Happy Birthday Rocco Nacino!

You've probably seen this good looking guy in my site a few times. It's cool because he's one of the most down to earth people in showbiz that I have ever met. Rocco Nacino has really made it. We went to a small public high school in Makati to celebrate his birthday. This happened a few days ago. Together with his Mom Linda, Dad Ralph, his sponsors and GMA Artist Center, they gave Makati High School wholesome entertainment and a little treat for their library which I'll tell you about in a bit.

When I arrived they were already having a small singing contest and we were surprised to see some of the students were really talented. 

This guy right here even had an RnB kind of voice. He can pass as a professional singer!

This girl however had the time of her life as she serenaded Rocco and even sat on his lap a couple of times. The other students were jeering and even asked her to do more. She won the small contest by the way! This was so much fun!

Then Rocco Nacino himself went to the front and danced with the students of Makati High Schoool. It was something they would really cherish in their lifetime  as one of GMA's greatest actors was right there in their school library.

Makati High School is a public school and judging from what I've seen with the size of their library and school grounds, they are probably some of the city's less privileged ones. Since there is a lack of facilities and references in the school, Rocco Nacino took funds from his own pocket and gave them 6 months worth of free WIFI access for the whole school! :)

The Principal said that it is the first time that they have received such a grant and is extremely thankful that the students will now have a way to further do research since their library isn't that fully equipped with references that they need. 

Rocco also had three wishes for his birthday. I'm sure it will all come true. We sat down with him later on after the festivities. The kids and everybody else had lunch courtesy of McDonalds!

We asked him about his plans in the next few months, he says he 's taking a well deserved break and he's going to Europe for a tour. When asked if he's alone, he didn't admit it but it looked like Lovi Poe is going too. Bah, looks like they are getting pretty serious noh?! 

I asked him about what he wants to do with his nursing degree since he's a full time actor now, he says it's in his plans to later on finish med school and says he really wants to be a doctor. He says he will definitely make time for that.

Rocco Nacino is so blessed that he has his family behind him. Their support has always been something that he is so thankful for. They didn't even know that he'll go so far in starstruck; but when he did, they have each made their contribution in making who he is right now. His Dad is his co-manager so he's pretty confident that each project he takes is with their approval. He is already successful in my books. Congratulations on your career Rocco! Happy happy birthday! I hope you stay as good as you are right now. Thanks for having us on your special day!

Ciao!

KUMAGCOW

Men's Lifestyle Redefined!

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Miriam College Nuvali - Breaking Ground in the South!

Some of my friends and family finished in Miriam College in Quezon City. It was a nice morning to take part in something so big with this school. We got a glimpse of how it's like to be in this promising development down South. Yes ladies and gentlemen, Miriam College just broke ground in Nuvali. This coincides with the school's 85th Year in existence. With Nuvali's dedication to environmentally responsible living, it was something so right for the school to expand its wings inside a 15 hectare property. 

Ma. Rosario O. Lapus, Ph.D says Miriam College-Nuvali has been blessed with roots and wings. Their roots are still in Quezon City, together with everyone she wants to enjoin them on their flight to the south. They are so glad that they are expanding their wings in Nuvali.

 Miriam College - Nuvali will have the same Mission, Vision and academic standards as the Quezon City Campus. The communities in the south will surely benefit from this and the studies that they have made indicates the need for their unique kind of education. The unique kind of education? I have been hearing that since they started and tried to find out what it was. 

They gracefully thanked everyone who attended the occasion and also the Maryknoll Sisters who were there to witness the opening of the second campus. Judging from the actual alumnus present in the event, their distinct unique education was starting to become clear to me. They are all going through education offered on their school "The Marian Way". 

Fernando Zobel de Ayala was there as guest of honor; and surely this must be very important to Nuvali. He says he's very delighted to have Miriam College in Nuvali. He's looking forward to work with the school and both have a meaningful impact in the lives of Filipinos today. He knows how much the community would benefit from this school who's going to put up their second campus in an Ayala Property. With the studies Miram College has made in putting this up, he's sure this would be a welcome development and they are welcoming them with open arms. It was the right place and right time according to Mr. Ayala.

  

There was also an exhibit on the history of Miriam College. It was so nice to see how they have grown to be one of the best institutions in the country.

Aside from the Board of Trustees, the Maryknoll Sisters were present too. It was so nice to see them there.

Miriam College showed up with world class talent as their multi awarded choir provided music. It was so nice to see an all girl glee club. 

Signing is Dr. Rosario Lapus Miriam College President, Ana Margarita Dy head of Strategic Land Bank Management Group, Ancieto Bisnar Jr GM of Vesta Property Holdings Inc and members of the board of trustees.

