Navigating challenges and leading Basic Education amidst the pandemic

In January 1995, speaking in front of an audience comprising more than 4 million people, the late Saint Pope John Paul II invited the youth to follow the path of Jesus. “Young people… know that their life has meaning to the extent that it becomes a free gift for others” (John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 121). A question therefore is directed to each one of you personally: are you capable of giving of yourself, your time, your energies, your talents, for the good of others? Are you capable of love? If you are, the Church and society can expect great things from each one of you,” he said.  The invitation struck a chord in twenty-two-year-old Joaquin Jose Mari Sumpaico (GS '86, HS’90, AB Development Studies ’94, MA Philosophy 2000, and MA Theological Studies, 2006). Jonjee, as he’s affectionately called by family and friends, had his life planned out—he was set to join the corporate world but as he was returning home along University Avenue inside Ateneo’s Loyola Heights campus, an epiphany came to him.

“Suddenly, there was this deep whisper inside, ‘Jonjee, why don’t you serve me?’ And after that, I broke down and said, ‘Yes Lord, I’ll do my best.”

For more than two decades now, Fr Jonjee has been doing that, serving the Lord in various capacities: as a campus minister, teacher, chaplain, writer, theologian, and school principal.  On 1 August 2020, he assumed his role as Vice President for Basic Education at the Ateneo de Manila University. In a video interview, Fr Jonjee shares his vision for the school as well as his observations about becoming a leader amidst the pandemic.