Nicole Christiane Olvido, a sophomore Nursing student, is the lone contender for Vice Presidency in the academic year 2022-2023. Olvido served as the Executive Coordinator to the Vice President, Qer Mendoza, for two semesters. Aiming for the second highest position in Nursing Central Board of Students (NCBS), Olvido shared her platforms and goals to UST The Nursing Journal in a recent interview.
Personal reasons for running
Olvido stated that she had always followed the principle of “pay it forward,” similar to what healthcare workers practice in their profession.
“I’ve always looked up to nurses and doctors. They dedicated their time, life, and effort into studying how to take care of us with their own hands,” she said.
The vice presidential candidate also expressed her eagerness to show support to Thomasian Nurses who are willing to share their virtuosity to the college.
“The college is full of wonders, our community is very loving and very warm, but at the same time it is very talented. I want to give them an avenue where they can express their artistic skills and their talents,” Olvido said.
Why run independently
Having a political party is a “big advantage” considering its manpower, Olvido admitted. The candidate added that she would want a bigger scope of advocacies to present to the student body that is why she did not limit herself to run in a party.
“You have a lot of people working on your creatives, with your captions, with your publication materials, as well as with your training. But at the end of the day, I told myself that I wanted to stand as someone who is [i]nclusive of everyone, meaning, all of the advocacies, [and] not just representing [o]ne side,” she said.
Inspirations in leadership
Olvido disclosed that her inspiration when it comes to leadership skills is the current Vice President of the Philippines, Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo.
Similar to what Robredo has done for the country, Olvido champions creating an environment that voices out opinions, and shares ideas and listens to her people.
“[VP Leni Robredo] advocates for a people’s council and I want to incorporate the same thing here. I want to incorporate and give the students a voice in the council - that they are involved in program implementation and project creation, because when we think about the council, the mindset is the council is limited to the elected student leaders, but I see it as the council being the student body itself,” she told UST The Nursing Journal.
Attributes a leader should have
The vice presidential candidate claimed that she possesses the following qualities of a leader: (a) consideration of teammates, (b) organization, and (c) open-mindedness.
Regarding consideration, Olvido mentioned that the implementer of projects and programs shall put priority to the intended beneficiaries.
“When we are creating projects, never forget about the person. [W]ho are we doing this for? For me, it always starts with the people and it should end with the people in mind.”
Olvido added that having a framework for the team would aid in its organization and management.
“When you are in a team, you don’t just have passion, but you should have systems. You should have a proper delegation of systems of roles and responsibilities. You should have the proper processes so that everyone is guided, everyone knows what they can do and what they can contribute,” she said.
Being open-minded is also an attribute Olvido declares to hold. The candidate said that being open to both sides and finding a compromise is necessary in being a leader.
“We have our values, we have our advocacies, but one thing that you should always take in mind is you have to be a listener. [W]hen you’re a leader, you’re representing the hopes and dreams of the entire community,” she stated.
General goals for the student body
Olvido’s platform of government focuses on S.T.E.P.S., which stands for “Student Transformation and Empowerment, and Partnership with Societies.” S.T.E.P.S. embodies the three core values of empowerment, partnership, and transformation.
Under Empowerment, Olvido has a project called, “Pitch to Elevate, Cash to Innovate” where students are able to pitch a project idea and implement it for the council later on. According to her, it is a way to ‘empower” students and their ideas for the council.
As for Partnerships, this would include collaborations between different organizations within the college or outside the college or university. Apart from that, Olvido sets her sight on maximizing the faculty-council partnership to collectively hone the skills of the students.
For Transformation, Olvido plans to implement “Project D.I.V.E: Strengthening Leadership within Communities”. Project DIVE, in summary, is a class officer seminar that includes team-building activities where they would know more about their responsibilities as officers. The executive board of NCBS will also discuss with the class officers their operational plan for the entire school year.
“This strengthens the relationship between the executive board and the class officers. If you think about it, transformation is anchored to leadership-inspired events. [W]e are cultivating leaders, [and] we are trying to develop and empower the class leaders that we have in the college,” she said.
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