Joaquin "Jun" Chipeco Jr. represented the local government seen here accepting the token of appreciation from Miriam College President Rosario Lapus.

At the venue, it was so nice to see that each of the departments in Miriam College was represented. They wrote letters to future students of Miriam College Nuvali. So heartwarming to see the one made by the kids!

Under the sweltering heat of the sun that afternoon, everybody was so happy to witness this momentous occasion. A mass was celebrated. It was the right thing to do, to start off the Marian way they are so proud of.

Miriam College will begin operations on 2014. It will be COED and will strive to have the architecture and design 50/50 on structures and open spaces + greens. Phase 1 of the project will cover basic education programs (preschool, Grades 1-2, 1st and 2nd Year High School; additional school levels will be opened up every succeeding year). Phase 2 (which will happen on the 5th year of operations) will include their higher education programs. They will still be concentrating on their forte which is Science, Math and Communication Arts. They will also be offering Marketing, New Media, Entrepreneurship, Design, International Studies, Gender Studies, Environmental Studies among others. They will also open night classes for Adult Learners, Out of School Youth which is quite similar to the program that they have in the Quezon City Campus (via Miriam Adult Education -  MAE) mostly for underprivileged people in the community.

It was so nice to see they have gone full circle. Miriam College is truly the epitome of TRUTH, JUSTICE, PEACE and INTEGRITY of CREATION. I know now what Miriam College stands for when they say they have a "Unique" kind of education, I just witnessed that first hand and I'm sure they will become a bulwark of what they stand for in the South.

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Highschool Life

Happy, Overwhelmed, Ecstatic, Shocked and Surprised! That's what we felt this Sunday. Going back to my high school was already a huge thing for me. Meeting the same people, reconnecting and making old and new friends was just one of the perks. I met some of the greatest people in the world at that age and I must say a lot has changed since then. Some of the friendships I made there were for keeps, while some of them I didn't really get to be with since we were in different sections and of course there were groupies way back then. I got to know most of them just now and I'm so glad I did go there. Imagine if I didn't and just knew these people from their names, I knew some of them were even notorious like me back then haha!

Trinity College of Quezon City Batch 1995 in their Wacky poses. This was the first time I saw most of them after graduating high school, I never felt alienated and everyone was still so nice!

Trinity College of Quezon City Batch 1995 joined the Trinity League 3 months ago. We had a few things in mind when we joined the activities; to promote camaraderie with batch mates, the Alumni organization and to plainly represent. It was just like a dream but we weren't asleep. I didn't know this was going on for years. We were pitted against others but didn't have any clue how we'd fare in these games since none of us really did this for quite some time now.

I wasn't as excited to see that the school's gym was somewhat deteriorating. It's still classy don't get me wrong but I think its outdated. Their enrollment has substantially gone down a lot since we graduated. The fees increased, some Professors were not there anymore but the quality of education still was at par with the best in the Philippines. Everyone else graduated; but look at these seats we were in... it's the same one when we took our class photos years ago. Yes, it's the same bench, same old hot gym... same old class picture but we wondered what went wrong with the plans to upgrade this facility. Apparently, it didn't happen and I wasn't the only one who secretly felt heartbroken about it's condition... most Alumni did. The school did a lot of things for us and it was high time we pay back.

My batch mates were hilarious! (Ang kulit lang nila no?!) LOL

The Alumni Org raised some funds with this event for the rehab of the gym. It's a start and I hope the small amount the Alumni Association put up would help something snowball in the near future. If you are around the area I suggest you get your kids enrolled in Trinity University of Asia High School, its where I learned a lot. I came from that school and it made me a better person. It honed a lot of the country's leaders and professionals. It made them better if not "the best" in their fields.

We played in the Trinity League Volleyball and Basketball games just for fun; but while doing that we felt we got some wins we didn't expect along the way. Later on we found out that we were already playing for the Championship for Volleyball and battling for third in the Basketball games. Guess what happened!?? =)

Trinity College of Quezon City Batch 1995
Trinity League Volleyball Champions!

Trinity College of Quezon City Batch 1995
Trinity League Basketball 3rd Place!

Yeap! We won! We were so happy! =)

I'd like to take this bit and thank my batch mates for the fun and booze we took along the way. Thanks to everyone in the DRINK TEAM! LOL! Thank you for the overwhelming support we got from everyone in our group page and social media channels. Congratulations to our batch! I can't wait to see everyone in February for the awarding ceremonies. Thank you also to the Alumni Association and Batch 94 for hosting this year's activities. Thanks also to everyone at Trinity University of Asia (formerly known as Trinity College of Quezon City) because without you we wouldn't be where we are today! :)