27/12/2025
Beneath the pine-scented air of Baguio City, where fog drapes the mountains like a thinking veil and time appears to slow for those willing to listen, the Senior Mess at Teacher’s Camp became more than a venue; it transformed into a living corridor of purpose, conviction, and awakening.
From December 6–9, 2025, voices from across the nation converged for the 47th YMCA National Congress of College Students and the 27th YMCA National Campus Club Advisers’ Seminar-Workshop, guided by a resonant call: Transfor/mY/ssion: Living the Call, Becoming the Change.
Amid this convergence, the PMI Colleges – College “Y” Club stood with quiet confidence, carrying not only their banners but also their stories, questions, and resolve.
As the mist curled through the highlands, the delegates entered four days of dialogue and discovery, where leadership was not dictated from a podium but shaped through shared silences, courageous exchanges, and collaborative sparks that leapt from one institution to another.
The congress unfolded like a carefully woven tapestry.
Leadership sessions challenged inherited notions of influence, while creative showcases offered space for expression that words alone could not hold.
In these moments, social awareness deepened, teamwork evolved beyond obligation, and citizenship was reimagined as an active, deliberate choice rather than a passive title.
The PMI Colleges delegation did not merely observe; they participated with intent and artistry as Jona Cañero translated fleeting inspiration into form through On-the-Spot Drawing, while Lloyd Martin Dela Cruz gave language to immediacy in Dagliang Pagsulat ng Sanaysay.
Thought and structure met on the page through Ma. Gwineth Althea Bardon in Essay Writing, as Princess Vea Francisco commanded the moment with clarity and courage in Extemporaneous Speaking.
The lens, too, became a witness of Rick Axel Boje, for the student category, and Mr. Karl Vincent Alaba, as adviser, captured fragments of truth that might otherwise dissolve into memory.
Energy surged during the Y’ers Got Talent showcase, where rhythm, movement, and collective heartbeat merged. Mai Marohom, Daisy Mae Antiquera, Andrei Mendoza, Gimuiel Pacumbaba, Lhoiza Mae Magallanes, Klyde Kirt Salamanes, Angelo Gabriel Abadiano, Charvimar Estigo, James Daniele Javatte, and Jona Cañero reminded the audience that talent, when shared, becomes communion.
Meanwhile, the written chronicle of the congress found its stewards in the Congress Balita! With Lloyd Martin Dela Cruz shaping narratives as News Writer and The Diamond Albatross’s very own EIC, Ma. Gwineth Althea Bardon lending literary depth—proof that history is preserved not only by events, but by those who dare to tell them well.
Yet beyond contests, citations, or recognition lay a quieter triumph, one that refused to glitter yet endured far longer.
Meeting fellow delegates, each carrying distinct struggles and aspirations, became a victory in itself.
In conversations over meals, in laughter echoing through hallways, and in reflections shared under Baguio’s night sky, barriers dissolved.
Victory, it seemed, was never confined to trophies newly won or applause briefly heard; it lived in the knowledge earned, the courage tested, and the wisdom gathered—even when outcomes fell short of expectation.
These four days in Baguio were not an escape from reality but an immersion into it; a reminder that transformation begins when individuals choose to listen deeply and act deliberately.
Long after the fog lifted and the journey home began, what remained was not merely remembrance, but resolve.
For the PMI Colleges – College “Y” Club delegates, this congress became a chapter worth keeping, not because it marked an end, but because it illuminated the work still waiting to be done.
✍️Althea Bardon
📸Rick Axel Boje & 3/E Karl Vincent Alaba
