Giving back

I used to think of alumni homecomings and jubilees as a superficial thing – a time when people show off to their peers what they’ve accomplished in life. I like to look at it as the phase of appreciation – a phase where you get to savor a lot of your experiences in life – your school life, your career, the friends you met along the way.

As most people will attest, the best experiences in life are usually the events we experienced during our school years (whether in or out of campus). And, for this reason, the bond we have with our classmates is usually tighter than any other bond we will ever have in life. I know it’s not always the case, of course. Some people, in fact, shun their old classmates because of some traumatic experience (like getting busted by the campus babe, or being beaten up by the school bully). But more often than not, that bond is as solid as a rock.

I have some classmates that I have not seen in two decades. But if one of them called me and asked me to get together, I swear I’d drop whatever I was doing. That’s how strong that bond is. And here’s the beautiful thing about this "connection": if used properly and managed well (and I must emphasize this because these relationships can sometimes be abused, especially in politics), this bond could be your leverage in your career. I have some classmates who have become my biggest clients. And the business relationship is there because of the trust. That trust is hard to quantify. Some classmates end up lifelong business partners. Since these friendships are usually hinged on common values – values that you all learned together growing up – these friendships often lead individuals to be more active in the whole concept of "giving back" to society.

My high-school batch in Lourdes School Mandaluyong is a prime example. Our Yahoogroups e-mail exchanges now often center on the topic of positive projects – that is, what good project we can do together. A number of years ago, my classmates and I would have found this really corny. But that’s the beauty of getting older. You see life as it truly is.

Recently, I visited my cousin-in-law, Dr. Alex, at his home in Makati. My wife and I visit Doc Alex quite often as he has a beautiful collection of antiques, all of which are for sale. During that visit, I noticed Doc Alex having a meeting with a bunch of people. While I did hear an occasional burst of laughter from the group, overall, the meeting was serious – and long. As I looked at the antiques, Doc Alex stood up from the meeting, approached me and asked me how I was. I asked him, "Hey, what is that? Your prayer group?"

"No," Doc Alex replied. "Those are my batchmates from UST College of Medicine. We’re all from Batch ’83 and we’re planning this fundraising project, the premiere of Casino Royale, the James Bond movie, on Nov. 15. You go, ha."

I said, "Wow, that’s great."

Dr. Alex then introduced me to the group: Alex P., Kiko, Rene, Romy, Lexie, Mai, Irene, Stevie, Francie, Letlet, and Nenita – all successful doctors from UST Batch ’83. I asked them, "You guys seem so busy. Isn’t this supposed to be a batch reunion party?"

Doctor Stevie (who, incidentally, is not a guy but a lady) said, "We’re working out plans for our silver jubilee. That’s two years from now. We’re planning something special, not your usual fundraising for the repainting of classrooms or the repair of bathrooms. We wanted to make a big difference in people’s lives – something more lasting – like maybe put up a scholarship fund for a deserving med student. Or maybe set up a fund that will provide micro-financing for financially challenged students."

I asked her, "You’re all doctors, right? You serve people every day. Your job is to help people in need. Why do you still need to do this?"

She replied, "We want to get out of our comfort zones. You’re right, we help people every day. That’s the beauty of our work. Even if you’re the most evil person, if you’re a doctor, the nature of your job will force you to do good. It’s inherent in the job to serve. But we don’t feel that’s enough. We feel that we have enough committed people in our batch to go beyond what they do in their daily lives. We are in a position now that we’ve achieved enough for ourselves. It’s now time to look beyond ourselves and think of others and our country."

The Asset Called ‘Batchmates’

If there’s one thing great about growing old, it’s having the opportunity to go beyond oneself and show concern for others. That kind of feeling normally doesn’t permeate your consciousness when you’re young. As you get older, the whole "I, me, mine" attitude simmers down. And suddenly, you ask yourself, "What can I do?"

If you’re at that stage in your career where you feel you’ve achieved enough for yourself and you’re looking for a way to make a difference but not sure how to go about it, you don’t have to look too far. Start with your old classmates. I’m sure they will be more than happy to help you in your quest.

Let’s learn from UST College of Medicine Batch ’83, and all the active jubilarians and alumni officers out there who are going out of their way and joining hands with old classmates in order to make our nation a better place. If all batches behaved this way, we’d be one heck of a country.

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Thanks for your letters, folks. You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com.