Junelie Velonta is the new HAPI Youth Ambassador!

By Edgar Louis de Gracia
HAPI Scholar

This March, HAPI Youth welcomes a new Ambassador in the form of Dumagueteñan star student, Junelie Anthony Velonta.

The HAPI Youth Ambassador must represent and lead the “new blood” among HAPI, a.k.a. young Filipino humanists who want to change the world for the better. It is a way to train new leaders of the organization.

By all accounts, Velonta is a well-respected, skilled, and hardworking academic. A straight-A physics student from Silliman University who dabbles in literary writing, historical research, and journalism, he has gradually honed his skills to become Features Editor of The Weekly Sillimanian.

As a HAPI Scholar, he has written various articles that have left readers stunned. Beyond writing, he is equally skilled in analytical thinking, problem-solving, and team leadership.

As such, Velonta is being honored with a new role by the HAPI Founder, Marissa Langseth and HAPI CEO, Javan Lev Poblador. For his skills and output not only as a Scholar but also as a member of HAPI-Dumaguete, he has earned the position of HAPI Youth Ambassador – a responsibility not to be taken lightly as it poses new challenges for him. In an interview, he promised to take the Special Department to new heights and succeed where most would fail.

“While I did not expect to get this position specifically, I had been expecting a leadership role for quite some time now,” Velonta said, referring to previous instances wherein he was offered positions by HAPI. “I did feel overwhelmed at first. However, as I reflect on it and let the pressure run through me – beyond me – I feel that I am both capable and well-equipped for the responsibility”.

Velonta’s new duties are not lost on him. “As the HAPI Youth Lead is the representative of many young Filipino humanists, I have to plan and push initiatives into action which not only benefit HAPI and the HAPI Youth, but also equip those who look to me for leadership with useful skills which would help them later in life,” he stated.

As Velonta and HAPI Youth enter a new chapter, let it be a lesson for all of us that although we might hesitate and shrink at the thought of grabbing an opportunity, it’s always helpful to step back and reassess. Sometimes, it just takes a fresh perspective to truly know whether or not you are capable of moving upward.