My High School Experience: A Lesson on Leadership

by James Mangaliman

My graduation day

I don’t often like to write about my own accomplishments. It doesn’t feel natural to me. It defies an unwritten moral code of mine. Having someone write about me, I feel, is an even greater qualm that I purposely neglect unless it has been forced upon me. In which case I do the best that I can to minimalize the effect. Though the plaques and certificates are a testament to my growth, flaunting them is paradoxical; it is a conceited and thus immature demonstration. However, my mother asked me to work on this, and as much as I find it challenging, I write this, in as genuine a way as I can, about the unimaginable experiences with the heartiest of people I have ever met, that have raised me to the man I am today. These memories are the true gold that shine brighter than any plaque or trophy bound to collect dust.

I began my experience at Chaminade College School, an all male Catholic school in Toronto, as a reserved boy wanting nothing more than to adapt to his new surroundings. Chaminade, a modest institute to say the least, prides itself in having a “brotherhood” which connects its students, a common bond that calls for the support of friendship in all situations of life. Be it adversity or triumph, this brotherhood of peers and mentors provides an environment that welcomes the growth of the men that walk its halls. To me, Chaminade was a place to try, a home to meet my goal of leaving my mark.

When I first walked the halls of Chaminade, I held close to what was familiar to me, never daring to overstep my boundaries or leave my comfort zone. As I had in elementary school, I worked diligently when it came to my academics. Though I never expected academic excellence, I saw nothing wrong in friendly competition or striving to reach the best possible mark that I could achieve. Of course I had experienced and most importantly loving teachers to thank for my academic success – they were the men and women who demanded and inspired not just myself, but all the students they taught, to give nothing but 110% in all that we were challenged with. It was their upbeat lectures and larger than life words advising us to be determined to succeed, that I have to thank for my academic success. From highest average awards to specific awards like excellence in English, Religion and Biology, I was able to build a name for myself and start to recognize the type of person that I was.

However, it wasn’t solely my academic success that allowed me to find my voice in a school of over 900 students. In fact my teachers and classmates can attest that I only selectively participated in class discussion. I preferred sitting on my hands and listening in as opposed to raising my hand to speak; I never was really good at coming up with the right words to say for a class, which is ironic considering what my four years at high school culminated to at Graduation. I did however, manage to step up and out of my shell with in the extracurricular opportunities that my school had to offer. In grade nine and ten I started off with clubs like the school newspaper, the Model United Nations Team, and the Mental Health Awareness Committee as a junior student learning how to contribute to the school community. However with each passing year I began to grow as a leader. With the help of the teachers and students, all of whom were interdependent upon each other, I grew from writer to Chief of layout, from debater to Secretary General of the MUN Team and from a student to a student leader. I pieced together six school-wide publications, organized a citywide secondary schools model united nations symposium, with over 200 students in attendance, and lead a campaign for mental wellness at Chaminade and across the Toronto Catholic District School Board.

In my final year at Chaminade, one of my teachers, a close friend of mine, remarked that I had grown from a kid who stuck only to himself and his schoolwork, to a friendly face in the hallways. She said that I was just a nerdy kid in grade nine, which I initially took offense to but later realized the sincerity of the sentiment. It is a growth best demonstrated by the friends and teachers that I smile when I think about and thank God for every night. I would never have developed such bonds had I not chosen to immerse myself in the welcoming opportunities that Chaminade had to offer. And it was the people that surrounded me – the friends that stayed up all night talking over the phone with, the teachers that stayed extra hours to give me advice that I still cherish – it was these this camaraderie amongst the people of Chaminade that helped me to make my mark and realize who I wanted to be. It was this brotherhood that made me realize that I wanted to be a person that made my friends and family proud of me, no matter what I do in life.

On graduation night I stood before the Class of 2014, honorably elected by my peers as Valedictorian. Though I received other awards recognizing my involvement as a student leader in my school, like the Lieutenant Governor General’s Volunteer Service Award, it was this recognition that made Graduation Night the most memorable night of my life. Not solely because of the recognition, but because I had the chance to give back to the brotherhood that taught me how to be a man, to let the students and staff members know how thankful I was to have grown alongside such a colorful community. As I move on to post-secondary education, as I continue to grow as a human being, I promised myself never to let the memory of my high school family collect dust in the back of my mind. After all, it was an experience that fuelled my determination to continue to leave my mark wherever I go.


About the Author

James is the son of Marilyn Arellano Mangaliman, originally from Pagsanaan Norte and currently based in Toronto, Canada.  He just graduated class valedictorian from Chaminade College School in Toronto.  James has been to Magsingal once and would love to go back again.