It's already June which means it's time for school! For the first time i'm not gonna be the eager student who's very excited for the opening classes after a long summer break. Now, i'm a teacher and it's just as exciting! In Ateneo, we always welcome the freshmen so that they will feel at home in the campus. Before the class starts, the freshies will be asked to attend the Orientation Seminar or OrSem.

OrSem is basically a two-day bootcamp that will orient them about the college life, the campus facilities and things they have to know about their college/department, clubs/organizations and academic stuff. To wrap the OrSem, the college student council and all student organizations will have a welcoming party at the night before the first day of class begins. It's a really fun tradition at school that will really make a mark in your college life.

The student council also publishes a booklet on how to survive college life. It is called "Ateneo Freshmen Survival Tract" or AFST which contains messages from heads, information about the campus facilities/buildings, retention policy, and fun trivia about the culture in Ateneo. As a layout artist, I was lucky to produce the AFST during 2008 and 2009. You can see the 2009 AFST here.

Today, other departmental organizations produce their own FST's too like the Accountancy Academic Org. They assigned the Publications committee headed by Jam Quintanes to make their very own AFST which they called AAOFST (I suggested the title, hehe). I was commission to design and layout their 12-page booklet which contains AAO's Calendar of Activities, Retention Policy, Grading System, Photos, and Tips on how to survive Accountancy. Here's the cover design inspired by vintage victorian typography.


The book will be distributed to the AAO freshies this upcoming OrSem on June 7. I'm excited to see the final print and hopefully they will like my designs. Click the image above to see my deviantArt page and hit the fave button if u like :D

The Ateneo Freshmen Survival Tract is a project of El Consejo Atenista, the student governing body of Ateneo de Zamboanga University. It is a magazine type manual containing essential information, tips, and guides for incoming freshmen students. The theme for 2009 is El Vida Atenista which means "The Life of an Atenista."

I served as the creative director, illustrator and layout artist of AFST for two years, 2008 to 2009. AFST 2008 looked like a passport and laid out as if you were reading a plane/travel guide. AFST 2009 was inspired by Harry Potter's Hogwarts without the witches and broomsticks. It is also inspired by pop art. It is one of my favorite works which we made only about two weeks including the printing. Here's the document file so you can see it.

Ateneo Freshmen Survival Tract 09

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Keeshia Alyanna Alix
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Paul Nathan Beira
STAFF WRITERS: Ma. Carissa Regina Cartagena, Rosette Mae Garcia, Leyson San Juan, Sweet Apple Monjardin, Leo Ernesto Thomas Romero, Ray Christopher Secuando, Gaesha Hazel Wee
HEAD RESEARCHER: Ralph Anthony Espos
CREATIVE HEAD / LAYOUT ARTIST: Cedrick Zabala
PHOTOGRAPHERS: Carlo Regino Carabaña, Jude Christopher Roxas