A ship full of souls sails into a vast ocean man by a committed crew and captain towards the horizon, towards uncertainty. This image telescopes how I see student organizations. A sailing ship bound somewhere, but in this case for something - something greater. In my history bank, a galleon ship perfectly emblematizes this. The ship is guided by dedicated men bearing the pride and glory of their name and motherland and these men stand as a conquistador/captain ready to conquer the mighty challenges of the new world and heroic priests delivering a new faith of love to natives; these are the souls who faithfully and courageously man the galleon traveling years into an ocean of uncertainty but hopes in a vision of hitting dry and fertile land to call their own.
Student organizations are ships of this sort. Students called upon in the name of service for God and others, leading a sophisticated and structured organization into an uncertain future but guided by an inspiring and promising vision. In the other hand, a galleon filled with heroic souls but with no vision is the same as a paper boat in its endless trip in a stream. A galleon with a noble vision but no brave soul to follow it is of the same sort. How can a galleon be legendary in that case? Simple, it becomes a testament of heroism through its journey. The journey molds heroic people, heroic people chisel noble visions. The galleon guided by the wind of God’s breath and the sail of man honing that wind travels vast distances safely. The interplay of these two creates that journey, that vast distance ready to test the crew for the greater challenge of hitting dry land. Like the student organizations, they implement directions (programs and projects) with a long-term eye much like the crew manipulating the direction for their sails to harness the wind. The journey is made fuller through faith and action-the correct alignment of the sail to the wind, and the great distance made shorter through vision. After a school year of sailing, the galleon finally hits dry land. A land filled with endless possibilities and countless obstacles. For the heroic crew who had just faced unfathomable challenges in the ocean, they know that it is only the mean that had been satisfied. The end is still very far from the horizon. The story of the conquistador, crew and priests has just begun.
God loves you!
