Black and Gold, Vol. 2 Issue No. 2

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MANAGEMENT OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ASSOCIATION

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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MESSAGE TO THE JUNIOR OFFICERS

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A LOOKBACK ON THE PREVIOUS TERM

BPI EXPOSURE TRIP: 2019 RISK MANAGEMENT ACADEMY

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MOBS TO OFFICERS JOURNEY

MEET MaFIA’S BEST OF THE BEST!

K &

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INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2020

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BREAKING THE HOME ORGANIZATION STIGMA

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HANDLE MaFIA MEMBERS?

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IMPORTANCE OF JOINING CENTRAL COMMITTEES

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MESSAGE TO THE JUNIOR OFFICERS

BY TRICIA CRUZ

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y Junior Officership is one of the journeys I cannot forget in my college days not because it was a memorable one, well without doubt it was, but because, as I could remember, I was the only frosh who joined and actively participated. I knew nothing about organizations, and I knew no one in MaFIA in particular. With my situation, I realized that I needed to step out of my game and adjust to my new environment. Of course it was not as easy being said “I can do this”, but the fact that I was still not in my comfortable zone it was indeed challenging.

Gladly, the people in the organization are welcoming, accommodating, and easygoing. Eventually, I became part of the Human Resources Committee as a JO, and what I did not expect is for MaFIA to be considered my family, what we call MaFIAmily.

As another year started, another Junior Officership Training Series began. To our Junior Officers, thank you for showing your interest in the organization in training and developing you to become the future leaders of the community. I personally believe that at this point of time, just like me in the past, you are feeling the weight in attending all the activities may it be from your committee or others. But, this is just the beginning of your exciting travel with us. Continue to actively participate in every activity as rewards and benefits awaits you. Also, do not miss the chance of joining central committees of big events because this is another experience you would not regret.

Well, that’s just it. Meet new people, expand your network, learn the process, and most especially enjoy and just have fun. Saying congratulations in advance to our future leaders of MaFIA.

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BLACK & GOLD EDITORIAL BOARD ELISA LIM

VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLICITY

JAMES PAUL CALUB, STEPHANIE CHAN, SANDRA CRUZ, RONELLA HUGO ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS FOR PUBLICITY

ADA BERNALDO, BRYCE CHEN, HANS GUTIERREZ, DOMINIC HECHANOVA, CATHERINE KE, TRISHA ELLA TALAGON JUNIOR OFFICERS FOR PUBLICITY

TRICIA CRUZ, PHOEBE JOCO, NADINE VILLANUEVA, HANA SEBE, NEIL CAI, MIGUEL PONCE WRITERS

JANELLE BALMACEDA, KAYLIN DING, CHELSEA YU, JERLENE CORONADO, MARTIN ORNIDO, RONELLA HUGO, HANA SEBE, GIANINA CHAN, CHELSEA YU, ADA BERNALDO, JEANETTE MALLARI, JULES LASTINO, WENDY CHUA CONTRIBUTORS

ELISA LIM, SANDRA CRUZ GRAPHIC/LAYOUT ARTISTS

STEPHANIE CHAN, ELISA LIM, RONELLA HUGO, SANDRA CRUZ, HANS GUTIERREZ, VERA LACANDILI PHOTOGRAPHERS

A LOOK BACK ON THE PREVIOUS TERM

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EXPOSURE TRIP:

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2019 RISK MANAGEMENT ACADEMY

degree in Finance wasn’t exactly my first choice. It was only through certain circumstances that pushed me to take up this degree. It dealt with money, investing, and problem solving. I liked it, but whenever people would ask me where this degree would lead me to, I tend to just dwindle, say “probably in a Financial Institution,” but not knowing exactly what to expect from it. It was this curiosity that led me to immediately say yes when asked if I wanted to join this 2-day company tour. Aside from the thrill of going on a trip, I knew this would help me see the picture a bit more clearly. Day 1 of the BPI Risk Management Academy was more of an urban trek. The 2-day schedule was laid out and I got daunted but also excited when I read that this wasn’t just an ordinary field trip like I had expected it to be. We walked around Makati where we were familiarized with the bank operations by showing us different divisions that dealt with various transactions. It was actually quite refreshing to learn about finance outside school premises. We get a tour of their offices and branches, a glimpse of the dealing room, even a peek at the vaults.

