Jonathan Beltran: Giving back to the University

For many Lasallians, the subject of graduation often brings up questions about where they’ll work after, or how much they’ve got on their resume.

Rarely does the conversation steer towards what lasting impact a student makes on the University they leave behind.

Jonathan Beltran (II, MAPLS), or Nathan, is one person who aims to make his own contribution to the Lasallian community before he graduates. He hopes to do this by establishing a link between De La Salle University and Harvard University, along with other prestigious institutions of the academe, through starting DLSPAIR, or the De La Salle Project for Asian International Relations.

The road to HPAIR Asia Conference

Starting DLSPAIR was a spontaneous idea for Nathan. As the first student from DLSU to become a part of HPAIR, the Harvard Project for Asian International Relations, he was simply asked if he could find people in his own university and form a group. From there, the idea to form a partner organization of HPAIR within the walls of DLSU quickly developed and Nathan became the first and current Executive Director of DLSPAIR.

The most recent project by DLSPAIR was the HPAIR Asia Conference held last August, which was hosted by DLSU. Hosting this conference was no small feat as it took two years of effort by Nathan and the members of his organization culminating in the 5-day event.

Being able to host the event started with an arduous bidding process. Nathan explains that the bidding process to host the HPAIR Asia Conference was challenging because it was a bid between various universities from all over Asia, each prestigious in their own right. Two years ago, it was held at the American University in Dubai, and last year, it was held in Keio University in Tokyo. This year, it was our very own De La Salle University that won the bid.

Nathan expresses that the sole reason he started DLSPAIR was because of his of love for the school. “I’m in love with the community in La Salle, I love the academe, and I love the administration of the school. It’s not just about leaving a legacy. It’s knowing that I did something good for this community before I leave.”

Leave no one behind

Nathan credits much of the event’s success to the hard work of his team. The proudest moment during the HPAIR event for him was actually the most difficult part. Over the course of five days, the organizers of the event were handling over a hundred speakers. These speakers included the Secretary Butch Abad, the US Ambassador, the Ayala Chairman, the event’s biggest sponsor, the BDO President, and many more. Handling all these guests for five days wasn’t just a logistical problem but also, as Nathan experienced, a protocol problem. It was crucial that everyone on the job knew what to do in case of an emergency.

On the day that would be spent in the University campus, the bad weather caused a sudden change of plans. The situation kept everyone busy, but it also allowed the members of DLSPAIR to truly shine.

The lunch venue was moved from Henry Sy to Enrique Razon within an hour, which Nathan remembers as problematic. Similarly, dinner had to be moved to Perico’s, which meant the team had to negotiate with security to let the guests in. They had run out of drinks during lunch so members had to go through Taft’s many convenience stores to buy water and supplies. Some shelled out their own money. Everything had been done so that those participating wouldn’t feel inconvenienced.

All the work paid off as the guests enjoyed themselves. They were able to experience DLSU’s facilities, meet its professors, and were exposed to student talents like LSDC, the DLSU Animo Squad, and DLSU Chorale. The speakers and delegates were kept entertained and lively throughout the event. To top it all off, because there was no recording of the song, Nathan remembers how he had to begin singing the Alma Mater Hymn alone. “I heard the Brother President also starting to sing. Then everyone started singing with me! It was weird, but in a really good way. It became a proud moment,” he recalls.

Nathan attributes the event’s success to how responsive every person was. Each person was ready with a quick solution to every obstacle, from changing venues to setting up the speakers’ rooms. “At the end of the day, if even the smallest man in the room can say that he has a role in this, he knows what to do, everything just patches up neatly,” he says.

It’s something Nathan tries to instill in the members of his team and the leaders he trains: “Always feel for the smallest man in the room.” He shares how everyone needs to be able to share his or her own ideas, and be comfortable with the task at hand. “Then they don’t just see it as a job. They get to see it as something they really like,” he explains. He advises that, “You have to treat people as leaders. You have to assume that these are smart people. I think as long as you have that level of respect, there really will be times when you don’t have to tell them what to do.”

Create your own doors

Nathan encourages students to find their own ways to give back to the community, whether it’s by starting an organization or giving the school something to be proud of. “To all the students who want to pioneer something, even those who can’t seem find a place for them in the University, you don’t always have to look at existing structures. You don’t always have to look at existing doors,” he says. Be creative about it.

He also wants students to realize that if they can’t succeed immediately and start feeling demotivated or disappointed by how an organization is performing or how plans are going, it’s something everyone goes through. “I went through that,” he reveals, “My first year in DLSPAIR wasn’t really the best. You have to take it as a learning experience. You are always characterized by how you stand up to your failures, not by how you fall.”

It was also by taking past failures as opportunities to learn that helped Nathan form such a tight-knit team. As an example, he cites the time he spent in a political party as the source of many lessons. “It wasn’t an entirely good experience, but it was a learning experience. I learned why people leave organizations and why organizations fail. People would go in for the credentials, but they wouldn’t stay for the right reasons,” he recalls.

Lasallians are capable of making their own doors. It can be challenging, but Nathan believes that with the right motivation and determination, and of course, other people who want to work towards a similar vision, anyone is capable of creating opportunities for greatness.