Member of the Month: James Alexis Toplis

by GJ Vitug

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure and honor to announce CompSAt’s first Member of the Month for this school year, James Alexander D. Toplis from Block N 2015! Hailing from both the Ateneo Grade School and High School, this boy grew into a man who incorporated the values of generosity and magis into his daily life. From a young age, he began his road towards becoming the man he is today by joining the Boy Scouts in Grade School (and later on, continuing it in High School).  There, his pride as a Filipino flourished (despite his British ancestry) and his penchant for following an honor code manifested itself. These experiences helped him become a great leader in his class in high school. His classmates deemed him worthy to be their president out of the amount of charisma and respect he had gained from them. Their love for him overflowed to such an extent that they called him “The Emperor”. A single raise of his finger would instantly bring silence and order in his class. Once he entered college, he wanted to express his school spirit by being a lifter in Babble. Now, he is one of CompSAt’s active ninja members; he is always working behind the scenes to help bring success to our organization’s events and activities yet desires no credit for it.

He takes his responsibilities seriously. Scout’s honor.

To those close to him, he is lovingly called Toplis. Ask any of his friends, and I assure you that none of them will say boring or dull. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. James is always full of energy and is willing to go the extra mile to keep things fun and interesting. He is the life of the party, always getting himself into weird and exciting situations. In fact, I was able to interview some of his friends to see how they thought of “The Emperor”:

From Mico Maglaque:

“One of the most hardworking people I know. Also, he’s secretly the Baon King of the Ateneo.”

From EJ Magdaluyo:

“When I heard he performed for Babble during OrSem, I thought, “Wow, what an awesome guy.” Eventually, I got to know him even more, and I can say that wow, he’s really an awesome guy. Everyone should try to be like him!”

From Jeau Gigataras:

“James is a man who never runs out of crazy stories and “words of wisdom”.  But, he is more than his funny jokes, witty comments, and sexy surname (hehe). He is caring and thoughtful, especially around people who need comfort. He is a great friend you’ll surely love to have.”

From Reg Geli:

“James brings greatness and fun to the world. Without him, we wouldn’t be able to survive as a species.

Also, he doesn’t show it, but James has a soft spot for cosplaying.”

Cosplay, you say?

From Elijah Domingo:

“Toplis is a nice person… He is funny. He eats a lot and is fun to hang out with”

From Justin Regino:

“MALANDI.  Tapos sa lahat nacucute-tan. Kahit pusang isa lang mata o mamang balbas sarado  lahat cute para sa taong yan.”

From David Aquino:

“Daring. Lahat ginawa na niya!”

From Miggy Mendoza:

“Malandi. Mahilig sa cats. Briton.”

From Miguel Macandog:

“A good guy. The guy you can always count on.”

From Mico Tiu:

“Coquettish. Mata pa lang malandi na.”

From Jay-Jay Nem Singh:

“James is a bronie.  He knows that friendship is magic wherever you go.  If you were to be stuck on an island, make sure you have a toothbrush and James.  James will be your entertainment showcase and he can build you a boat!”

From Alexa Aguirre:

“I know that James will always be there for me to take the drinks I cannot drink, eat the food I cannot finish, hit on the people I would not even dare to hit on. He is truly a friend that cannot be replaced.”

One does not simply become Member of the Month by bringing joy to the lives of others. “The Emperor” also has the intellect and endurance worthy of his name.  In a long test known for its great difficulty, he was the only one who received an A in the sophomore half of the batch (even the prof couldn’t believe it). He is also working as part of the Logistics team in various CompSAt events despite being busy with his academic duties. He even used his vast influence to bring in more members who weren’t even Computer majors for CompSAt.

I was lucky enough to have been able to interview such great man. Here’s how it went down:

How does it feel to be named CompSAt’s first member of the month for the year?

Very astounding. It was not something I would ever expect. To be acknowledged like this, it’s just such an honor

Were you always active in CompSAt? What motivated you to become active?

Not really. I always tried to attend what GA’s I could, but I was never really able to interact with the org much due to prior commitments. As my schedule freed up, I was able to devote more of my time with CompSAt. For me, I wasn’t really being “active”, I was just contributing what I can and helping out where I could. Nothing special :>

How does it feel to be part of the CompSAt family? Is it what you were expecting?

They are a very welcoming bunch, the upperclassmen especially. They’re always ready with input and advice on classes, profs, projects etc. I sort of see the org as an extension of the block, complete with mentors and students alike.

What did you think when people told you about CompSAt? Did you immediately decide to join or were there any apprehensions?

Oh no, I wanted to join from the get-go. I pretty much had no idea what I was getting myself into in CS and I just knew I was going to drown in a sea of codes and bugs. By joining my home org, I’d be drowning with about a hundred other people, like Titanic. Hihi

Do you have any future plans for the org?

I plan to be org president and there is nothing anyone can do about it

Do you have a crush on any CompSAt member?

SUPER!

Would you at least give us hints as to who it is?

She has great legs and her hair smells like flowers. She’s no taller than my chin too. She has really pretty eyes. I could just stare at them for days. And her smile! I’ve never seen such a cutie smile like that before. She’s also weird. If I try to imagine us together, she ends up like the guy in the relationship while I’m the girl. That’s why we’re so meant to be.

If you were to be a superhero, who would it be and why?

I’d be Deadpool. I really see a lot of myself in him. Not the Deadpool now though, more like his old issues where he had a lot more going on than just “lol so random”. There’s more to him than just that, but that image is what most people see. Kind of like me. Most people see a caring, responsible, humble, caring, honest man. What most people don’t see is how religious and unbiased I am.

How would you respond to the rumors that people consider you flirty? (Yup, I really had to ask)

Why can’t you just let me do the things I wanna do? I just wanna be me. I don’t understand why you would wanna bring me down when I’m only having fun. I wanna live my life. I’m tired of rumors starting. I’m sick of being followed. I’m tired of people lying saying what they want about me. Why can’t they back up off me? Why can’t they let me live? I wanna do it my way. Take this for just what it is.

…Lyrics lang ata yan. Seryoso.

I’m just friendly! :>

How were you able to recruit so many new members? Did you use any sorcery on them?

None at all! I suppose, just like me, they, too, believed in the infallible honor of serving the school and giving back to the community. I only helped them channel their desires towards CompSAt.

Any final words to your fans reading this article?

To the thousands (and thousands) of my fans, always remember: there is no one more malandi than Reg.

There you have it folks! Our first awesome Member of the Month (and probably, the most eccentric for the time being)! As an added bonus, here’s a little gallery featuring our Boy Scout Emperor:

I am Superman…

…Lol jk

Flexibility Test

Do not defy me, commoner….

**dash dash dash