Blaze the trail!
That was the mantra of the whole Dominican youth as Trailblaze: Luzon, the first event of the Dominican Network (DOMNET) Youth Group this year took place at the grounds of the Aquinian community on Sep 29, Saturday.
DOMNET National Coordinator and ‘15 alumnus Nathan Agustin said of the program, “Trailblaze aims to ignite the spirit of leadership and strengthen the Dominican Youth.”
“It was made with the zeal to promote meaningful encounters among students from Dominican schools to strengthen the network among them,” Agustin added.
Different schools from different parts of Luzon participated in the day-long gathering, where inspirational talks and activities brought out the best in participants.
The whole gathering started with a Eucharistic mass presided by Fr. Lauro de Dios.
This was then followed by the traditional DOMNET clap done by the whole Dominican youth with “enormous and ignited” energy from the crowd, as they danced as one with the venue being filled with laughter and positivity.
Inspirational talks were then delivered by Benz Rodil and Celina Castro, which taught participants about leadership.
Participants were also given a chance to interact with others as they were divided into groups named after farm animals. They were asked to complete different activities that tested their teamwork, trust, values, and friendship.
“[Trailblaze] shows the unbreakable ties between our community and the Dominican Network,” eleventh-grader and DOMNET Junior National Coordinator Harry Barotea said.
Trailblaze: Luzon is just one of the many events prepared by DOMNET to “set the trail among the youth”. Trailblaze: Visayas and Mindanao are set to take place in November and January in line with the celebration of the Year of the Youth.