A Legacy Left Everlasting: The 9 Pillars of CORREL

We often go about our daily lives overlooking the unsung heroes among us – the people that work behind the scenes, the ones who speak less through their words and more through their actions.

More often than not, their hard work goes unnoticed by the rest of us. But the truth is, these achievements are as much the entire org’s as it is theirs. We often realize this only until the very end, but the sense of gratitude that follows is nevertheless as fresh and lasting, if not stronger.

Today, we say thanks to the unsung heroes of Celadon—the ones who tirelessly work behind the scenes and whose contributions are what makes or breaks a large portion of our projects’ successes.

Below, we dedicate to each one of you a pillar vital to the CORREL identity:

PATIENCE

CORREL has always been this deadline-heavy and systems-based department, which meant that every day is a race against the clock to seal the deal with sponsors that approach you left and right. In this line of work—especially when you’re out there talking to large corporations—there really isn’t that much tolerance for unproductivity or nonsense. This was of course for the professionalism and credibility of the department and of Celadon.

But after a while getting comfortable with all of it, you will realize something. Seldom does this fast-paced lifestyle allow you to deviate from your usual routine. You will internalize the protocols so much so that it will become second nature to you. You will forget to leave room for something else.

Somewhere along the road, someone will come along and remind us that there’s more to it than chasing the deadlines. These are the people who will remind us of the stasis we often overlook within life—the kind of peace you get when you look at a snapshot, a still-life painting, or even a candid picture of a friend you know.

Yes, we often take these things for granted, but we also feel their weight when we are reminded. And few are the people who are able to make us stop and stand still.

It’s not every day you get to meet someone who is able to force you to slow down from your typical pace, and especially someone who is able to show you that there is more to CORREL work than following your timetable down to the very dot.

INDEPENDENCE

Ever since forever, the people here in CORREL give a very high premium on being able to work well on your own, especially when it comes to the critical decisions you will inevitably face while on the job. From emailing, phone calls, down to the face-to-face meet ups, being able to hold your own will more often than not become your lifesaver.

As much as we can, we train that important quality into the marketing teams we handle. Becausf we know that we can’t be there 24/7 as much as we’d like to. There will be a point where you won’t be able to call your superior for their suggestion. You won’t be able to ask your friend how they did it during their experience. And at that moment, the power will be placed in your hands.

So it’s true that we place a great deal of trust in our managers and core to say yes to sponsors. It’s also true that we do the same for when they say no—if and when they need to.

But at that moment when you do feel that you hold the power, you will realize something important. You won’t be afraid of making that decision alone.

Although those people won’t be physically beside you, the noise of their support in your mind far more makes up for their absence. You realize that you aren’t alone as you thought you would be. The memories and experiences with them will stay on and stand beside. They will offer you their guidance, in a way.

Without us really knowing it, someone will eventually tap us on the shoulder and silently tell us a memorable lesson. At the end of it all, what we were really looking for wasn’t independence. It was interdependence all along—the kind that encourages us to be able to stand alone separately, together. As many individual parts connected to the whole. As the one department we have come to know as CORREL.

CHARM

They say that first impressions last. And it’s never been more on point than the work you will go through in CORREL. With more than 50 other orgs in the race to contact sponsors, we give ourselves a high regard for charm to make sure every deal goes smoothly. Consequently, we make sure that all of our members have a warm smile and a pleasing personality.

With the growing number of people we talk to, we seldom stay put in the same place talking to the same person. We’re drifters, in a sense, constantly moving from one place to the other. And there’s a high chance for the two of us to cross paths at least once in our lifetimes, even if the other person doesn’t really notice it.

Experience with a lot of different people has somewhat molded our sensibilities to include a pleasing personality in our arsenal of tools and training. We know that as much as we can, we should try to make the other person feel good and avoid unnecessary conflict altogether. That is the secret to making sponsors say yes.

However, not everything can be measured by a smile, the choice of words, or the body language you will show. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to remind you that charm is as much outward as it is inward—where there are times you find yourself admiring a person for their youthfulness, or simply for their energy inside. You will realize that true charm isn’t really just about your outward language. True charm is immaterial.

LOYALTY

For most of us, loyalty is often measured through the amount of work a person does for someone else. We say that quantitative measurements make way for the least bias because of objectivity in numbers. We count their contributions, their successes, and their accomplishments. We reward them proportionally to their efforts.

We often see these efforts through pictures or physical data from their work. We see the number of posters they’ve made, the amount of cash they’ve fundraised, and also the worth of the sponsorships they were able to seal. True enough, the more they give, we can say the more loyal they are.

