Have you ever attended a game or two of basketball or volleyball involving a Lasallian athlete? Either a Jeron Teng drive or a Mika Reyes block would surely set the crowd ablaze. Opposing crowds are shouting aimlessly at each other, but the Lasallian community battles out the opposing crowd’s noise with one unified chant.
A silent ticking of drumsticks can be heard as the Animo Squad tries to organize the Lasallian crowd. Nearby cheerleaders can be seen as they perform the chants loud enough for the community to follow suit. Then a very powerful strike to the bass drum suddenly gives one a tingling sensation, as the Lasallian crowd shouts their hearts out to the chants of, “D-L-S-UUUUUUU, Animo La Salle!”
The chants of “Animo!” suddenly echo throughout the arena as a crowd of unified Lasallians, whether it be students, faculty, staff, and even alumni, overpower the opposing crowd’s noise, giving the team in Green-and-White a much-needed boost from the community.
The 325 years of “Faith and Zeal” of the Lasallian Brothers led to the coining of the term “Animo”, meaning the Lasallian “Spirit to Fight.” Animo also means One La Salle: to make a difference, to practice teamwork, and strive with courage.
Whether the team is winning or losing, cheering and believing in them is the best gift that true blooded Lasallians can bestow upon their athletic community.
Undoubtedly, this Lasallian “Spirit to Fight” has rubbed on to the students and the entire Lasallian community.
For one, the De La Salle Health Sciences Institute (DLSHSI) through the years has proven its Animo by having topnotchers in the licensure exams among the health professions degrees it offers: Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Medical Radiation Technology, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech and Language Pathology, Medical Laboratory Science (MedTech), and Biochemistry.
For the August 2017 Occupational Therapist Licensure Examination, DLSHSI made history when five out of its 26 examinees took four spots in the Top 10: Daisy Joyce Lucernas Madali (Top 1), Eunice Jairah Fuerte Din (Top 6), Lorraine Navales Oliveros and Carlo Jaron Crizaldo Sicam (Top 7) and Raymon Jan Ma Coll Sarmiento (Top 9).
And how did they make it? They studied and reviewed together. They motivated and cheered each other up for three months they were together at DLSHSI’s in-house review center.
“I believe the social aspect was a big help for all of us. We felt comfortable that we were together. The review was hard but it was also fun especially when we do memes so we can remember everything. Sometimes the memes turn out to be vulgar or corny but it gave us some fun and easy way to remember things,” Madali shared.
Oliveros agreed: “The fact that we were together every day for three months was a plus factor in our success in the exam. Our respective family also greatly helped and motivated us. In my case, they understood that there were times I didn’t want to study or read any review material at all. They knew it was just part of the stressful times.”
Aside from Animo, other Lasallian values had definitely helped out the topnotchers. The students find their alma mater living up to its vision of nurturing life in such a way that they felt being pampered as students with the school giving everything they need and understanding them to the fullest just like in the family. In return, the youngsters have imbibed this nurturing spirit in their young lives.
For Sicam, his new found profession is something he has learned to love for five years. “Today OT is my first and best love! So I really want to be truly competent as a professional and at the same time, I want to contribute my knowledge to other students. My first goal then is to apply in the teaching staff of DLSHSI and do part time clinic afterward,” he revealed. Among his other plans include writing modules and reviewers for OT exams.
On the other hand, Sarmiento finds reaching out to his classmates and friends who did not make it in the exam to be his immediate mission at the moment. “I’m opening my door to them. I’m taking the initiatives to reach out to them. I listen to them and let them express their negative feelings. I also tell them that the celebration won’t be complete without them,” he said.
Sarmiento admits to being a happy-go-lucky student. But in his last year and especially during the review, he said he has had a change of heart and decided to turn a new leaf in his young life to become responsible like his elder siblings. Now that his determination paid off, he said he will put his heart into his profession, do his best for every patient he would be handling. “Once I am more financially stable, I will establish my own OT clinic that would cater to the lower socio-economic population so that OT services would be accessible to them also and not just limited to the fortunate ones,” the young man promised.
The DLSHSI topnotchers are proud to say that they have received various job offers from both private and public hospitals and clinics. But the kids are taking their time at the moment. After all, five years of continuous study is no joke.
Din said she couldn’t decide yet what path to take. If given the chance by her parents and her alma mater, she would rather continue to study and take medicine proper. But she also sees herself owning her own OT clinic in the future. “If my calling would be as OT professional, I think I prefer to take the Psyche side. You see, it’s a big factor in OT – to understand the inner being and subconscious of the patient,” she explained.
What have the topnotchers learned from this journey?
Oliveros summed it up: Si Lord lang po talaga ang nakakaalam ng lahat. Siya lang po talaga. Kasi kami po, ginawa lang po namin yung best namin tapos inalay lang po talaga namin sa Kanya.
Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations).
The therapists work to help children achieve their developmental milestones such as fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They also work for rehabilitation and aged care, acute care, injury management and mental health.
With the success of DLSHSI’s OT graduates, no one is happiest than Dean Dr. Amiel Adajar who, along with the faculty staff and university administration, has nurtured them to the fullest. “In as much as we are extremely proud of our graduates, especially our topnotchers, my wish is for them to practice their profession in the country. And for them to enrich themselves professionally with experience,” he said.
As for the OT degree, the amiable dean wishes to further evolve it by offering masteral and PhD courses.