--Anton Chekhov
Love is to the heart what the summer is to the farmer's year. It brings to harvest all the loveliest flowers of the soul.
--Billy Graham
Summer in slow-paced Dumaguete can lead our young people to boredom and perhaps to ‘unhealthy’ ways of entertainment if no avenues are opened to keep them busy. Summer is a time for them to release the energies which have been long-stored up for many of them are usually just glued to TV and computer games. To be mobile or physically active is the only way for them to have a healthier young life. Through the years, I have mounted channels for fun and fruitfulness so that the youth will have their own harvest of summer memories.
If one goes beyond the usual, Dumaguete could be a discovery for it’s a perfect place to celebrate the joys of the summer season. When I am just around here during summer, my restlessness leads me to mount the following: special tours and night events for the fellows of the National Writers Workshop at Silliman, the other summer I had a culture and art tour around Dumaguete for public school teachers, my Fine Arts Appreciation class had a taste of organizing an event by producing a show for a local artist, had ushered kids to a multi-media workshop, brought teens on a trek around the twin lakes, we had speech improvement sessions with out-of-school-youth, guided foreign photographers to cover historic churches around the Visayas, led families from Manila and abroad to discover the ‘secrets’ of Negros island and a lot more.
This summer, all my ‘natural’ resources are poured towards the mounting of the Search for the Summer Adventure Envoy, a youth-oriented event produced by the Silliman University Physical Education and Athletics Department. I find it exciting to be working with the two dynamic ladies: Athletics Director Meriam Merced Ramacho and P.E. Chairperson Audrey Claire Cabio-Tuballa, and the different varsity teams. We actually have a two-fold purpose for mounting this reality-TV inspired event: to give young people a new avenue for expression and to raise funds for the SU-UP Dual Meet.
Launched in a very successful dinner-for-cause last February, the aspirants are left with two more challenges to tackle: the Amlan Adventure Race on Sunday, April 27 and the talent showcase during the Grand Night on Friday, May 2 at the Shaw Memorial Pool. The challenges in this contest are inspired by two hit TV shows, the Amazing Race and the American Idol. The local contestants were featured guests in the @ Random talkshow of FilProducts and models in a fashion show that featured the collections of Portal West popular shops Il Primo, Mixed Berry and Ajar’s.
The eight finalists will be in Amlan today for a race in this budding adventure tourism capital of Oriental Negros. Hon. Bentham P. de la Cruz, the cool mayor of Amlan, himself a mountain biker, facilitated the planning of the activity for the Sillimanian young envoys. The race will include boating from the parola to the sand castle shore where they will have two options, skim boarding and sandcastle building. The Sillimanians will then hop to a habal-habal ride. The long day will be capped by rafting at the cleanest river of Central Visayas, the Amlan River.
The final 8 in the Adventure Envoy Search could be crowd-drawers with their looks,
talents and vitality. Table tennis varsity team player 15-year old CANDICE CECILE ARBON JAYARI, fresh from her high school graduation, takes a break from her summer gardening to take part in this cause-oriented event. The 5’6” tall Candice is the sweetheart of her new college friends in the competition for she is simply adorable. 
College of Education governor DAISY JANE A. SARIO who loves the latest craze in sports, frisbee, tries hard to keep a balance between her participation in the search and her summer job responsibilities. The dusky beauty hopes to make use of the exposure to encourage young people to “quit smoking, save money and lives.” This call is echoed by 
another bet, student nurse PATROCINIO B. APURA III or Poodie to friends, who is an active member of the SU volleyball varsity. The hunky prince of sports who also shines in basketball and soccer considers the event as a channel to promote a healthier lifestyle for young people. Tall, dark and handsome GERALD A. HONGAYO of the Silliman Stallions
takes time to be part of the event to improve on his human relations skills. The
6’1” tall engineering student thinks of basketball as a way to be cool, but the event will bring out a different side of him the moment he goes on stage – it’s a way for him to gain more confidence. Being among the Top 3 in the recently-concluded Miss Teen Philippines Dumaguete search, 17 year old student nurse JESSICA FRANCE M. DE LOS SANTOS is facing much pressure being compared to Gretel, her sister who was crowned Miss Silliman in 2006.
The friendly France is charting her own set of glories, and being part of the Adventure Search is her way of relaxing from academic pressures. This graduate from the PETA Theater workshop really loves performing on stage, and sharing her talent for a good cause has her dedicated 100% to the search. The adventure side of the event is a new twist in her life in sports which so far has been devoted to badminton. 
Student leader RICKY LOUIE A. DE LA CRUZ loves adventure. This Information Technology student has covered it all from swimming to fire dancing but he wants more. The event will also be an opportunity for him to explore possibilities as a performing artist. Being an officer of the Student Government, the program will provide a rewarding experience to him of extending help to his fellow students.
Another bet from the College of Education is MARIA LUZ V. CATAN. Luz stands 5’6” tall and considers basketball as her favorite. The event for her is a way to see a world beyond the realm of a student teacher. It will be an exploration to bring more colors to the modern classroom – a challenge in today’s educational field. The pressure of the adventure is actually pushing her to watch with much care the twin dimensions of her youth: health and fitness.
Dancing is a good exercise but it’s not enough to keep a fully-toned physique. One who can attest to this is dancesport artist MICHAEL ANGELO D. CRISTOBAL. This
Business Management student regularly goes to the gym, in between dance sessions, just for body toning. He has badminton and swimming as variations for the mobility to have total impact on his ‘machine.’ Joining the Adventure Envoy search will be a showcase of Mykx’s harvest being a fearless fitness enthusiast.These 8 angels of adventure will inspire many of us to go into a major investment in health and fitness. “Start ‘em young!” – this is what the Search for the Silliman University Summer Adventure Envoy is all about. Two more angels are behind them, Chairperson Naddie Orillana and Creative Director Claudio Ramos, to ensure a total entertainment that captures the vivid colors of summer on the Grand Night, May 2 at the Shaw Memorial Pool. We will all be there!
(Solos courtesy of INFINITY PORTRAIT studio in Dumaguete.)
Thank you very much for all your support. More power and may GOD bless you!
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