Danikka Fabela: On a mission to accompany the youth in their spiritual journeys

When Danikka Rose Fabela (Doctor of Ministry ’24) was informed that she was going to speak at the 2024 Commencement on behalf of the graduating graduate students, she was in the midst of preparing a retreat for seminarians in Bukidnon.

“It was really unexpected because to be honest, I felt I did not do well in the interview because I was too focused on the preparation for the retreat for the seminarians, so after the interview I said ‘Lord, ikaw na po ang bahala,’” she says.

Danikka, who is currently the Director of the Campus Ministries Office of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, was chosen as the speaker for graduate students for the 2024 Commencement of the five higher education schools (Education and Learning Design, Humanities, Management, Science and Engineering, and Social Sciences).

“Gusto ko lang talaga na during my graduation uupo lang ako, makikinig lang ako doon sa speakers para matapos lang siya, but I’m just super grateful and super happy,” she shares.

She joins a select number of graduate students chosen for the honor. So far, only four other graduating graduate students have been chosen for the role, which was introduced as part of the commencement ceremonies in 2020.

Full circle moment

Speaking at the 2024 Commencement will be a full-circle moment for Danikka. In 2011, she also spoke in front of her college graduating class in Xavier University, finishing her undergraduate degree in education as class valedictorian.

At that point, Danikka was strongly considering going back to her high school alma mater to teach, but the XU Campus Ministries Office invited her to become a campus minister instead. She said the XU CMO told her she will have “the best of both worlds” teaching and doing campus ministry work, so she accepted.

“The expectation was also high that my career path would really be teaching,” she recounts, saying that she wanted to follow her mother’s footsteps teaching. “I really had to discern what my decision would be so in the end, I chose the Campus Ministries Office.”

She fell in love with the work in campus ministry, but she felt that her skills and knowledge were inadequate for the job, so she pursued graduate studies. After her masters, she was encouraged by Fr Rene Tacastacas SJ to apply for a scholarship with the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd). With that CHEd scholarship she enrolled in the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program of the Loyola School of Theology, with a particular focus on retreat giving and spirituality.

Curveballs

Her time doing doctoral studies was the first time she lived away from home, Danikka says, but she found a home and a community in Ateneo. As an on-campus resident, she lived at the University Residence Halls, where she found new friends among her fellow residents. She also joined the Tinig Barangka community, where she sang in the choir at church on Sundays. “Sila ’yong mga naging pamilya ko diyan sa Maynila,” she says.

The biggest curveball in her doctoral journey, however, came beginning March 2020, when she faced delays in her dissertation timeline and her ethics clearance got delayed by months. As she waited for the clearance to arrive, she opted to stay in the residence halls thinking she would be able to finish writing her dissertation in peace — but she couldn’t write anyway, with all academic facilities closed, particularly the libraries.

Then one day she got a text message from a resident adviser, saying Fr Manoling Francisco SJ was looking for volunteers. “Long story short, I was assigned to head the PPE deployment” as part of the pandemic response of Tanging Yaman Foundation, which was also based at the Loyola Heights campus.

“Andito ako para magsulat ng dissertation ko pero bakit naging ganito ang experience?,” she recalls thinking. “But in retrospect, I’ve always been like that: where there is a need, kung ano man ang pwedeng maitulong, I really try to respond. Ganoon talaga ang naging mantra ko since college: to go where there is greater need. I cannot afford to just stay in my room to sit down and then think about my dissertation when the whole world was dying,” she says.

“I had a chance to focus on my writing, but I focused on what was more important at that moment. I can let go of this thing kasi mas kailangan ako dito,” she adds.

Heartbreak

Later on, she encountered what she calls a “heartbreaking” point in her graduate studies journey.  

With two chapters remaining in her dissertation, she decided to go back to work at Xavier University, but she later found that it was difficult juggling her academic work, administrative duties, and her campus ministry responsibilities. With CHEd knocking at her door reminding her to finish her studies, she requested Xavier University to give her one more semester of full-time study to finish her degree.

But when she returned to LST in November 2022, she suddenly found herself without an adviser. She was already just a semester away from the finish line, but this sudden development threatened to undo years of hard work.

“When I received [my former adviser’s] email, I suddenly did not know what to do… It was heartbreaking because I really wanted him to be my mentor all throughout my [doctoral] journey because he was with me from the start,” she recounts.

“At that moment I felt helpless. The pressure was both Internal and external. I really wanted to finish the degree and at the same time, there was the external pressure from CHEd to finish my degree,” Danikka said. “Hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko at that point.”

For two weeks, she was in limbo, until she consulted with Fr Jojo Fung who eventually agreed to be her mentor. She was able to make it to the finish line, and her selection as graduation speaker was the cherry on top of a challenging journey. 

Ministry of accompaniment

As she graduates, Danikka reaffirms her commitment to her work in campus ministry at Xavier University.

“In the next few years, it would still really be a ministry of accompaniment for me. So I’m still going to be a youth minister,” she says. “I’m still going to be someone who will focus on the spiritual formation of the entire Xavier University. But I also plan to really extend that beyond the corners of our university.”

She also plans to continue accompanying the spiritual journey of young students entering the seminary in Bukidnon. “That’s really part of my contribution to the Church na may tututok din sa spiritual formation nila.”

Danikka also plans to continue engaging in research in youth ministry, spirituality, and religion. In fact she is already scheduled to work with Dr Jayeel Cornelio of the Development Studies Program, on a project on religion and youth formation. 

To persevere

Danikka says that more than the degree, she treasures the personal growth and transformation she experienced along the way.

“I remember from what Doc Anne [Candelaria, Assistant Vice President for Graduate Education] said after our meeting with Dr [Maria Luz] Vilches [Vice President for Higher Education]. She mentioned that every moment at Ateneo is formative,” she says. 

“Jesuit education has taught me to have a balanced view of the world,” she says. “The world is charged with the grandeur of God, so we really need to take care of it... But at the same time, Jesuit education has also taught me that this world is broken.”

“I think I would challenge my fellow graduates that we can use whatever degree that we have acquired from Ateneo to contribute in fixing our broken world.”

Danikka said she can capture her graduate school journey in one word: padayon, meaning to carry on and persevere. 

“In my entire graduate studies journey the challenges and the hurdles will always be there,” she says. “They will never leave, which is why it’s really important to learn to love the journey and embrace every aspect of it: not just those moments that you felt happy or motivated, but also those moments, those times when you felt helpless.”

“If I have any takeaway, It’s really to carry on. Padayon. If you can still hear that tiny voice inside you saying ‘go lang, padayon, magpatuloy ka.’ Just listen to it and let it guide your way,” she adds.

All photos courtesy of Danikka Fabela.