I first got to work with Deana in one of the projects in MEA called PriME.

This event is known

for being one of the difficult projects because of its shortened timeline. Being a sophomore at
the time, this was her first wide scaled project. At first, it was evident that she was new to
having the responsibility of being a leader. I made sure to ask before the project began, what
were the project heads’ apprehensions. She responded with saying that her apprehension
centered towards her lack of confidence in being able to lead a huge number of core members;
this experience being her very first time to ever to lead to this scale. This is what she set out to
learn during the project duration.

Two weeks into the project, it was noticeable how her qualities as a leader were beginning to
show. She was very efficient when it came to accomplishing her tasks and she easily adapted to
working with committees that she had no prior experience with. Her friendly personality also
made it easier for people to connect and feel at ease. However, despite what was mentioned,
she was very consistent in terms of being results driven. She knew how to keep her core
consistent with aiming at one vision for the project. This vision was of garnering more high
schools to partner with MEA for our event.

Overall, due to her efficiency as a leader, we learned from her guidance and overall care for the
project. There were core members that discovered their skill in creatives because of her
support. However, personally, it is quite evident that her leadership is still raw. She’s currently
at the state where she has so much potential to lead, but isn’t completely aware of her own
capabilities yet. She is aware that she wants to become the type of leader that would advocate
for the growth of others, but she acknowledges that she hasn’t made the steps yet to do so.
Currently, her leadership is of a result based leadership. This is not a wrong nor bad
understanding of leadership, but she hasn’t reached the state yet where she cares greatly for
the members around her.

Talking to her recently, she mentioned to me that she did try to put an effort in doing so. This is
why I think currently, her leadership is being manifested through her ability to align people to
one goal, and she has a rough idea of the type of leader she wants to become. However, aside
from this, she’s also very passionate about the current issues in the Philippines. I know this is a
sudden jump, but I know when she finds the connection between her leadership and her
passion for the Philippines, she’ll be able to do great things in the future. I do believe that it’s
also in the sphere that she’s part of right now why there isn’t a direct link. Deana may still be a
sophomore, but she puts her heart into learning and doing what she sets herself out to do. I do
hope this provides clarity into her leadership! 