UP MBBS’ Applicants’ Orientation 2021: Nostalgia for something you have yet to experience
Do you remember your first time?
For most, it was probably awkward or embarrassing, but this wasn’t the case for hopefuls in the UP Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Society (MBBS) Applicants’ Orientation last September 11. The applicants’ first time getting to know the organization was relaxed, and the atmosphere only got warmer as the event went on.
The orientation began with a few words from recruitment head Nikki Antonio, who recounted her own experience as part of the first online applicant batch. Nikki shared how she found a place she could always come back to in MBBS and her high hopes for the applicants “to have the same experience, if not better.” This matches up with the statement she gave prior to the event —
Given the current situation we’re all in, I hope that they get to find a home in MBBS where they can grow and thrive further.
Vice-president Kim Cabral went on to formally introduce MBBS as a university-wide academic organization based in the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB). She listed the various committees before explaining the organization’s dynamic structure, where roles of specific teams under each committee could change depending on the needs for the semester.
Nikki returned to discuss the specifics of the application process. The activities that applicants are required to participate in, as well as the activities’ corresponding grade percentages, are as follows: Buddy Tasks (20%) allow applicants to bond with their buddy families. Some tasks like creating a buddy family tree are simple, but others, like taking a group picture in front of Oble, need some creativity and photo-editing magic to pull off. Applicants must also fill up a Signature Sheet (20%) by approaching individual MBBS members. Signatures are given when applicants accomplish each member’s specific task, whether that be dancing along to a K-pop song or winning in a game of rock-paper-scissors. Points can also be earned by attending TaMBBay Activities (10%), where applicants simply mingle with members during organization-wide events. Workshops and the Applicants’ Project (30%) give applicants the chance to hone their skills as individuals and as a batch. Skills learned in workshops hosted by committees are then applied when the applicants come together to plan their own event. The final requirements are the Constitution Exam and Final Interview (20%). The two are meant to test the applicant’s knowledge on the organization, but also to find out about the applicant’s own experience during the entire process.
Afterwards, there was a short question-and-answer portion where most participants asked about the members’ own experiences as applicants. Members started recounting the inside jokes they made during taMMBay hours, the funny tasks they had to do to get signatures, and the challenges they faced while planning their own event. Everyone started to get sentimental, and for the side of the applicants, it begged the question,
Can I feel nostalgic for something I have yet to experience?
This is the exact mood that the recruitment team had in mind when they chose #UPMBBSGoldenDays as this semester’s theme for the application process, with the desire to give the applicants the chance to relive the golden days of the application process for themselves. So for everyone interested in joining the MBBS family, here’s a quote from Kim’s closing remarks —
We will always have a place for you. You can sit with us.
Written by Gabbie Lagdameo
Art by Feliz Licup