by Phoebe Joco

We then get to listen to various employees talk about exactly what they do as a job, and how it contributes to the whole operation of the company. We attended lecture sessions, where we were given bank crash courses to prep us for a presentation we had to make on the second day. Not exactly what I had signed up for, but the same fascination for finance I shared with the people whom I met at the trip made it bearable, and it actually gave me a good reason to listen to the lectures they gave out. At first, I was half convinced working for a bank wasn’t the best for me based on the stereotypes I’ve heard, but after meeting people and hearing them passionately talk about what they do for work made me reconsider my initial thoughts. I left the Risk Management Academy with a different way of thinking than when I arrived. This exposure trip didn’t answer all my queries, nor did it make my plans clearer, but it gave me an idea to play with, a new insight that assured me maybe I’m in the right field after all.

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MOBS TO OFFICERS

JOURNEY M

y MaFIA journey started on my first year in college – back when I was still a clueless yet curious frosh who felt like joining MaFIA was obligatory as a Finance major.

Being the school-bahay type of student in high school, I had that desire to make the most out of every experience that my college life has to offer.

Seeing my friends from higher batches participate in various DP blasts for their orgs made me want to have nice DPs as well (kidding!). But kidding aside, more than having creative Facebook DPs, I realized that my college dream is to be a part of something great in which I can do great things and eventually become a great leader.

Upon joining MaFIA during the Annual Recruitment Week, I was already welcomed with the very first opportunity that can help me achieve my college dream, and that was the MOBS Program.

I decided to apply for the MOBS Program to take my first step in becoming a part of something great. The MOBS Program, which actually stands for MaFIA’s Official Beginners Squad, helped me get to know my home org better – from knowing the different committees that work together to understanding how MaFIA works as a whole to achieve its organizational goals. Through the various MOBS sessions, I felt like I have moved a step closer towards achieving my college dream, for I got enough inspiration and motivation to further my journey to Junior Officership.

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by Nadine Villanueva The application period for MaFIA’s Junior Officer Training Program followed, and the biggest challenge at that time was to choose my top three desired committees. It was a difficult decision to make because I had to consider the question “Where would I be able to contribute my strengths, overcome my weaknesses, and enjoy the experiences all at the same time?” What made it more difficult is that I did not know myself well enough at that time. I doubted my strengths, questioned my weaknesses, and did not think much about my interests. I simply chose the committees which I think would look good on my resume, unsure whether I would actually fit in those committees.

Results came out and I found out that I did not get accepted in all of my top three committees.

Honestly, I felt bad and thought that I was not good enough. I was already feeling discouraged about fulfilling my dream of doing great things until I saw my ID number in one of the committees I did not apply for, which was the Human Resources committee. Still disappointed, I was intentionally avoiding the group chats of my committee. Until one day, I decided to get myself together and take it as an opportunity instead of a failure.

Being a Junior Officer for Human Resources was actually fun and challenging at the same time. I was given opportunities to spearhead projects such as Amazing Race and Minute to Win It. Apart from the experience of planning and executing an event, I also learned a lot from working with a team. Little by little, I found myself coming out of my shell and eventually, I started to understand why I was given a place in HR. I started to love my committee and I have become passionate about the HR roles such as making everyone feel involved in the organization and partaking in their personal growth and development. This urged me to continue my journey as Associate Vice President for HR Training and Development in my second year, where I believe, I was finally able to start doing great things for the organization.

Now that I am the Vice President for Training and Development,

“I believe that I am already at the peak of achieving my personal goal of becoming a GREAT LEADER.” I always try my best to impart my knowledge to my AVPs and JOs, hoping to be an inspiration to them in discovering their capabilities and maximizing their full potentials. In developing training programs for my organization, I see to it that I take into consideration everyone’s interests to ensure that the activities are specially developed to cater to their needs. More importantly, my leadership style is grounded on allowing each and everyone’s voices to be heard, for I believe that a fun and productive working environment can be achieved if discussions are made collaborative. I cannot really say that I am already that great leader I envisioned myself to be, but with the help of my org mates-turned-MaFIAmily, I can say I have, at least, found my purpose. MaFIA has allowed me to grow and flourish as a person, and I hope that I am able to inspire others to experience the same through my leadership.

