Dr. Bernadette Moscoso, Atty. Oliver Tuazon, and Dr. Enrico Gruet pose with the students of CDU

by Lance Nolasco

Only two weeks after its last trip, Universitas went back to Cebu, this time under official invitation from the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital (CDUH) and its sister school, the Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU).  Incidentally, the trip occurred during the Sinulog week, the holiest and jolliest time in the Queen City of the South.

Universtias’ President & CEO , Atty. Oliver M. Tuazon, gave two back-to-back talks last January 17 & 18, 2019 in these two institutions, both of which pertained to the millennials: the first one was about them, and the second was for them. Revolving around similar themes which highlight the importance of living the virtues, the two talks can be likened to two buns which “sandwiched” the keynote address that the President & CEO delivered at the White Coat Ceremony of the teaching hospital in the afternoon of January 17.

In CDUH, Atty. Tuazon spoke to the supervisors of various divisions of the hospital on how to manage millenials in the workplace. Before starting, he showed them a video of Simon Sinek’s talk on why millenials act the way they do. Atty. Tuazon then talked about the four causes of the behavior of millenials which the famous author cited: bad parenting, technology, instant culture and environment.

He mentioned millenials who may have some attitude problems were born to absentee parents. Because of this, proper guidance has been withheld from them in their growing years. Apart from this, along with the developments in technology, social media has risen to the level of necessity among many young people. Sometimes, this tends to rise to the level of addiction, which many experts now link to depression and other mental illnesses. Thirdly, with technology’s capacity to make life easier, and in turn, to shape our lives, millenials have become exposed to a culture of instant gratification. Finally, the institutions which are supposed to serve as environments where the youth are to be nurtured, have not fully succeeded in this task.  Schools and organizations have become a haven of numbers, not people. Grades and profit are valued over learning and growth.

He mentioned that these factors lead to ‘dysfunctional’ attitudes among many millenials. Consequently, not having been introduced to failure in their early and adolescent years, many of them lack the resilience and grit when faced with challenges. The predominance of social media has given rise to a narcissistic culture, where the value of a person is measured by the number of “likes” and “shares” they receive. The instant culture, on the other hand, has encouraged an attitude of impatience, with the belief that everything can be done in a click, be it relationships and happiness, when in reality, these important things are gained through time; thus, the inaptitude of many millenials for forming ‘real’ relationships.

The President & CEO pointed out that these things can be changed. He advised them to help their millennial employees to know themselves better.  He shared with them a quote from Joseph Badarraco, a Harvard Business School Professor: “The difference between success and failure is not skill, technique, credentials, networking or even experience. It is clarity about who one is.” Knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses is a key dynamic to excel in life, and everything starts with the little things.

Atty. Tuazon also advised the audience at the hospital to form lasting and real relationships, and this can be learned through the effort one exerts to build ties with people on a daily basis, having lots of patience, and to remind oneself that there is “virtue in waiting”.

Before ending, he invited them to live a life of virtue and to practice James Stenson’s four magic words: “I’m sorry”, “Thank you”, “Please”, and “I give you my word”. After the talk, Engr. Oscar Tuason, the Vice President for Administration of the Hospital, thanked Atty. Tuazon for the valuable insights he shared that morning. He took an interest in the book of Atty. Tuazon featuring his chats with millenials entitled, No Holds Barred: Questions Young People Ask, and promised to look for a printer in Cebu to help spread its message.

The next morning, Atty. Tuazon spoke to the second-year medical students in Cebu Doctors’ University (CDU).  He was introduced by Dr. Bernadette Moscoso, the person responsible for connecting Universitas with CDUH and CDU.

He gave an overview of the Universitas Leadership Program (ULP), which is centered upon its Principled Leadership Course, the flagship project of the Foundation. He shared with these students how one’s character and lifestyle are formed, that is, through virtues or vices.  To put it simply, “Virtues are good habits”, he explained, “while vices are bad habits”.

He traced the development of one’s character and lifestyle way up to the internal and external senses. He told them, “[w]e need to be cautious on the things that we let through our senses.” He emphasized that the lifestyle of a person can be traced back to what he/she allows to pass through his/her senses directly and indirectly. He then pointed out that it is high time for them to review or reflect on their everyday tasks, and to distinguish what nourishes their soul and what corrupts it. To drive home the point, he gave Ted Bundy, a serial killer/rapist in America, as an example. He told them that Ted Bundy revealed before his execution something worth noting–that his heinous crimes are rooted from his addiction to pornography.

Lastly, he mentioned that with the advent of internet, everyone gained access to almost anything in the web. With this, it is imperative for millenials to use the internet wisely–for good purposes. Dr. Enrico Gruet, the Dean of the College of Medicine of CDU, thanked the President & CEO for his thought-provoking talk to their students.

Atty. Tuazon, together with his Executive Assistant, Mr. Lance Nolasco, ended the Cebu trip by joining the two million devotees of the Santo Niño who showed up in the afternoon procession on the eve of the Sinulog festivities, upon the invitation of the family of Dr. Evan Mendoza. They flew back to Manila the morning after.

NOTA BENE: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and the speakers mentioned in the article, and not necessarily to the Foundation.

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