My first year as a Jesuit regent at Ateneo de Naga University Junior High school was a step into the unknown. While I had one class on education before regency, the classroom remained largely unfamiliar territory. In the first few days of teaching, I asked questions such as How does one teach? How do I reach students who are more connected to their screens than to themselves? But as the weeks unfolded, I slowly began to ask deeper questions. Not “what should I teach?” but “who am I teaching?” It became clear that teaching is never just about content. It is about connection, about becoming more human, and about encouraging each student to become more fully alive. And it is here that the words of St. Irenaeus resonated with renewed power: “The glory of God is man fully alive.”
Early in my regency, I was mainly focused on deliverables such as crafting lesson plans, checking quizzes, and grading performance tasks. But something within me began to recognize a deeper truth: that my students were not just learners to be evaluated, they were souls to be seen and to be accompanied. I began to understand that more than content, what mattered was presence. Experiences such as listening to a student struggling with family issues and celebrating a small breakthrough with someone who didn’t believe in themselves became sacred moments.
Cura personalis became my guiding principle. The more I paid attention to the whole person before me, the more I witnessed them come alive. The more our lessons became human, rooted in real-life questions, and the more the classroom became a space of transformation and growth.
Reflection
In my journey as a Jesuit regent, I found myself even more drawn to questions about what makes us fully alive. As I deepened my relationship with students, I realized that what set them apart from the AI tools they often used was their capacity for self-reflection.
As Socrates reminds us, “an unexamined life is not worth living.” The ability to look inward, to examine our lives, to ask why we do what we do is part of what makes us human. Our daily practice of the Ignatian Examen at AdNU JHS provides an opportunity for each student to reflect, to notice where God is at work, and to become aware of how they are being called to grow.
As a teacher-formator and campus minister, I incorporate reflection into my classes and activities. Prayer, quiet moments of reflection, and spiritual conversations help students see that they are not just doers, but human beings who are made in the image and likeness of God. When students begin to realize that they are deeply loved, they begin to come alive. They see that their questions, wounds, and hopes are not add-ons to learning, but the very heart of it.
Connection
Regency also allowed me to recognize our young people’s deep longing for connection. Amidst the availability of Facebook Messenger, Instagram stories, or TikTok videos, one cannot deny that our students thirst for real presence and connection.
I saw this longing again and again. Students want to belong, to be seen, and to be heard. When they are given a space where their voices matter, they begin to flourish. I saw this in simple moments such as a student opening up during a recollection, a shy classmate finding their voice in group work, and someone feeling affirmed for the first time. This deep sense of connection extends even to our relationship with Creation. Part of what I’ve tried to foster in ministry is a sense of connection to our Common Home. This means helping students see that being “fully alive” also means living in harmony with and caring for Creation. These moments of connection are central to the formation of our young people.
Vocation
At the heart of my regency experience is the journey of vocation. Regency is not just a period of service, but also a time of discernment. I began this mission unsure of my abilities and daunted by the tasks ahead. But over time, I began to see that my journey as a Jesuit regent is not about having all the answers. It’s about being attentive to God’s voice, to the needs of others, and to the deepest desires planted in our hearts.
Ignatian spirituality invites us to ask: Where is God calling me to love more? Whether in the classroom, during recollections and retreats, or in casual conversations, I witnessed how helping and accompanying students as they discern their own desires and callings is truly a sacred mission.
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As a second year regent, I realize that regency was never just about teaching or ministry. It was about witnessing, in small and often ordinary ways, the glory of God which St. Irenaeus so beautifully describes as “man fully alive.”
To be fully alive is not to be perfect, but to be present, to love, to reflect, to connect, and to listen to the voice of God within and around us.
I witnessed and felt the glory of God in students discovering their voices. In the tears shed during a retreat. In laughter after a successful group project. In quiet prayers under the trees. In the silent, sacred moments when a person begins to believe that they are worthy of love.
In a highly digitalized world shaped by instant messaging, curated digital personas, and artificial intelligence, regency taught me to seek and to choose what makes us fully alive and more human. And in doing so, this is where God is most glorified.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam!
Sch. Renzo Miguel Akiat is a Jesuit regent missioned as a campus minister and teacher at Ateneo de Naga University Junior High School. He guides students in their spiritual journey through recollections and retreats, and serves as a formator for Grade 8 and 10 students in the school’s Faith Formation Program.
Hailing from Cagayan de Oro City, Sch. Renzo holds a degree in Speech Pathology from the University of the Philippines Manila and joined the Society of Jesus in 2019. He enjoys spending time with friends, playing basketball and volleyball with fellow Jesuits and colleagues, and unwinding over a good cup of iced coffee. He is also active on Instagram, where he shares glimpses of his daily life as a Jesuit.