When the staff at NBCC talked about community leadership, Kevin Laguerta was paying attention. When he saw people in his community suffering financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he put his service learning experience to work.
Laguerta, an international learner, completed the Accounting and Payroll Administration program at the Moncton Campus in December 2019 and accepted a position as a finance officer with the corporate office of TD Bank in Dieppe. Just a few months later, he was stricken by the number of people in the Greater Moncton area who had lost their jobs and faced an uncertain future as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He knew he had to do something to help.
“If we live up to our promise and potential as an NBCC student, we are in a position to be part of the solution for the problems our community faces,” the recent alumnus said. “It is my way to pay it forward, a collective effort to help the people in our community to ensure we uplift people’s lives.”
Laguerta recruited two current NBCC students, Casi Angeles (Administrative Professional) and Rey Mar Briosos (Accounting and Payroll Administration), as well as friend Eunice Cunanan to collect food packs to donate to the Humanity Project. He was inspired to do so by the NBCC campus food cupboard, which supplies students in need with groceries to get through to their next paycheque or student loan disbursement.
They made their first contribution to the Humanity Project in April, but are continuing to fund raise for various organizations in the Greater Moncton region that support those in need.
Laguerta’s eagerness to help is particularly significant given his own precarious situation. After losing his part-time job, he has had to cut back on his own expenses to continue sending money to his mother in the Phillipines, who is in lockdown as a result of the pandemic. Regardless of his own struggles, he remains committed to the community leadership principles he learned at NBCC.
“Honour and excellence – the two things that NBCC continues to teach me,” he said.
