My Last PSYSC Summer Camp?

by Roger Junior C. Colobong

(inspired by "The National Youth Science, Technology and Environment Summer Camp 2011.. My Last PSYSC Summer Camp" written by Carl Partrick S. Tadeo. Thanks Carl...)

Cebu (2005), UPLB (2007), Aklan (2008), Bataan (2009), Tagaytay (2010), Iloilo (2011), CAMP Iloilo was the 6th NYSTESC that I have experienced. I was an incoming 4th year high school back then, when I joined CAMP Cebu. I can still recall the play of events that had happened back then (Biotechnology: Magic in the Realm of Reality was even the theme). The CAMP was first set to be in Davao, however, for some reason, it was moved to a later date in the hidden paradise of Cebu. Due to the postponement of the CAMP to a later date, I was forced to forgo the opportunity of enrolling in a summer program in preparation for UPCAT just to attend the summer camp. So why did I do it? Why risk the chance of preparing for exam to an activity of PSYSC? Well, during that time, I didn’t really know, but what I knew was that I really wanted to join.

It was not my first time to attend a national activity, for I already had attended the NLTSGO in Baguio before. Somehow, I had that expectation of sleeping in a cozy bed, eating warm meals, and listening to a lecture or two in an air-conditioned room. However, when we arrived at the venue of CAMP Cebu, all those expectations crumbled. We were led to our quarters which was actually an unfinished dormitory. Majority of the male participants were assigned to sleep in a big hall which was still under construction. The feel of it was like that of staying in a refugee camp. The food was also not that satisfying and the session hall was hot and small, that some of the participants were already outside the hall. Some of the bathrooms were just improvised, and to top that, water was very limited.

Though, despite of such problems in the accommodations, I can’t say that I regret joining that PSYSC event; because, It was also in that event that I experienced a different kind of friendship with other people coming from the different parts of the Philippines. I could still recall Subcamp 14: Mutantes with our facilitator Ate Marj, sonny, cha, bogik, Jaime, kikim, czar, Barbie, Kelvin and the rest of the gang. I still remember the times when we ate lunch together, did workshops, listened and slept in lectures, the jail booth, foam stuffing, fieldtrip, exchanging numbers, filling each other’s “who I met” page, how we shared and made fun of each other’s languages, and of course the last night where after pledge and awarding we all went at the pool side to chat some more and ended the night with a water fight. That was my first NYSTESC and it was legendary…

It was also during that event that I realized that I wanted to do what the PSYSC organizers do. Make cool AVPs, become a facilitator, organize such events or even better. That time, I told myself, I wanted to become part of PSYSC’s team.

I learned from my older brother the application process of PSYSC in UP, and so when I entered college, it was one of my goals to be part of the National Executive Council Assistance Team. It was in the orientation where I met the people who I also saw in CAMP Cebu. It felt that I was seeing the movie stars in person – it was overwhelming. By the end of the first semester of my first year, I was finally an ECAT. Come April of 2007, I became a facilitator to league 14: Chemates, where I met 32 high school kids in CAMP UPLB (Chemic Relief: Transcend Entropy). The feeling was weird because some of the kids were participants of CAMP Cebu, however, as it was like before, everything was worth remembering. From the first day of wearing the zorro mask, a game of backstab, to the workshops, cheering practice, quiz bee, dress a super hero, limbo rock, over-all workshop, pledge night and the awarding ceremonies, everything was extraordinary. We were even able to bag the BEST SUBCAMP award, the SUPER LEAGUE.

Camp Aklan came in next, where I became Sessions head. It was different from just being a participant or a facilitator. Though I may not have done the job quite well, it made me learn some lessons and gave me an avenue to develop. I decided to take another shot in CAMP Bataan, where in I was the workshops head and later on turn teacher’s session. From handling students, I was then tasked to handle the teachers, it was awkward at first, but then, I eventually got the hang of it. It was in CAMP Bataan, that I was also elected as the NEC President for 2009 to 2011.

In my term as the NEC, I had overseen the conduct of the 2010 NYSTESC held in Tagaytay. Now the challenge was on a higher level. Decisions had to be done, deals were made, negotiations and even confrontations. That time, the participation was already overwhelming. We had almost reached a thousand. It was my first CAMP as president and yet my 5th CAMP in total, yet it doesn’t fail to leave a memory worth remembering.

And then, of course, the 2011 CAMP Iloilo, the largest CAMP in PSYSC history. From just being a participant of an event to becoming it’s president; from subcamp 14 to the more than a hundred thousand affiliates of the organization, from my first CAMP until now, PSYSC has continued to give me great friends and wonderful memories. It has enriched me with different skills and values, and has made me realize my potentials. PSYSC has made me ready to face the real world with confidence. As my term as president ends and start as a board member, I do not think that I can say that this CAMP Iloilo is MY LAST CAMP, because, I know that despite of me pursuing a different chapter of my life, I will forever hold PSYSC’s motto of “Once a PSYSC, A PSYSC Forever”. As for you, you maybe right…it might be your last CAMP…as a student…but not as an ECAT, or an NEC, or even a Speaker...it’s a challenge that is left for you…

Keep the Fire Burning!

Roger Junior C. Colobong

NEC President

2009-2011