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**Click here>>> Endorsement Letter to US Consul and Itinerary of Brods Ezzy Ezcoto and Allan Ibanez, 10/16-11/03 >>> Revised Itinerary as of 10-12-10
MOVING ON WITH OUR BROTHERHOOD OF SCHOLARS PROGRAM
With the BOD approval of the Brotherhood of Scholars Program to provide an "ante" of $500.00, we move on to the next step as proposed by Brod Edsel Arceo. The total amount of this program for two recipients is $2,500.00 (plane ticket, visa, passport, taxes), which means we are still $2,000 "shy". This is a challenge for our UPBSFAA (Manila) as well.
May I encourage our membership to extend further support by way of the following:
1. Personal donation. Just to lead the way, I am pledging my $100.00 for this program. The email message of Brod Elmer Reyes (pls see article below this one) has given further clarification on how powerful this program has been, and how much UP President Emer Roman has appreciated it as having a long-lasting effect on the whole FRATERNITY SYSTEM in U.P.
2. Hosting. Again, we will be needing generous brods to host the board and lodging of the recipient-scholars. From my end, I am offering my home in Rocklin for as many days as these scholars will be staying in Sacramento and vicinity. I suppose this will be during the semestral break during the first two weeks of November this year.
3. Tours. To make their stay truly a well-rounded experience while in the vicinity of Sacramento, the scholars will be treated to educational tours in schools and offices, as follows:
* EDUCATIONAL TOURS in government offices:
Department of Transportation. The Scholar-recipients will be shown how efficiently our office monitors construction/repair of skyways, roads, bridges, pavements and the like, in order to prevent scheduling delays; also monitoring of traffic especially in key intersection areas. Main message: How advanced technology is used to service the public.
Department of Motor Vehicles. The Scholar-recipients will be shown how efficiently any DMV office in the County of Placer, California could service thousands of clientele per day. Main message: Because there is a will to serve the public, Placer County,and perhaps all the DMV offices in California, has found systematic and creative ways to deliver services most effectively and efficiently. (Much unlike my personal experiences during my Philippine visit in 2005!)
Meals on Wheels. The Scholar-recipients will be shown how a program of the aged works in the County of Sacramento. They will see the two pain "faces" of this program (a) Drivers volunteering to deliver meals at the doorsteps of the aged, and (b) Volunteers serving as waiters and dishwashers in the Senior Centers. Main message: The tradition of VOLUNTEERISM is among America's important backbones.
* EDUCATIONAL TOURS in the following schools and universities:
Sierra College. This is an excellent community college in Rocklin, California, former summer home of 49ers. My daughter who was president of the Student Council of this college (with a total of 18,000 students) will show the scholars on how this community college works, their campus, as well as their rich curriculum that matches labor demand for specific skills; also provide instructions for hobbyists and small entrepreneurs.
Sacramento State University. The scholar-recipients will have a chance to see not only the campus, but also how the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) works especially for poor people who want to pursue courses beyond high school.
University of California, Davis (UCD). UC-Davis has a vast campus that include fraternity houses, and many other facilities and services that are not seen in UP.
I would like to thank the whole Board of Directors not only for the approval of Edsel's Resolution, but also for all the words of wisdom that were shared during the deliberation; but most of all, for allowing us to MOVE ON and perform our other important tasks of supporting our programs in pursuance of 2010: The Year of UP Beta Sigma Fraternity.
As ever your servant,
Willie "Tatang" Vergara March 12, 2010
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The Board of Directors of the UPBSFI, Inc. recently approved to provide seed money of $500 to The UP Beta Sigma Fraternity’s Brotherhood of Scholars Program. The Proposal was sponsored by Second VP Edsel Arceo as a follow up to last year's successful project that sent resident two most deserving brods Kim Montaniel and Danilo Si to California, where they made field trips to educational institutions and offices like Google, Inc. Both Kim and Danny are cum laude candidates.
*Votes Result: 15 Yes, 1 No, 6 Abstained
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PROPOSAL: UP BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY’S BROTHERHOOD OF SCHOLARS PROGRAM
Dear UPBSFI Board of Directors,
I respectfully submit for your comments and approval the following proposal regarding the U.P. Beta Sigma Fraternity's Brotherhood of Scholars Program:
BACKGROUND The Brotherhood of Scholars Program is an incentive program undertaken by the U.P. Beta Sigma Fraternity to send resident members who have shown excellence in academics and relevant endeavors to visit the United States to broaden their perspective by exposing them to circumstances and opportunities outside the Philippines. It also gives the resident members a chance to interact personally with the alumni members who have made significant contribution and success in their respective field of endeavor abroad. As discussed with the resident members with regards to an effective strategy to attract more scholars to our fraternity, the answer was the Brotherhood of Scholars Program.
