19/10/2025
Look! Our SSLG President reflects on her Learnersโ Convergence Philippines 2025 journey โ a national leadership workshop uniting student leaders across regions.๐โจ
๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
โ๐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.โ
-๐๐ข๐บ๐ข ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ
Leadership, they say, is a double-edged sword. It is true enough that both ends may be sharp, but if one were to use a sword, one has to be powerful enough to carry and withstand its weight without faltering. It is often brought up to attention how leaders often act as giants; others may be gentle where the rest is rough and rugged. However frank it may seem, this power also comes with great responsibility as in the words of the English playwright himself William Shakespeare: โIt is excellent to have a giantโs strength, but tyrannous if it is used like a giant.โ
However, beyond Maya Angelou and Shakespeareโs grand brevity of words, is someone who holds in her hands the weight of the double-edged sword that is leadership. Kiersten Sato, the current SSLG President, is irrefutably a woman of resilience. She is a woman who believes and takes pride in teamwork, thus, lest it be a wonder how effectively she leads the SSLG with an iron fist, for she is not the only one running it, sheโs part of the whole that keeps it, and the student body, intact. Kierstenโs enthusiasm fuels her team through every meeting and programs the SSLG succeeds in doing, though often seen as calm and reserved, her skills are enough to talk for her.
Though, just recently, our SSLG President attended an annual program held for student leaders like herself. This is the LearnCon. Held last October 10-13, 2025, Sato gushed about the wonderful experiences she had during the 3-day program at Bohol Tropics. The program was lively, compact with activities and seminars that cater to the different student leaders. However, for Kiersten, this place was also where she learned more about her role as one of the spearheads of our student body.
During an interview a few days after the annual LearnCon, Kiersten stressed that one of the many things she learned, she emphasizes one specific lesson: โ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ข ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ถ๐จ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฌ๐ข๐บ ๐ธ๐ข๐ญ๐ข ๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐จ๐ช-๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ด๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข ๐ด๐ข ๐ฌ๐ถ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐จ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ
๐ฎ๐ข-๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ.โ. Furthermore, Sato stressed that within the event, she reflected on her purpose as a student leader, relaying: โAnd sa aking na-learn, naka self-reflection jud ko kung unsa jud diay ang purpose sa akong pagka student leader and what is my motivation or intention to lead?โ
Kiersten Sato, in her own way, is a force not to be reckoned with. Not because sheโs fearsome, but because she knows how to wield the double-edged sword that is leadership. She may not look like she could wipe mountains with her sheer power, but within her, she holds the strength of a giant. In this case, she uses this strength to lead the student body with an iron fist and compassion. Because a true leader never acts for themself; they always act for the people. For what use is leadership if one were to only cater their own selfish needs? One canโt be much of a leader if all they see is themself.
Feature Writer: Justin Dave Behik
Layout: Jee Ivan Casil
Image credits to:
Kiersten Sato
Christian Casio & Sir Vincent Yu
arnel.arts photography
