THE LOURDESIAN CHORAL ARTS SOCIETY
I n C a n t o, S e r v i a m, A m o r e, A d o r o e t D u z c o. W e S i n g, S e r v e, L o v e, W o r s h i p & L e a d.
April of the year 2013, I went on a tour with the De La Salle University Chorale; the embodiment of my desires and passion. Together we travelled the Europe and America singing our hearts, speaking our minds, but still keeping grounded. You could literally say singing brought me places, and I have the pictures and memories to prove it. It wasn’t all about the music though; we had our dramas too with which I learned to grow even more. It was no longer just a song; it’s a conglomeration of emotions that means ever so dear to me that the memories leave my shivering both in joy and rational hindsight. In the aftermath of it all I was no longer that naïve child that left the comfort of high school. My eyes were opened to the possibility that not everything could go your way. I slowly realized that life was more than just those jamming sessions in the choir room trying to pass the time. In my life, I’ve had two choirs and each taught me one thing. The Society taught me to dream and pursue it, Chorale taught me that dreams were possible and that I could be more than just myself. Now with those in tow I’m moving forward. I am currently in Wellington, New Zealand taking a double degree in Marine Biology and Ecology and Biodiversity. I’m living my dreams now pursuing it each waking day with my family backing me each step of the way. My Mother and Father, and my brothers and sisters in the Society and Chorale that have taught me that I could truly be more than I’ve always thought I could be. I’m Lorenzo Gabriel Ortega Ravalo, an alumnus of the Lourdes School Choral Society and the De La Salle University Chorale, a marine biologist in the making. I’m truly pleased to make your acquaintance.
A chorister in New Zealand
Renzo Ravalo
They say the high school will always be the most unforgettable part of your academic life, and to be completely honest, they were right. It was where we found out who we were, what we wanted to be. It was a time of blissful present that would soon become and equally blissful or sometimes dreaded hindsight. What lies outside these walls we could never know for as high school draws to a close, we are plunged into a world teeming with such diversity that we find ourselves isolated in a tangent of who we were and what we are to become. After high school I found myself in De La Salle University; a melting pot of all levels of society, something often overshadowed by stereotypes whose origins I dare not try to comprehend anymore. There I mingled with people I did not know delved into things I never thought I would ever try, but there was one thing I never let go of. In high school I loved to sing, up to this day I still do. I was a member of the, then called, Lourdes School Choral Society; a band of students fueled by their passion to sing, serve, love, worship, and lead. It would be safe to say that without them I wouldn’t have gone on one of the wildest adventures of my life.