Shifts

Mutya or Priscilla Alice Lazaro-Samonte arrived in the Ateneo as a BM-H (Business Management- Honors) major. Not long after, she shifted to Chemistry. She writes, "MAC [Management of Applied Chemistry] didn't apply to me because I felt that "mahihilaw" lang me." It was a fever of boredom that pushed her. And Ateneo was not even her school of choice. She signed her application more out of a carefree act than sincere gusto, as she wanted to enroll in the UP. The school's notorious reputation, however, did not agree with her parents' idea of taming her liberal attitude. They opted to give her a Jesuit education instead.

Mutya once followed Dr. Dayrit from the third floor of SEC to Schmitt, a good eight-minute distance at a moderate pace, persuading him to give her perfect bonus points in an exam. She says she does not know whether she justified her answers well or Dr. Dayrit just wanted to stop her prodding. Suffice it to say, her mark lifted from a 96 to a 104. She scribbles jeers in recalling this incident.

Chem Image
Mildly put, she channeled the same perseverance and high spirit when she became Ateneo Chemical Society (ACheS) president in 2001. Her vision was to change the organization's misinterpreted image. ACheS then was thought of as a niche for science nerds, "a necessity for Chem majors as resume fillers". There were even a literal few who believed ACheS was a SOA org put up for getting rid of ills ("tagatanggal kami ng sakit").

Fueling this vision meant creatively grooming ACheS for the larger community. This initially required the members to put their heads together and, as Mutya puts it, bond covalently. It was then that several projects like ACheS week, tiangges, and other activities still currently organized by the society were pioneered. The org constitution was also revised, opening positions for upperclassmen and lower classmen representatives.

Mutya admits that running the org did not always have that perfect wind for sailing. "Being able to carry out a lot of those first time projects was really hard considering I was having my thesis (there's a reason why only juniors were taking up the position until I ran for it) and having a huge family drama. But the experiences and the people who helped me made all those trials worthwhile", she says.

Pondering on the less hectic side of those experiences would have her recall playing bridge and relishing splendid chitchat at the tambayan ("sobrang ingay na kuwentuhan kaya madalas kaming mapagsabihan ni Dr. Cuyegkeng"). She also remembers singing and dancing to haul freshmen org members during the OrSem. She has this to say about one AcheS memory, "…we had the G.A. at McDo and had most of the professors invited to participate in the games. Dr. Rojas, Dr. Guidote and others were really dancing to a comical routine. Those were really fun times. Siguro nga, sa aking term ang pinakamarami ang parties".

Those good times are testament to AcheS' cool variety. Then again, they were not donned challenge-free. "I had a hard time back when I was lazy and the [chemistry] dept asked me if I wanted to shift. That's when I tried harder and got into the dean's list in my last sem", she says.

Goddess and Controversy
Mutya admits she will always have fond memories of ACheS. When asked what the best part about running the org was, she writes back, "Having it legally known and passed down through generations that I am and will always be a goddess. Kidding! Of course, setting our objectives and meeting them all, except a new acronym for the org. Knowing I made a difference sa org especially sa members makes me happy."

Mutya fondly declares that she was the most controversial president at that time. She then relinquishes her claim by kidding Max (BS Ch 2004) for being even more notorious. Mutya believes in living life to the fullest. She now works as assistant researcher cum manager in a company's Product and Research Development department. And yes, she is married to a MAC alumnus.