But sometimes, we neglect to see the underlying efforts that went into these efforts. We forget that what might have taken 1 hour for someone took 3 hours for someone else. In that case, both people contributed the same thing, but the amount of time they’ve sacrificed is clearly different. We can’t exactly say that the situation for either one is better or worse than the other. But what’s important is the insight we get from the example—that not all measurements of loyalty can directly be seen through a person’s work.

Time is arguably one of those invisible sacrifices a person gives out of loyalty. No one really knows how many days she designed that poster, how many weeks he went around campus to sell cookies, or how many hours of emailing and following-up he went through just to get a yes from the sponsor.

Indeed, the more time a person gives out of his or her schedule, the greater their investment is toward that someone or something. And the greater their investment, the more they are committed and loyal. The moment a person dedicates a portion of their day, their week, or even their college life to something, you can rest assured that that person will give you their fullest.

And in this world of decisions and justifications, rarer and more meaningful are the moments when our minds tell us to focus on ourselves, but our hearts tell us to do otherwise anyway.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Not many people realize that they are accountable not only for themselves, but also for others. And even fewer are those who show us how important it is to take care of your core team.

At the start of the second semester, you were assigned to Tambay Week and you were more than ready to finally step into action, leading your own team for the project. We were really proud to see you take initiative in guiding your team and securing sponsorship deals while balancing your academic and social life. No matter what, this is still a feat that deserves to be praised.

Accountability remains to be an important trait that any CORREL officer or any leader must have, and you exemplified this. Marketing is not an independent work; we are not alone and we must work with each other. I’m sure your team members also look up to you the way we look up to you as well. Keep up the good work, Sharmie!

PASSION

While your stay with us wasn’t long enough as we would have wanted, you are still a part of our family, and we know that you are always passionate for what you do, especially for CORREL. During our first meeting, we laid out all the ideas that we have for our projects and you were one of the people who was really excited for the assignments, voicing out your ideas for the Marketing Outreach Program. It really touched us and made us look forward to seeing you work.

Even though things didn’t go the way as planned, you never lost the shine in your eyes. You are a girl full of potential and creativity, and we hope to see you make use of that well. Passion is what drives us to work and keeps us going. Things can get out of hand or tedious, but with passion, those are all irrelevant. Keep the fire burning!

COMPETENCE

Although hard work and practice are equally important, one must also be able to exemplify the pillar of competence in order to translate these into results. This is the reason why CORREL offers the Marketing Seminar Series and Marketing Executives Program. Providing holistic training to its managers and core teams are one of its clear advocacies. It teaches them not only what should be done, but how it should be done.

Education is just one of the ways to develop this. Open-mindedness would be another way. But most of all, one must focus on the Confucian virtue of improving oneself in order to be a productive human being in the greater realm of the society. Imagine a CORREL manager who consistently reads up articles on how to meet with a company representative, how to pitch for your org event, how to write an email. We are sure that one becomes more competent as he does these things.

PERSISTENCE

The best way to learn is to just do it. In CORREL, one could receive tons of lectures on how to get a sponsor, how to make the partnership fruitful, and the list continues. Yet, one cannot discount the fact that success is attained when you get the job done—when you actually get a sponsor, apart from simply contacting everyone without a considerable success rate. In doing so, one must exemplify the virtue of persistence. It is the willpower to get things done, the willpower to be successful.

When the telephone number does not ring, when the person does not reply to your emails, when everything seems to be failing already, keep your hopes up and be persistent. Amidst all trials, keeping hold unto the pillar of persistence not only trains to make you stronger, but helps you deliver results. There are many creative ways to skin a fish, you just have to be wanting to get it done. Who knows, the next plan you have to call that company might work.

AGGRESSIVENESS

Health Sci, Hell Sci. We know things can get really rough, but your fortitude and assertion have them all beat. This year’s Celadon Ball marked the end of the organization’s 30th anniversary and from CORREL’s point of view, it was a heavy and difficult project, but nevertheless you definitely wow-ed us with your persistence and determination. When things started to look dark in the last few weeks, who was the girl who secured a camera as a sponsorship deal? You’ve always had this energy when it comes to CORREL, even way back in last school year’s Marketing Seminar. You were always game for everything, and you were excited to meet your team and handle your own project. It was really great having you in our department.

Your gentle, meek demeanor masked an aggressiveness that we never thought was in you, and you continue to give us so much surprises. This was a really great year working with you and we hope that you feel the same way. More than that, we hope that you learned something from your stay in CORREL and use whatever you learned for the things that you’ll be doing in the future. Stay strong, stay pretty, stay Jacq!

We hope that your memory with this year’s department will be as everlasting to you as it has been for us. All of our hearts go out to each and every one of you!

Until the next time our paths cross.