Resilience in Time of Uncertainty: Plans of the New Core

Life in Midst of Pandemic

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Every year, the core officers of La Salle Computer Society (LSCS) are voted by the LSCS community. This signifies a change and a step forward for the organization, as the incumbent core officers are at the end of their tenure and pass on their roles as core officers to the newly elected officers. The core officers for Academic Year 2020-2021 are Rebecalyn Lao (117, BS CS) as President, John Gabriel Legaspi (117, BS CS) as Executive Vice President of Internals, Rafael Nicolas Topacio (117, BS CS) as Executive Vice President of Externals, Myles Russel Chan (117, BS CS) as Executive Vice President of Operations, and Gabriel Lorenzo Dela Cruz (118, BS CS-ST) as Executive Vice President of Laguna Campus. With the work from home environment set by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what do we expect from the newly elected core officers?

“It has been a goal of mine since I was a Junior Officer to do my best and aim for Presidency, in order to serve the student body and the members of LSCS. The officers then inspired me to strive for this position, especially when I see the impact of their efforts to the members.” says Lao, who aims to strengthen the quality and reach of events for both LSCS members and officers through adapting to the organization’s current conditions, as well as to improve event execution, and to build on the legacy of the previous officers.

“I want to further improve the organization's communication within itself and with our governing body CSO. I also plan to implement systems that would help the organization's Operations branch. I want to focus on giving the Documentations and Logistics officers and Finance officers more training, be it on the different processes within CSO or on further developing them as leaders.” says Chan. “I believe that the officers play a major role in making sure that the organization runs smoothly, and that it's the officers that make up the organization.” He added.

“I see LSCS and the Computer Science community of local universities and companies, and I envision how we can bridge the gap between the academic community with the professional one. I hope that we can really drive our partnerships with other universities, companies, and socio-civic organizations to benefit our members and the community in general.” Says Topacio who aims to ensure that being a member of the LSCS would be a privilege and aims to improve the image of LSCS both internally and externally by establishing and maintaining linkages with partners.

“One of the current problems that I want to address as incoming EVP Internals, is the experience of members. Despite there being a good amount of members signing up as JOs and Officers, a large chunk of the organization is the members. Majority of the time members get the feeling of being left out of not having the same chances or events that one might get as a junior officer or as an officer. This is something that cannot be avoided, however, it is something that can be improved. How can we say that a member is getting their pay's worth? This is something I want to be able to address.” Says Legaspi.

“For the longest time, Laguna and Manila somewhat had a "Great Divide" in a sense that both operated separately most of the time. There came a point where members kept asking me why the Taft campus has better opportunities compared to us here in Laguna. This is another reason why I accepted the role of becoming the Executive Vice President—I want to somehow establish a close connection with the Manila counterpart.” Says Dela Cruz.

The following academic year promises to be an exciting one as the new core promises that being part of the LSCS will be worth it with new opportunities for both members and officers despite the ongoing pandemic. Only time will tell if these plans will be implemented, but members and officers alike are crossing their fingers hoping for a good academic year to come.