Last April, Lance joined 14 other students in going to the island of Marinduque. Yes, he would be catching the waves for sure, but when he’s not swimming, he would be busy painting his masterpieces on roofs, ceilings and walls.

At Talao-talao port in Lucena, Lance sat together with his schoolmates, waiting for the roll on-roll off (ro-ro) ferry which would bring them to the island of Marinduque. There they would spend the Holy Week helping improve the physical surroundings of Poctoy Elementary School, in the town of Torrijos. When the ferry arrived, they all hurried inside, grabbed a seat and waited for three hours before setting foot on land again.

It was Lance’s first summer work camp. Organized by the Molave Study Center in Alabang, the summer work camp is an annual program which exposes the youth to the hard life of people in less-developed areas. In the early 1980s, only college students were invited to join the summer work camps, but in 1999, the Molave Study Center opened the work camp program to elementary and high school students as well.

Dr. Naz Velasco, a staff of the Molave Study Center and a part time physician in Southridge, believes that students have to be exposed to the social realities of life while still at a young age. A person learns which value to keep for the rest of his life during his childhood years, and the work camps are designed for the students to understand the plight of other people, and to learn responsibility, patience, commitment to work.

Lance recounted his experience in his first summer work camp: "We lived a scheduled life during those seven days. Everyday we wake up early, meditate, hear mass, eat breakfast, work, eat lunch, work, eat merienda, go home, spend some free time, meditate, eat dinner, pray the rosary and sleep."

The work camp atmosphere was that of work, meditation and prayer. The students had to enjoy what they were doing or else they would be bored or they would simply give up their tasks.

From the resort they were lodged in, Lance and his schoolmates had to walk 30 minutes everyday to reach Poctoy Elementary School. There, they were asked to paint the roof, ceiling and walls of an open air social hall.

"The ceiling painters always got dripped on their faces, while the roof painter had to endure the heat of the sun," Lance recalled.

In the afternoon, a group of 15 young boys could be seen walking on a road back to the resort. The scene was a reminder of Robert Frost’s poem, "The Road Not Taken."

Why Lance and his schoolmates decided to spend their summer working and tiring themselves out painting the social hall, instead of wandering all day long at the beach, or watching the Moriones festival in the town’s plaza, one does not have to guess. In Southridge, the students are formed to be concerned, helpful individuals. The summer work camp was not even a required activity for the students.

From the onset, Lance knew he would be working instead of having a grand vacation in the Morion island. Lance and his schoolmates belong to a still few number of people who are looking for more ways on how to help their less fortunate and underprivileged brothers and sisters, even if helping is on a small scale basis.

And by taking "the road less traveled," Lance and his schoolmates began to incorporate within them, the heart for service.

Back at the resort, the students got to share their "working" stories with each other. They learned to appreciate the smallest of things, for they had seen themselves contributing to the fulfillment of their task, which is to paint the school’s social hall.

They also appreciated the food provided for them by the principal and the parents of the students. Lance recalled, "Everyday they would provide us with merienda, consisting of a drink, whether it’s fresh buko juice with meat, fresh melon juice or soda in a bottle. There was also bibingka, kuchinta, puto, bico and other Filipino delicacies. They were some of the nicest people we have ever met."

The work camp always proves to be an unforgettable experience. Lance will surely sign up for the next work camp. In the end, he pointed out, "[The work camp] was a way to build our relationship with God, to help others and to work at the same time. It is an activity I would recommend to fellow students because it is one of the best ways to help others and to help develop the character and personality in different ways."