My overall journey with MaFIA was not perfect, for there were also hardships along the way. However, I would not have it any other way because everything that happened in my three years in MaFIA has helped me get to know myself better and be the person that I am now. Moreover, through all the harships that I have encountered, I have learned to turn my failures into stepping stones to success. I do not and will never regret any of the decisions I made in my college life, especially joining MaFIA, which from simply being my home organization as a Finance major, has become an organization I can truly call home.

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MEET MaFIA’s BEST OF THE BEST! HANA SEBE

Associate Vice President for Academics Becoming an officer in my home organization is part of my bucket list in college. It has opened me to new opportunities and experiences. It also made me become a better student leader.

GIANINA CHAN Associate Vice President for Student & Social Development

Even before college started, I had already set my mind on joining MaFIA and hopefully become and officer someday.

Indeed, becoming an officer is a dream come true and the experience has taught me a lot so far, such as managing time, exploring ideas, and meeting new people. It has allowed me to really step out of my shell and grow as a person.

CHELSEA YU

Associate Vice President for Finance It was a great opportunity to be an officer in MaFIA because it gave me many experience that I would never thought I would gain in college. Although becoming an officer has a corresponding tasks, it equipped me to be a better person because it help me to learn more about different people and to balance my time between my academics and organization works. In finance, I learned more about how every detail has its importance and it teached me how to be responsible with my actions.

KAY LIN DING

Associate Vice President for Documentations Being a MaFIA officer was a blessing for me as it has presented opportunities for me to learn more about myself as well as to work with different people in different situations. It does indeed comes with different challenges and sacrifices along the way. Yet, I believe it is worth it for this is a wonderful experience for me to be a step closer to becoming a wellrounded individual.

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MARTIN ORNIDO

Associate Vice President for Training & Development Being a MaFIA Officer gave me a lot of opportunities to enchance my skills and meet different people with similar amibitions! It really is a honor to be part of my home organization and would definitely recommend the next set of Junior Officers to try and experience these as well.

JANELLE BALMACEDA

Associate Vice President for Membership

I would say that being an officer for MaFIA is one of the main highlights of my college life. Through this experience, I was able to step out of my comfort zone, engage in new opportunities and become a better version myself. Being an officer for MaFIA is definitely not an easy task and comes with heavy responsibilities yet it gives you a sense of fulfillment knowing that there are a lot of people who would benefit from the time and effort you exert towards the organization.

JERLENE CORONADO

Associate Vice President for Corporate Relations As an officer of MaFIA, I find it daring for it pushed me to go out of my comfort zone and explore new or different things. But this daring moment had been beneficial to me because it made me more fearless in trying things that I am afraid of. To sum it up, my experience as an officer is astonishing for it created the version 2.0 of myself who is wiser, bolder and fiercer.

RONELLA HUGO

Associate Vice President for Publicity Becoming an officer of MaFIA is one of the best decisions I made this college because this was able to help me in widening my horizon meeting new people, learning and improving both my strengths and weaknesses and at the same time experiencing new amazing things.

So far for these two terms, I can say that it truly was a challenging one but I always believe in the saying that you wouldn’t have become the person you are today if not because of all the things you had gone through. Indeed, this experience of becoming an officer is something that is close to my heart because I truly have grown so much - pushing myself into the limits and always aspiring to achieve greatness.

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by Hana Sebe

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he stock market is known to be a complex financial market for trading. Several individuals are interested in trading however they are either afraid of the risks or just not knowledgeable about it. As an organization that continues to organize informative events, the Management of Financial Institutions Association arranged Investment Summit 2020. It was a half-day seminar in partnership with Investagrams, held on February 29, 2020, at Natividad Fajardo Auditorium.

The event aimed to introduce the stock market to participants and teach the basics of trading. To attain these objectives, three speakers were able to discuss the different aspects of trading in the stock market. Mr. Kervin Hao gave a thorough overview of stock market 101. As technical analysis is important when choosing which stocks to buy and sell, Mr. Renzo Maano discussed it. Nowadays even students are engaged in trading in the stock market which is why Mr. Paolo Tomacruz shared his story as trading as a student. All the speakers were able to deliver insightful and informative discussions that are highly beneficial to those starting in trading.

