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ICIA BAQUIRAN (4 BS MGT-MIS), “your Little Miss Sunshine who always beats the deadline,” is one of the rare people whose energy fills an entire room. A tiny box on Zoom certainly doesn’t do her presence any justice. As OrSem looks to hold some onsite activities after two years being fully online, Icia and her fellow O-Hosts are ready to release the energy they have been building up.
Many people choose a university based on the program they wish to take. Although the same could be true for Icia, the vibrant student organization life was also a major factor in her decision to attend the Ateneo. She booked hosting gigs for events held by her roster of organizations, partly in preparation for her O-Host goal. An extrovert through and through, Icia thrives in these settings where she is able to interact and work with people. On top of that, she is also currently pursuing a second degree in Management Information Systems.
While Icia may seem like she’s always had it all figured out, she was not exempt from the typical rocky college journey—she’s also had her fair share of impulsive decisions, confusion and mistakes. Finding the right career path did not come instantly; she shifted from economics to management, until finally realizing that a second degree in MIS was the way to go. Behind the reliable Icia people know today is a process of discernment and self-reflection that follows her journey from freshman to senior year. Looking back on her time as a freshie, Icia shares that she didn’t realize that life progressed in stages, and everyone was going at their own pace.
These experiences and decisions contribute to who she is today, playing into her tita personality. Apart from having a keen awareness of processes such as shifting, applying for a minor, or taking a double degree, she has an endless stock of school supplies and can recall deadlines in an instant. “If you need anything, I have it,” she jokes.
Since her own OrSem in 2019, Icia has been in awe of the Ateneo community’s enthusiasm for welcoming freshies. To her, the O-Hosts play a profoundly important role in creating such a warm atmosphere—they didn’t just facilitate an event, they shared a story. While becoming a host was always on her bucket list, seeing the O-Hosts in action through the years cemented her determination to finally tick it off.
Just like her career path, Icia’s O-Host journey was a long one that began in her freshman year. She auditioned for the Association of Communication Majors’ (ACOMM) Hosting Pool in her first year and was not accepted. Following her rejection, she gained experience by hosting events in her plethora of other organizations. Her dedication resulted in her acceptance into the ACOMM hosting pool in her junior year. “It’s been a long time, so I can say na I think I deserve this spot because I really did work hard to get here,” she shares.
Like the O-Hosts that came before her, Icia has a curated persona. She learned that crafting one isn’t just about putting catchy words together and embodying what they supposedly mean. Icia shared that she grew into different versions of herself in the process.
Enter “your Little Miss Sunshine who always beats the deadline.” She’s bubbly and bright with just the right amount of tita energy. “It’s not really a matter of acting [but] a matter of highlighting the things that I think people do like and very much admire about me—char, admire?” she says with a laugh.
The pandemic necessitated a shift in nearly all of the University’s set procedures, and as students return onsite, more changes are bound to happen. At this point, Icia and her batchmates from OrSem Silay in 2019 have experienced more of college online than they have onsite. Anxieties about what they can share with the incoming batch are inevitable. Rather than succumb to these anxieties, Icia aims to remind the freshies that navigating uncertainty is an inevitable part of one’s college experience.
Icia offers a bit of advice to this year’s freshmen, drawing inspiration from her own college journey. “When you come into [the] Ateneo and you realize that there are a lot of opportunities, and you don’t really understand or you’re very anxious about whether or not you’re going to be making the right decisions when you have your first year, your second, and your third, you got to accept the fact that you will make mistakes. But, at the same time, you will grow from them.”
Stare directly into the sun, and you’ll be blinded by it. Instead, she says to focus on the world it illuminates and treasure it. This is what it means to walk on sunshine, and Icia will be walking with you.
