Written by Angela Acorda            and            Edited by Ervin Llobrera

Photo Header by Calvin Choi

Last May 5, 2018, the Celadoneans celebrated another wonderful year with a night full of music and memories at the Ayala Hillside Estates Clubhouse. However, the night proved to be more than just a night of tears and goodbyes, as the Celadon Starlight Ball proved to also be a night of joy and new beginnings.

Preparing for the Stars

The Celadon Starlight Ball started at around thirty minutes past six in the evening of that wonderful Saturday evening. However, the Celadon Ball Committee has been preparing hours, days and even months for this wonderful night. Hours before the event, Celadon Ball Committee members were already setting up, making sure that everything was perfect. Eventually, the preparations came to a halt as afternoon turned into evening.

At around half past six in the evening, registration for the event began and soon enough, people started filling the venue.

A Celestial Night

The evening started with a meaningful prayer offered by Joshua Tan, one of this year’s Celadon Ball Project Managers. It was soon followed by opening remarks from Celadon’s current president, Clarissa Chua. However, the night only became more meaningful when the founder of Celadon, Mr. Wilson Flores, came on stage and reminded us of our journey and our unity as one Celadon Family. After Mr. Flores’ heartwarming words, Clarissa Chua retured on stage and recounted all the memories, projects and events we saw in the past year. Indeed, it is no question that the night started in the most meaningful way possible, filling the hearts of each Celadonean in the room with gratitude for the successful year that has passed.

Soon enough, it was time for the Celadoneans to share another wonderful meal with one another, and the fun did not stop. Throughout dinner, raffles and prizes were being given out, care of the lovely sponsors that generously sponsored the event. Moreover, smiles and laughter also filled the room as Celadoneans participated in the fun and unique games prepared by the Programs Committee. However, more than anything, the program for the night also reminded the guests how talented our fellow Celadoneans can be. As the guests were eating, Arielle and Aaron Ang serenaded everyone with three wonderful classic songs. Acoustic Tempest also performed a couple ballads for their fellow Celadoneans. The Celadon Dance Crew also danced their heart out in the last performance of the year, meaningfully offering their every move to the senior in the crew, Peter Co. Last, but not the least, Joshua Tan and Joshe Tiu skillfully perform popular songs on their traditional instruments, never missing a note. Truly, Celadon Ball proved to be a night of fun for all its participants.

A Time for New Beginnings

The time eventually came for one of the most awaited parts of the evening – the inauguration of the incoming Executive Board members for the next school year. The incoming Executive Board members began their reign as the new leaders of Celadon by vowing to fulfill their duties to the best of their capacity. Later on, the members of the incoming Executive Board performed a meaningful dance number, proving to everyone that there is joy in new beginnings. Afterwards, however, the inauguration commenced with the outgoing Executive Board members, offering gifts to the incoming leaders of Celadon and truly showing their full support and trust in the capacity of their successors.

A Time for Gratitude

Aside from celebrating the beginning of a new era, it was also a time to show appreciation to the members of the organization. With that, the Celadon Ball Committee decided to make the evening more memorable by praising some Celadoneans for their award-winning recognitions.

• The Hindi Daw Sila Award – Deanne Tan and Kieffer Lim
• The Third Wheel Award – Jeff Ongdueco
• The Org Room Tambay Award – Jerry Feng
• The BS Celadon Award – Christian Tiu
• The Tito of Celadon Award – Peter Co
• The Tita of Celadon Award – Quimbe Dy
• The Best Dressed Award – Matthew Tiu and Geela Garcia

Morever, Celadon also took this time to show their gratitude to the Celadoneans who gave their all for the organization as they worked in their respective departments.

• Best Manager for Human Resources: Ann King
• Best Manager for Documentations and Publications: Geela Garcia
• Best Manager for Cultural Affairs: Hanssen Ongchan
• Best Manager for Communication: Kimberly Gayle Chua
• Best Manager for Finance: Lance Lim
• Best Manager for Corporate Relations: Pat Dy
• Best Manager for Externals: Angela Barranda

A Time for Goodbyes

Sadly, the time came to bid the Celadon seniors farewell as they embark on a new chapter of their lives. The Senior Send-off began with the undergraduates blindfolding the seniors and leading them to the center of the ballroom. The moment the Celadon seniors took off their blindfolds, a video of fellow Celadoneans sending their goodbye messages plays on screen. Following the video presentation, a lyric video serenaded the seniors with Kaya Pangilinan’s “End of the Road” while photos of their memories with the Celadon family appeared on screen. Soon after, flowers and mason jars are given to the seniors, allowing the undergraduates to show their gratitude to the seniors who have showed their love for Celadon all these years.

All Good Things Come to an End

To cap off this beautiful event, a Same-Day Edit video prepared by the Documentations and Publications committee is played on screen, reminding us of the meaningful events that transpired that day. Celadon’s Stephanie Sayson also offered a speech to this year’s graduates with her inspiring speech. To end the program, Hazel Li, one of Celadon Ball’s project managers ended the program with her closing remarks. That evening, as the attendees danced the night away, it is no question this night will be remembered by all Celadoneans who bore witness to this memorable night.