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Investment Summit is more than just a seminar, it also handled a trading competition. It was a one-month competition that lets the participants experience virtually trading in the market. It is advantageous as it also serves as a platform for the participants to be familiarized with the stock market. Cash prizes were given to the top three traders as their reward for diligently trading.

It was an honor to be one of the project heads for the Investment Summit. All of our hard work in preparation for the event was worthwhile as it was successful.

I am proud of the central committee for putting in hard work and cooperation.

I would like to thank Investagrams for partnering with MaFIA. Thank you for believing in us in handling the event. I am looking forward to MaFIA’s future events. May it continue its excellence in organizing informative financial events.

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BREAKING THE HOME ORGANIZATION STIGMA

by Neil Cai

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hen I was in Highschool, I never thought of joining any organizations because I thought it would be a hassle, but as I went to college. This changed my perspective because I have friends who joined MaFIA and I saw how they enjoyed and how happy they were in MaFIA. During the annual recruitment week, one of my friends invited me to join MaFIA without really knowing anything, so this made me join the organization. One of the Activities of MaFIA is the MOBS Program, in which this activity helped me train to become a future leader of the organization. When I was applying for the Junior Officer position, I applied to the Documentation Committee not because I like checking documents but because I know that it can help grow to be more detail oriented, organized, and responsible.

During the officership application last year, I was hesitant to run for Vice President because I am pressured since MaFIA was always top one in the Secretary Accreditation and I don’t think I can do

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that, however, this opened an opportunity and pushed me to strive to be a better Vice President and to be part of something bigger and experience new things.

Being the Vice President for Documentations has challenged me to get out of my comfort zone. When I was a Junior Officer for Documentation, I got to experience talking with different people of different committees in the organization, this helped my introverted personality, which made me bring out the shyness that I have. Joining MaFIA was the best decision of my college life, I’ve got to learn different things that were not thought of in the four walls of the classroom. One of the things I love doing in the MaFIA is helping and supporting people not just in my committee but also in other committees as well. I like joining the Central Committee of big events such as GFC, NFC, because this is where I learn new things, and meet new people outside of my committee.

MaFIA has been my family for the past two years and this made me realize that there

were so many opportunities and avenues for each person to learn in MaFIA. One of the hardest things I’ve done when I was one of the Directors for Documentations for National Finance Congress 2019. This was the first time that I was one of the team leaders of a certain committee since I have never handled any. Both my codirector and I had struggled during the preparation of the event. There were so many documents that were new to both of us. However, this experience has helped me learn more processes that I never encountered before. I also volunteered as a class head for a LEAP Class last year, this was the first time I ever handled an off-campus activity.

There were so many documents needed for the activity to push through, not only that, but since the people who applied for the class were mostly not from MaFIA, so it is harder to to contact them, also last-minute complications arise but in the end, I am happy that the event push through and it was successful after all the hard work I’ve gone through. Through all of these struggles, this made me improve as a person and made me realize that joining an organization is not that easy, however, if you accept and try opportunities that arise, and go through all these struggles, this can help you as an individual to be a better future leader.

Lastly, I don’t regret joining MaFIA, even if I am not a Finance Major, because this has helped me a lot in becoming a better version of myself. Through all the training since the MOBS to JOTS programs, joining CenComms, officership application, training my AVPs and JOs, Now I see myself as someone who became a stronger and better person and a leader after joining MaFIA. 15

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO HANDLE

MaFIA MEMBERS?

by Miguel Ponce

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eing the appointed officer to handle the 475 members of the organization is a challenging task, but at the same time one of the tasks that I am thankful for to be entrusted with. When I found out that I was going to be in charge of leading the Membership Committee of the organization, the first thing that I asked myself was, “why was I chosen?”. Coming from a Junior Officer status, I did not expect to be given such a huge responsibility right away, but it happened anyway. Despite the doubts that I had about my capability of handling this committee, I still gave and continue to give my best effort and my full commitment to achieve our goals as a committee. Throughout my journey as the Vice President for Membership, I have learned a lot of things that really developed and still continue to develop my character as an officer of MaFIA, as a student, and as a person in general.

With my committee, we make sure to always try to understand our members so that we may be able to approach them the right way.

First, I learned the value of understanding people.

It may sound simple because understanding is knowing the background of a person. Based on that knowledge, hence, it is your way of approach towards that person. It may sound easy to understand a person, but to do it for all the members of the organization and to do it consistently is definitely a challenging task. As the head of the committee, I have been constantly receiving messages or texts from the different members about their concerns and inquiries about certain matters. Through this, I learn how to understand them as the members of MaFIA.