1. Inspire the resident members to excel in their academics as excellent scholastic standing is a criterion in choosing the recipients of the program. 2. Strengthen the relationship between resident members and the alumni members abroad, notwithstanding age and geographical location. 3. Serve as a vital instrument to recruit U.P. students to join the only U.P. fraternity with a rewards system that can send its resident members abroad.
Brod Danilo Si 08A, a fourth year B Secondary Education (Major in Mathematics) and Brod Kim Montaniel '08D, a third year BS Community Nutrition, both with excellent scholastic standing and running for cum laude, were chosen as the first recipients of the Brotherhood of Scholars Program in 2009.
Brod Alvin "Kim" Cabatit '82B generously shouldered the expenses for visa processing and airfare for both recipients.
The U.P. Beta Sigma Fraternity Alumni Association, Inc. of Southern California sponsored the stay of the recipients in Los Angeles, California and prepared an itinerary which allowed them to visit with fellow members of the fraternity in the alumni community and visit various universities, colleges, and tourist attractions to accomplish their objectives.
ISSUE The issue right now is the sustainability of the Brotherhood of Scholars Program in the coming years. We, the current UPBSFI Board of Directors, could do our share for at least this year, and perhaps the next.
PROPOSAL Initial funding by the UPBSFI in the amount of $500 for the year 2010 with the hope that other alumni members will join in as well.We will evaluate this program again from year to year to see if this particular investment will continue to bring us the returns as we see them.
The proposed source of funding will come from UPBSFI's operating cash balance in the amount of $2,666.58 for the year ended December 31, 2009.
Sincerely,
EDSEL ARCEO '73 UPBSFI Second Vice President March 1, 2010
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COMMENTARY: PRINCE ELMER REYES Immediate Past Grand Princep, UP Diliman
Brods,
I’ve been closely following the discussions in this e-mail group regarding the Brotherhood of Scholars Program. In behalf of the residents and the proponents of the program, I’d like to thank all of you for the interest you showed to the program. The opinions expressed by everyone, concurring or otherwise, show that our Fraternity is indeed well and alive.
Though the issue of the UPBSFI supporting the program is settled already, and we greatly appreciate decision of the UPBSFI to support the program, I’d like to share my insights and experiences in handling this program. I would have written this earlier, but I was writing my thesis manuscript.
As we know, the Brotherhood of Scholars program is an incentive trip to the United States to deserving brods, the major point of qualification is of course excellent academic standing, though performance in the Fraternity (in terms of recruitment, participation in projects, etc.) is also a consideration. The program has five objectives: (1) as an incentive program, it aims to inspire the residents to excel; (2) it aims to broaden the horizons of the recipients on the Fraternity by exposing them to how fraternal ties are sustained beyond the University and the mother country; (3) it aims to transcend generational and geographical gaps between residents and alumni; (4) as the only Fraternity in the Philippines that have this program, it gives us an identity project that gives substance to our being the Brotherhood of Scholars; and (5) as a scholarship and incentive program, it makes the Fraternity closer to the hearts of the families of the residents, which, given the notorious connotation of fraternities in the Philippines, helps restore the faith in the Fraternity, or in fraternities in general, as a noble institution.
The program is endorsed by the UP President herself, Dr. Emerlinda R. Roman. And during our courtesy call to her after the return of the first recipients, Bods Danilo Si ‘08A and Kim Ramil Montaniel ‘08D, President Roman commented on the originality of the program, saying that the usual incentive of other Greek-letter organizations is to give cash incentives of Php 10,000 to their members who excel. She lauded our program since, according to her, the experiences and memories that can be gained during the trip cannot possibly compare to any amount of cash incentive, which after being spent is gone.
She also remarked on the fact that this program underscores the return of fraternities to scholarly leanings, which was where everything started. She said the case of many fraternities was to lose the sense of being a “scholar” until only the sense of “brotherhood” remained. She was glad that we have come up with a program to revert the perception on fraternities back to how it originally was.
Yesterday, I Poti Aparato ‘77A, Kim Cabatit ‘82B, and the new leadership met to discuss the outlook of the program. The leadership will short list the members who are eligible for the program after the semester ends. After which, we will set up bank accounts for the program (separate from the Fraternity bank account, which is for operations) to facilitate and ensure the transparency in accounting of contributions to this project. We will then process the visa applications and coordinate with the brods who will accommodate the recipients for the itinerary.
We are grateful for your support of this program, and we call on all brods to share their time and resources for the success of the Brotherhood of Scholars Program.
Cheers! For a stronger UP Beta Sigma I remain, PRINCE ELMER A. REYES ‘05A March 10, 2010
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