I cannot emphasize enough that, because of my leave and all the travelling I had to do this last month, my involvement in the preparations leading up to the event was minor in comparison with other members of DISCS.  On the days themselves, I was assigned the very visible roles of MC for the opening ceremonies and awards presenter during the awards dinner.  But please don't think for a moment that this implies I was in any way in charge or had some kind of leadership role in the event.  Very much to the contrary, other people pointed me in the direction I needed to go and let me loose. 

The real people behind the scenes, the folks who really made this happen were my co-faculty.

Raffy Saldana was contest site director and head judge.  He took on this job despite being with the Math Dept (not DISCS).  It was pretty challenging--working with a set of people he had never really worked with before and then leading the board of judges in ensuring the integrity of the event.

Reena Estuar was head of local arrangements and OIC of DISCS at the same time.  Reena, to me, was the tour de force behind much of the preparations.  Together with Sandra Lovenia and Beth Anglo, the secretarial staff Grace Savellano, Girlie Simongan, and Nanette Bautista, and angels, Erin Laborada, Justin Co, Kate Sandova, and Krizia Raymundo, they took care of the site, badges, bags, certificates, food, entertainment, and countless other details, down to providing the toilet paper in the bathrooms. And they never never lost their cool.

Christine Amarra was our registrar and web master.  She communicated with all the teams.  Everyone knew her name.  Ma'am Shiela Nisperos from ADDU commented that she received email from Christine with increasing frequency as the contest drew nearer. Despite being so young, Christine in incredibly responsible and will really go the extra mile to do a job well.

Edwin Siao was with me in Finance.  He and I began working on Finance over the summer break and into the first semester, but as my outside commitments started increasing, Edwin took the lead more and more.  He was responsible for finalizing details with SMART, among others, and for hooking up with ABS-CBN Interactive.  Edwin is one of our most beloved young faculty members.  During a the student-led appreciation awards ceremony, he was nominated for two awards: "favorite teacher" and "celebrity lookalike".  His lookalike? Yao Ming.

Jal de Vera was our systems administrator.  To me, he was the perfect man for the job.  Not only was he technically skilled, he also had nerves of steel.  He never lost his temper. He never raised his voice.  Every question, every incident was handled with the same calm, focused attention.  He led our technical staff--Mark Bautista, Regan Berganio, Ronald Panergo, Carlo Sanches, Andrei Jaromillo, and Freddy Marzan, and coodinated with the grade school's technical staff led by Marvin Marbella.

Publicity and promotions had to go the most jovial fellow in the department, Andrei Coronel.  Andrei was our go-to guy for media relations, rubbing elbows with reporters, preparing press kits and such.  Andrei got us on TV and in the news, partly in conjunction with ABS-CBN but also though his persistence and overall friendly nature. Watch for us on Digital Tour and Wazzup! Wazzup!

The volunteers were recruited and coordinated by Ariel Maguyon and Paolo Agloro. They met people at the airport, escorted them to the hotels.  Took them to Ateneo.  Ushered them through the contest.  Brought balloons from the judges' room. Escorted the contestants to the bathrooms and snack lounge. And so many more things.

The events--the opening ceremony, welcome party, and awards dinner--were orchestrated by Bong Olpoc, assisted by his wife Raquel and Bea Espejo Lahoz.  It was their job to make these events fun, and they did.  From the human bingo to the kalabasa awards ("Malayo man, malapit rin" for the team who had travelled the farthest to get to the competition was translated as "So near yet so far"; it's actually the opposite--so far yet so near), the trail of candles that led to the covered courts to the beat boxing that everyone loved, they made the events memorable.

Last but not the least, I really have to mention the 50 or so student volunteers (mostly MIS majors) who gave of themselves so generously these last few days.  I don't know everyone's names, but at some point I'll find out and post them here.  They moved the event. They made it happen.  We would have been lost without them. 

While, of course, I relish our programming victory, I must confess that I am all the more proud that our faculty and students pulled this event off.  And I find myself looking forward to next year, when I can be part of the team.