LEAP Magazine

Today marks a powerful milestone for the transgender community—a time to honor their achievements, celebrate their contributions, and raise greater awareness of the discrimination that still persists. It reminds us that every person matters and encourages us to embrace diversity, seeing one another with dignity, compassion, and respect. In the face of ongoing violence and bigotry, we are urged not only to acknowledge these realities but also to actively challenge them and work together to prevent further harm.

More than a moment of recognition, this day is a call to action. It invites us to stand in genuine solidarity with those who continue to face injustice, prejudice, and inequality. Let it inspire us to help build a society where every individual is truly valued and seen—not defined by others’ expectations, but affirmed for who they are. In doing so, we uphold that visibility is not a privilege to be earned, but a fundamental human right that belongs to all.






✍️: S. Leopoldo '28 | News Writer
🖼️: J. Harder '27 | Photojournalist

𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞 - 𝟒𝟑𝐫𝐝 & 𝟒𝟒𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐚-𝐕𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞)

"𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝘆, 𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱, 𝗶𝘁 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵. 𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀"

— 1 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔 13:4-7

𝗝𝘂𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼 𝗔𝗹𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗮, born on January 15, 2004, is a 22-year-old individual who fearlessly breaks boundaries, embodying both assertiveness in his professional life and approachability in his personal one. He navigates the world as a teacher, 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀.

His journey, marked by past struggles with gender identity and bullying, has forged a resilient spirit. Juan Miguel's experiences have taught him the importance of 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 and the 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆.

His advice to those discovering themselves is a powerful reminder to embrace the journey with courage and self-love. "𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲. 𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀. 𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗟𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲." 🎀💌

✍🏻: Mr. Rodel Navarro || 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

🖼: Ms. Carmela Adelantad || 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝

Ms. Katrina Marilag || 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

Ms. Anne Sejas || 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

📝: Ms. Kaycee Lucena || 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐳𝐢𝐧𝐞 – 𝟑𝟗𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟒𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞 (𝐇𝐄-𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐎𝐍)

“𝐁𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮.”
—𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝟑𝟏:𝟔

“𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻. 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁. 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵.” — Reinhold Niebuhr

𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, and 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 — a life grounded in. 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, and 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡

Meet 𝗠𝗿. 𝗝𝗵𝗼𝗻 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣. 𝗟𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗼✨
Also known as 𝗦𝗶𝗿 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗵 , a 𝟮𝟯 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱
individual who embodies being 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝-𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐢𝐜, 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜, and 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲-𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 💪

Born on 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟬, 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟯 , he was shaped by his 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬’ 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 and 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬’ 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭. Faced 𝐛𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 for expressing himself, he developed 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲, and 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.

These challenges taught him to 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 and 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.
He now focuses on 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 and strives for 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 and 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠.

“ɪ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ʙʏ ᴍʏ ᴘʀɪɴᴄɪᴘʟᴇꜱ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ ᴅᴀʏ… ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴏʟ.” 🤍

A reminder that 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 — so 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟. 🌿






🖼️: Ms. Cheska Dela Peña || 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞
: Ms. Bernardine Bersamina || 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞
: Ms. Lovelyn Campuspos || 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞

✍🏻: Mx. Jherimie Sape || 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞
: Ms. Jinky Tinapay || 𝐒𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