Declan - Hi Dale Capistrano!

--- Question 1 ---

Declan - So what is your story behind coming to Vancouver College?

Dale - Well I think one of the more appealing things about VC is going to a Catholic school. For me, my faith is a really big part of my life. In terms of what attracted me, I guess the Catholic aspects to it. Obviously now that I'm in this school I know more about it, but when I was still in elementary school, and I was considering which high school to go to, it felt like there was a strong community [at Vancouver College].

Declan - Yeah, there is a strong community.

Dale - And now, it's very apparent. Apart from that, my brother already came here so I already had an idea.

--- Question 2 ---

Declan - Out of the three years you've been at VC, what was your favourite year here?

Dale - I think so far my favourite year is the current year because, over the past three years, I have grown to mature and to improve myself as a person or as a classmate - as a student. So, yeah, I think that I appreciate more things now that I have grown older and matured. That's why I have enjoyed this year the most over all of them.

--- Question 3 ---

Declan - Okay, so I've heard you are in OWO (One World One Heart). What is One World One Heart like? What do you do in that?

Dale - Okay so, One World One Heart is basically a social justice initiative between VC and Little Flower Academy. So there are a few students from both LFA and VC that have come together, that help to plan One World One Heart, and basically One World One Heart is an event that is supposed to bring awareness to social justice issues. For example, drug and addiction, homelessness and poverty, things like that. So right now we're just planning that event and it's actually coming out very soon, so stay tuned!

Declan - Sounds great.

--- Question 4 —

Declan - So you are one of the original members of the Wellness Club. What do you do in the Wellness Club and what are your future aspirations for this club?

Dale - So Wellness Club is basically a group of VC students where we discuss mental health issues. It comes in a wide range of topics, so, like, we talk about mental health issues as a really big issue even in high schools, and on top of that we also talk about how to handle situations like crisis situations or how to support a friend that's affected by mental health. We are very blessed to have Mr. Huang as the sponsor teacher and the counsellor at VC, and he's just a very good leader for that. He really gives us a lot of useful information to really help us learn more about mental health issues and how to deal with them. As for the future, we're hoping to break more of the stigma that is very apparent in VC's culture - and just stigma in general, not only VC.

--- Question 5 ---

Declan - How do you balance the multiple clubs, and deal with your academics, including band and all that?

Dale - Well I think the most important thing is just having the motivation for that club. I think if you are in a lot of clubs and you are not passionate about them, then it's going to be draining. You won't actually feel the excitement and fun like when you first signed up for these clubs. So for me, even though I still do a good amount of clubs, I still pick the ones in which I feel like I truly express myself. These are the ones that help me stay passionate and that's how I basically balance all the extracurriculars and the academics. 

Declan - Okay, thank you Dale.

Dale - Thank you Declan.