Mentoring the next generation of Ateneans

Rizalino Rivera (HS ‘79) has always  been engaged in people and organization development and nation building. Rivera is an expert in leading and managing change, strategic management, organizational development and  leadership development. From 2010-2016, he served as an Undersecretary for Governance and Operations of the Department of Education (DepEd), spearheading initiatives that helped realign the organization and improve its services .  He has acted in a consulting capacity to various business corporations,  government and non-government organizations.  Rivera has also served his alma mater starting as a  Guidance Counselor for the Ateneo High School and then moving on as faculty of the Loyola Schools, Graduate School of Business, School of Government and the School of Medicine and Public Health. He has also been involved in psycho-spiritual formation work through Emmaus Center.

In short, Rivera is well-prepared for for his role role as Vice President for Social Development (VPSD). He assumed the position in October.
 

 Seeking God’s will in everything
 
Rivera has always been interested in individual, organizational and societal development. “ I was a psychologist, a formator, a labor and urban poor organizer, a business executive, and a government official . Whatever the role, I was trying to effect changes in society,” he says.
 
The passion to help improve the lives of others has no doubt been spurred by his family upbringing and the Jesuit influences in his life. His late father, Benjamin Rivera,  and grandfather, Andres Dela Paz were both community and civic leaders in their hometown of Marikina. His aunt, Dr Fely Paz was a pediatrician. All three exposed Rivera to the plight of the less fortunate and the need to contribute to the betterment of society. Among the Jesuits, one of those who inspired him was  Fr. Jose “Joey”  M. Cruz, SJ, who now serves as the Vice President for University and Global Relations. Fr. Joey was Rivera’s class moderator in his senior year at AHS, who encouraged his students to seek God’s will and to serve God and country . Another Jesuit who influenced Rivera a lot was Fr. Venencio “Benny” Calpotura, SJ, who was his boss at Emmaus Center, mentor, and spiritual director for many years. He guided and accompanied Rivera to discern how God has been working in his life and taught him how to help others as well. “Fr. Benny was my Obi-wan, Rivera said.
 
As a young Filipino living in the time of Martial Law, Rivera saw injustices in the country and was thus drawn towards serving God and the country. He took up law studies and later became a pre-novice. But then he realized that his calling was in the community, not the pulpit. As he moved out of the pre- novitiate into the field of societal development and formation building, he retained that mindset: to follow God’s will and serve the country. On this path, Rivera has helped numerous individuals and organizations become better at what they do.
 
In DepEd for instance, he addressed the issue of improving the department’s services.  Program such as the  re-training of Regional Directors, Superintendents and School Heads, the Continuous Improvement Program, the new School Improvement Plan, the Performance Management System and the National Service Committee helped tackle the department’s many challenges.
 
Rivera attributes everything to his spirituality.
 
“You learn to realize that it is not about you— God has to come in; it has to be His grace. Whether you’re dealing with an individual or a group, if God is not at the center, nothing will happen.  It is always God’s work.”
 
In February, while on a spiritual retreat, it became clear to Rivera that the time to pay it forward has come.
 
Mentoring the next generation of Ateneans
 
“It is time to pass on whatever knowledge I have—time to train the next generation. I’m 57 years old already; I’m sick. Most of the people in my generation,we compare illnesses,  medicine tablets that we take and the doctors that we see. It is time for me to give to the next generation.”
 
The Office of the Vice President for Social Development (OVPSD) is the university’s arm in advancing its efforts on social development  and strengthening its social impact. Included in its wing are Gawad Kalinga- Ateneo (GK Ateneo) and the Ateneo Center for Educational Development (ACED).  Gawad Kalinga-Ateneo, the first University-wide development program,  works with Gawad Kalinga in the creation and implementation of programs that help alleviate poverty.  ACED, on the other hand, partners with public schools to facilitate initiatives like in-school feeding programs and teacher trainings.
 
Rivera believes that his background could help amplify the University’s voice in this area.
 
“Part of my unique experience is having worked in government - in DepEd, no less, which is the biggest government agency we have. That perspective is very different from when I worked in NGOs, here in Ateneo, or in business, as well; I’ve experienced all these but government work is really different. It exposed me to so many things and has changed my perspective on a lot of things,” he says.
 
Collaboration, linkages and partnerships
 
Much of the work  at OVPSD, he shares,  would be geared towards strengthening the university’s network so that these societal issues could be addressed by working across disciplines.
 
“At this stage, our students,  faculty, and institutions  already make concrete contributions but I think we can do more.  I think it is also important that while they are students, they are being formed according to the values and principles that we want to promote so that when they are outside, they can create more impact in the way that we want them to,” Rivera says.
 
Sustaining cross sectoral collaborations is key to achieving more societal impact and this is what Rivera hopes to bring to the table.
 
The world is so much bigger that the Ateneo,” he continues, “and there are a lot of people outside who are helping as much, if not more.  I think that we should come together with other institutions and do something for society. I want to strengthen that link.”
 
Social problems are getting more complex and setting the wheels in motion would require linkages and collaboration, Rivera stresses: “Society problems are too large for one person or for one institution. We have to partner with other institutions. It would be for the country’s benefit.“
 
Ateneans, he adds, are are already doing so much so tapping them, especially the alumni, serve as  good “sources and modelling for our students,” he says. 
 
‘Soak it in’
 
Helping the next generation of globally-minded Filipinos to tackle development problems is challenging and Rivera is up to the task. But more than imparting knowledge, Rivera hopes that these young Ateneans, including his children, 2 of whom are still studying at the University, would grow up grounded in Ignatian spirituality.
 
“The Ateneo education is one of the best, if not the best so soak it in.  You can get the academics from other good schools but what differentiates Ateneo is our Ignatian spirituality. It is something that can help them,even after they leave the Ateneo, as they confront the challenges in life and make a difference in the world.”