20/02/2026
๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ | What Makes a Leader a Hero: BUCE Lead Camp 2026
In a world filled with the cry of needs and voices of criticism, you were given a great power to become any of them. Having this power, you have two choices: Will you live a life with less stress as a part of the noise, or will you be a part of a solution so risky that many people will keep their eyes on you and comment on anything you do?
This is the exact question that lingered at Bicol University College of Education during the two-day BUCE Leadership Camp 2026, February 13-14, 2026, with the theme โEntering LeaderVerse; Building the Leader Within,โ inspired by a quote from the Spiderman series that says โWith great power comes great responsibility.โ
๐๐๐ฌ ๐ญ
๐๐ค๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ
Mx. Shieralyn Dela Torre, L.P.T., former BUCE-CSC President, served as the resource speaker for the morning activity. She highlighted the blueprint of an effective leader, including the qualities that they should possess, motivating the participants to conquer those that hinder them from becoming one, and that mistakes and pain are always a part of the process.
โKaya ka nasasaktan, kasi gumagalaw ka.
Kaya ka nagkakamali, dahil may ginagawa ka. At kaya ka nariyan, dahil may halaga ka,โ de la Torre stated.
Dela Torre also made a heartfelt emphasis, saying great leaders can also be regarded as heroes as they act while the rest of the world complains.
โBecause, if not you, then who? You are the hero we need today,โ she added.
๐ฝ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐๐จ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฃ
Lead Camp participants attended afternoon sessions according to the committee of their own liking, each with speakers sharing their expertise: Secretariat Training (Mx. Elzon Olandria), Finance (Mx. Danielle de Mesa), Audit (Mx. Glendy Ong), Business Management (Mx. Jan Joshua Gados), and Public Relations: Photography and Documentation (Mx. Justine M. Colar), and Hosting and Scriptwriting (Ms. Francia Mae Borras).
Each speaker not only taught the participants how to improve in their selected craft but also how to use their powers to lead and serve other people.
๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ผ๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐๐๐จ
The night was brimming with fun and camaraderie, but first, everyone participated in a boodle fight as food tastes better when shared with others, and this is also one way to build a connection with them.
After the meal and other preparations, each subcamp performed its yell, and SDG 4 had the best yell among all subcamps. Following the event, bebots from each subcamp showcased their beauty, charisma, and brains as the most-awaited Search for Bebot of the Night commenced. In the end, Diego Sazukie Mesa, SDG 1, won as the Bebot of the Night, with a bebot pose that became a core memory for everyone who watched, with Gabriel Baroso, SDG 2, and Mark Lean Balaoro, SDG 4, who won second and third places, respectively.
The campfire was lit, and it was burning so bright, like the heart of all leaders inside the premises of BUCE that night, as everyone raised their right hands for an oath to leadership. After this, participants and facilitators gave marshmallows to people that they love, appreciate, and would like to apologize to, filling the night not only with laughter but also with tears, warm hugs, and sincere messages to one another, as leadership is not always about having a strong and fearless demeanor. It is also about showing your vulnerable side for them to understand that you are still human.
๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ
Everybody just woke up. Bodies are stiff and need some stretching; therefore, with a zumba, subcampers danced to the rhythm of lively music. They also presented the flags and masks that they created, and SDG 2 showcased their witty 88 Up (eat-it-up) design, earning them the Best Flag award. With the brilliant illustration of looking back to culture as Filipinos as the first step of fighting poverty in the country, SDG 1 won the favor of judges and fellow subcampers to win the Best Mask award.
๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ข๐๐ฏ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐พ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฉ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ
The field is set, and the joints are warmed up, and each subcamp bolted to 9 stations as the Amazing Race took place. Each station has its own leadership and cognitive skill target. In the end, SDG 1 finished first and was regarded as the best-performing subcamp in Amazing Race and Climate Fight, and therefore the overall champion of the BUCE Lead Camp 2026.
BUCE Leadership Camp 2026 is not only another overnight activity. For most participants, it became a platform to expand their horizon a little broader once more not for credentials, clout, or organization representation, but for actual memories that they will cherish in their college journey, and lessons of leadership and service that will last forever.
Because knowing an issue is avidly the easiest thing to do; thinking about and suggesting a solution can be done by anyone smart enough to think, but the actual action of solving problems despite the risks, despite the criticisms, is only done by those with real guts and a desire to uplift one another when others decided not toโand that is what great leaders are made for, and that is what great leaders are made for, and that is what makes them heroes of today. | ๐ท๐ช๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐ข๐บ ๐๐ถ๐ช๐ค๐ฐ, ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ
๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ด ๐ฃ๐บ
๐๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ฏ๐ข ๐๐ช๐ณ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ, ๐๐ช๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ฏ๐ข, & ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐บ๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐บ ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฐ๐ซ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ด; & ๐๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ, ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ข๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ
