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Juancho Moreno (3 AB MEC) is reporting for duty as this year’s “kinda cutie, medyo goofy chinito bonito” for OrSem Tayo! Upon getting to know Juancho and his upbeat personality, it might be easy to think that he would be a perfect fit for the role of O-Host. Surprisingly, that’s not what he thought in the first place.
Juancho wasn’t actually the biggest fan of Ateneo or OrSem in his freshman year. Because he initially had his sights set on another university, he was hesitant about accepting his place in Ateneo the minute he stepped on to the Covered Courts. “During my OrSem experience, I was kinda negative towards it,” he admits. Once he looked at it in retrospect, however, he realized that he did enjoy the event because of how lively it was. “I loved the song and the dance; it’s very engaging.”
Despite having difficulty accepting Ateneo as his own, he eventually found his place after feeling outcasted for the first few months. It was through actively searching for opportunities to engage in the campus life that Juancho was able to “take more risks, be more confident, [and] show more initiative when it comes to things.”
Even so, feeling reluctant to enter a whole new environment is quite a common phenomenon for those going into the college setting, Juancho notes. Many have the tendency to be hesitant about diving into Ateneo culture from the get-go; Juancho found comfort knowing that he wasn’t the only one who felt that way since he also had friends who entered the University feeling out of place.
After taking the first few months to adjust and adapt to University life, Juancho shares that giving the school a chance is all they needed to overcome their apprehensions. Eventually, doors will be opened to new opportunities to learn and grow.
“It’s okay to doubt your place in Ateneo at first. I think that’s very normal,” he reassures. “Ateneo has this amazing ability to captivate you. It’s like a gradual thing, at least in my experience.”
For Juancho, trying out as an O-Host was one of those unexpected opportunities that allowed him to grow further. As a matter of fact, he originally didn’t plan to try out for this year’s lineup since he didn’t think he was cut out for the job.
After being given several gig opportunities over the last school year, he eventually grew to genuinely enjoy hosting. With motivational nudges from his three-time O-Host brother Niño Moreno (AB EC ‘21), it was a simple “Why not?” that pushed Juancho to book an audition and bring his love for hosting a step further.
With the O-Host stint, he hopes that he’ll be able to balance out his empathy for the freshmen with his love for humor and comedy. The “medyo goofy” Juancho shares that it was at a young age when he started appreciating people around him who were comical and witty. To him, humor is always going to be an integral part of his personality, and this manifests through playful banter with his barkada or cracking a corny joke onstage. “I’m a mema guy in general!” he laughs.
On the other hand, Juancho is certain that he’s much more than just fun and games. He enjoys participating in orgs that advocate youth leadership and empowerment, such as the Ateneo Consultants for Organization Development and Empowerment (Ateneo CODE) and AIESEC AdMU. He articulates how org work encouraged him and built his confidence to speak his truth.
Through this and the compassionate nature of Ateneo orgs, Juancho is able to maintain a positive outlook on his work despite the current circumstances. “[My orgs] helped tap into that [selfless] part of my personality and helped it grow. Man for others, ika nga!”
These experiences taught Juancho that being Atenean isn’t just rooted in the campus, but in its people and values. Despite the online setup, he strongly encourages incoming freshmen to engage with the community while continuing to take risks and opportunities as they come. “I think the stigma is [that] if it’s online, there’s no way to form genuine relationships or there’s no way to live the Ateneo experience,” he explains. “But to that, I say: Definitely not!”
Trust him when he says that the Ateneo community is still there, with or without the campus. “Ateneo is your oyster,” he says. “You make your Ateneo experience what you want it to be.”
