SEVENTEEN youths have graduated in the first batch of the Oro Youth Leadership Academy (OYLA) at a hotel in Cagayan de Oro City, over the weekend.

The OYLA is the primary leadership development program of the Oro Youth Development Office which is conducted through a series of modular workshops and trainings from July to December this year.

Among the 17 graduates was Kesh Sheina Sofocado, a senior high school student of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, who was also chosen as the class valedictorian.

“Eventually, with OYLA, we began to discover ourselves better and have learned the values of servant leadership anchored on passion, purpose, and people,” Sofocado said.

During the graduation ceremony, an Alumni Pledge was led by OYLA director for Alumni Affairs Lord Saver Centina.

Present during the event were OYLA director general James Patrick Santos, Oro Youth founding chairperson lawyer Ernesto Neri, City Councilor George Goking, and Angat Buhay-Office of the Vice President Nizam Pabil, who also gave her message to the OYLA graduates.

“Knowing who you are and where you see yourself can be a long process, but it is a process worth taking,” Pabil said.

The Oro Youth Leadership Academy aims to help the youth’s development in terms of preparing them in criticizing and analyzing social conditions, creating evidence-based and sustainable programs, among others.