academic and self-enhancement workshops. Through this program (Pay-It-Forward), it hopes to increase the chances of high school students in their areas to get into colleges and universities of their choice.
This year, SERVICE held classes for 7 sections (named after each letter of the word LINGKOD) daily since April 16. The half-day program gives students a chance to interact and learn with their tutorial “classmates” from different high schools. The classes – under the four main departments Science, Math, Communication Arts, and Self-Enhancement – are facilitated and supervised by Pathways participants themselves. On graduation day, 7 participants were awarded with top honors, along with 3 participants who excelled in the three academic subjects (Biology, Algebra, Communication Arts).
What makes SERVICE’s program unique is the addition of Self-Enhancement Exercises, which aims to build up soft skills of the participants in the program. They are encouraged to have more self-confidence and have a greater awareness of themselves.
SERVICE 2006-2007 was headed by Nerian Ostonal, Marikina Pathways participant currently enrolled at UP Diliman. It currently has around 60 volunteer members, assigned in various areas in Marikina.
Thanks to Von Sinence (incoming SERVICE 2007-2008 president), Ben Rances (incoming SERVICE VP for Documentation and Publication) and Christian Pascua for their inputs.