Besides understanding the members of the organization, I have also learned the importance of patience. As the famous quote tells us, “Patience is a virtue”, I couldn’t agree more that patience is a good quality to have especially when it comes to interacting with people. As I spearhead the Membership committee, I have learned how to be patient with the members of the organization. I have learned that one must be patient when handling a lot of people to let them know that you are approachable, and someone they can look up to. Also, when it comes to handling a lot of members and as an officer who is in charge of interacting

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Hence, through our ACTIONS, we may also be able to SHOW and let them KNOW that OUR ORGANIZATION IS A PLACE where they can call it a HOME.

with the members, I have met and will continue to meet numerous and different kinds of people.

There are people who are easy to communicate with, and some people who have a different character compared to myself. With this being said, patience is a significant trait that one should have when communicating with different kinds of people because it’s not always an easy time to talk to all of the members of the organization, that is why it is important to be patient with them.

Lastly, besides all the mentioned traits and qualities that one must have in order to be able to handle all the members of the organization, one of the important things that I have learned and continue to learn is the value of teamwork and camaraderie. I have stated some of the tasks of the Membership committee and all of these tasks will only be accomplished if there is teamwork between the officers of the committee. As the head of the committee, I realized that I cannot accomplish all the tasks of the committee by myself and I have to get my co-officers involved by properly distributing and assigning tasks to them.

Also, as a leader of the group, I have to guide each of my officers in the tasks that I have given to them so they will know how to do it the right way and the most efficient way. Most importantly, I have learned that in order to have a sense of camaraderie in our committee, I have to give my trust to them. I have to trust my fellow officers that they will do their tasks efficiently, and that they are more than capable of doing their assigned tasks.

Being the head of the Membership Committee is a challenging task, but it has been a great experience for me so far because I have the best team I could’ve asked for. While handling all the members of the organization, I have met a lot of great people too. I am excited for what this committee has in store for me and thrilled to continue my journey in MaFIA.

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IMPORTANCE OF JOINING

Ada Bernaldo

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Jeanette Mallari

Junior Officer for Publicity

Junior Officer for Documentations

“I could sum up my cencomm experience with 3 words; stressful, exciting, and educational. The stress came from the rushed pubs to be made but it was exciting to see our pubs being used for the event. It was an overall educational experience that I could apply not only to future MaFIA events but also in my daily life wherein teamwork, cooperation, and time management is needed. That knowledge is what makes it very important. You’re not only helping the organization, but also developing your own skills.”

“It was overwhelming. Standing, waiting for participants to queue on the documentations front-line, felt like I was a beach-goer waiting to be swallowed by a large wave. As I’ve learned with big crowds--particularly those consisting of impatient college students, are usually the hardest bunch to manage. Luckily, I learned quite a few tricks with the documentations team that fosters my inner-leader; from quick decision making to crowd control, but most importantly; I was left with the skill to surf through a wave no matters its size, and have fun while doing it.”

CENTRAL COMMITTEES

Jules Lastino

Junior Officer for Corporate Relations

“My first central committee experience was quite fine as I was able to test my knowledge and skills on fulfilling the tasks within and outside of my committee.Though, there were some shortcomings in my duties such that there is still room for improvement.

Given that, it is important to join cencomms as it gives opportunities to learn new things outside of your committee. It will enable you to be aware of how each committee operates if you’re aiming to become a higher officer in the future. Finally, it will help you to further develop yourself as a student and as an individual during your time in the university.”

Wendy Chua

Junior Officer for Student & Social Development “The experience is like an opening door, offering new learning opportunities to me, because through the experience, I was able to understand the basics of how a central committee works and how it will aid me in my gorwth and improvement in the different aspects of life. Although my first cencomm experience was tense and stressfull, it was also full of excitement and realization.

Through the experience, I was able to build closer ties with fellow members of the organization by working with them and learning from from their experiences.

Overall, I believe that joining cencomms are precious and memorable because not only would one gain knowledge on the process of events and seminars, but it also serves as an opportunity for one to grow and develop one’s skills in cooperating with others and coping with different challenges.”

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VOL. 2 ISSUE NO. 2