AHEAD launches big bash at Glorietta
People, Events & Products
FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2002

Hundreds of people gathered recently at the Glorietta activity center in Makati City for what turned out to be the first major youth event of 2002, the “Get Ahead Gimik @ Glorietta,” presented by Ahead Tutorial and Review Center (now a division of Ahead Learning Systems, Inc) and MTV Philippines.

The event featured performances by bands K-24/7 and Sandwich, with Crash Kills 5 of Ateneo de Manila High School, Contented Cows of Xavier School, the Ateneo Music Industry and Cakewalk performing as front acts. Also appearing during the event was matinee teen idol Cogie Domingo and Anna Shier, one of the two winners in last year’s MTV VJ Hunt.

From mid-afternoon to late evening, visitors to Glorietta packed the activity center to enjoy music and the festive air in the first-ever school fair in a mall.

“This was truly a memorable event, the first of its kind in the country,” said Rossana L. Llenado, managing director of Ahead Tutorial and Review Center which organized the affair.

According to Llenado, the “Get Ahead Gimik @ Glorietta” was originally meant to be a victory celebration for Ahead’s 2001 college entrance exam reviewees, in anticipation of their gaining admission to the country’s top colleges and universities.

It was, however, expanded into a celebration of youth in general, of the promise that they hold for the future, not just for themselves but for their families, their communities, and their country as well.

The event took on even greater significance, given the impressive performance of Ahead reviewees in last year’s college admission tests.

“Of our reviewees who took the Ateneo College Entrance Test last year, 90 percent passed. This is a very difficult college admission test, particularly its math component. This celebration was for them,” Llenado said.

Other personalities who served as hosts during the affair were Rod Nepomuceno of MTV Philippines, Erie Resureccion and ABS-CBN Talent Center figure and Close Up model Marco Torres of the Katipunan Jaycees, and Sherry Bautista of WorldPrep, a pre-school in Loyola Heights, Quezon City. Inspirational messages were delivered by the youngest Representative in Congress Felix Fuentebella and by lawyer Mabel Villanueva Mamba, president of the National Youth Council and the Junior Chamber of the Philippines.
Goldilocks, Mr. Donut, Don Henricos, Hersheys and KFC flooded the event with free food for the pre-registered participants.

Meg and FWD magazines, Mentos, Bausch & Lomb, Maybelline, L’Oreal Studio, L’Oreal Plenitude, Feria, Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani White, Bratz, Serbisyo Pinoy and Mr. Magloo sponsored the games, giveaways and prizes, Additional entertainment was provided by the Miriam College cheer dancing team and the Innerzone Dancers.

The MTV Penshoppe Youth Council was launched during the event.