Hub
He’s the seatmate who always has pad paper on hand. He’s the beadle who knows the class announcements better than the professor does. Duane Madriñan (4 AB DS) is your ever-reliable, brightly beaming O-Host for this year’s OrSem Tindig.
No one was more surprised than Duane when he found out he managed to successfully pass the grueling O-Host selection process. He insists that if anyone who met him in freshman year was asked, they would never believe that he managed to pull this off. To many, Duane could be described as someone serious and put together.
Yet, becoming an O-Host was one of the things Duane had always set his sights on since his own OrSem in 2019. Since then, he became determined to show a different side of himself that is still innate to him—even if he was responsible, he was fun all the same.
“[I told myself that] before we graduate [the] Ateneo, let’s just do something crazy and out of the box, something people wouldn’t expect me to do [like be] an O-Host,” he beams.
As a freshman entering OrSem Silay in 2019, Duane was confronted with a major culture shock moment. Coming from a reserved and quiet science high school, he was amazed at how much passion and joy there was in the Ateneo atmosphere. Duane also found that the various OrSem group dynamics and icebreakers were great avenues for him to meet his fellow freshies in his dream school.
“Generally it was a way for me to know people better and to see a [side] of things completely different from what I was born and raised into in Valenzuela in the public school system,” Duane recalls. For him, his Ateneo journey is continually marked by a series of moments that compel him to “open up,” especially towards the multitude of perspectives that the Ateneo has to offer.
Throughout freshman year, he didn’t have a lot of friends because he purposely isolated himself, especially from his block. “I was isolating myself kasi natatakot ako na baka hindi ako maging kin sa kanila because I’m from a public high school,” Duane admits. He was scared that he wouldn’t be able to match the vibes, from the humor to the interests, of his peers.
However, Duane had more opportunities to interact with others in his sophomore and junior years. Through research proposals and community development work, he managed to open up to larger groups of people. His work in the Development Society of the Ateneo, Ateneo Gabay, and Habitat for Humanity Blue Chapter helps him keep engaged with his community as well.
As the University begins transitioning back to onsite classes, Duane is looking forward to meeting new people and strengthening his current bonds. “I feel like there [are] already genuine connections in the online realm, but there’s more that we can do. This coming [shift to] onsite [classes], I’d like to engage more with the communities, regardless if it’s inside or outside [the] Ateneo,” he confides.
Duane also laments how he could’ve connected more with the groups he previously encountered in his Development Studies courses. “I want to feel and imbibe the legit Ateneo culture and spirit that we were deprived of in the last two years… [which was in the] Ateneo lang pero nasa laptop.”
Ultimately, for Duane, the Ateneo spirit is about reaching beyond the self.
Throughout his stay, Duane found that the Ateneo has changed him since it let him dig deep into his spirituality and find that sense of community beyond himself. While he considers the saying of becoming “a person for and with others” cliché, he finds that truth within his transformation. He believes that despite the barrier of online classes, he still finds his coursework fulfilling as he gets to interact and collaborate with groups like the indigenous people of Bukidnon.
“[The Ateneo has enabled me] to see the world in a broader sense from different perspectives, and to have that genuine desire to serve and give back. I wouldn’t be in [the] Ateneo if it weren’t for the scholarship, and I feel obligated to share that gift of education to other people wherever I go in the future, in whatever track I plan to pursue.”
However, Duane acknowledges that this kind of epiphany doesn’t happen overnight. He shares that the first year of college is an opportunity for freshmen to reflect and listen to themselves, after which, during the next four or more years, they can define and pursue what they want in their lives.
Sharing advice for freshies who may feel overwhelmed by the expectations of college life, Duane advises them to take a pause. In this pause, they may find what they are looking for.
“Atenean education is a privilege. Make good use of the position you are [in] now. Always remember there’s a world beyond you, your family, and immediate circles—and that world needs you because if you don’t heed their call, who else will?” he imparts.
