My Blog, my journey… or something like that :o)

I was recently invited by my university to share some thoughts about the life of a professional… ahhh, daw atik gani!

but here it goes… got a funny story about this experience…there were around 50 to 60 students who attended the “talk” and now I’m not sure if I can still face them with my big smile on… hahaha!

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When Tin contacted me to be with your group this afternoon, I immediately smiled and thought of the reason/s for the invitation. The most logical explanation would be the latest conversation with Ma’am Doreen where I intentionally mentioned to that I was once a JES Officer…pa bati2x ah Some silly things started to play in my mind, like:

1.      Is the invitation an affirmation of my level of success??? ;-)

2.      What will I talk about that would win my battle over the attention of over? 

3.      What will I wear to exude success and confidence? 

The answer came through another text message from Tin requesting me to talk about my career path, challenges encountered and lessons learned. No mention about how I become successful… Hahaha! GOOD! … and Safe!   Honestly, though, I believe that this invitation is be a humbling experience, more than anything else.

Let me start by sharing one question that is usually asked during most of my job interviews:

“How do you see yourself five to ten years from now?”

After I answer that question, I would usually get affirming nods… box-office hit! Best in interview gid ko! =P

Would you like to know what my standard answer is??? It actually made Joyce Jimenez hugged me as well as a dinner with THE David Pomeranz!!! Somehow and in some way, that same answer also brought me to Singapore last year and to Malaysia early this year…  haaay, marketing hahaha!

But before I share with you my box-office-hit answer, allow me to look back to those years in my journey as a struggling UP undergrad student.

When I entered UP in 1991, I was proud but more so very intimated by this university. Aside from the “I- JUST-graduated-from-a-national-high-school” mentality, I was a wait-lister. I felt that I was a second-rate citizen in the University of the Bright and Promising I thought, perhaps I wasn’t “that” Bright and Promising after all.

One comforting thing in studying in the country’s Premier University and the government was that the government was paying for education!!! Because Tatay was a jeepney driver and Nanay is a full-time housewife, I was an STAFP recipient, Bracket 1 category A    

First year was adjustment period… especially Math 11!!!… which later became Math 22!!!  8-}… yep, I have to take Algebra the second time around. At the end of the first semester, my general weighted average was 3.0 … I got 3.0 in most of my subjects (Comm I, Math I, Soc Sci I), a 5 in Math 11 but! I got 1.5 in History I…history pa na ya!  I was so alarmed; STAFP rule states that I should maintain an average of not lower than 3.0. I then promised myself to do better in the 2^nd semester. Well, lo and behold: I have increased my 3.0’s to 2.75… but still failing my MATH subjects! … Math 21… became Math 42… tsk, tsk, tsk… Hay, Gulong ng Palad 8-}

I struggled so much to overcome my inferiority at the same time project an aura of confidence whenever I’m outside the gates of the University trying to tell the world: “taga UP ko ya, may angal ka?!”… pero inatik lang gali…

I was looking forward to run for the Student Council during second year…ang taga UMA, nag amat –amat na damul guya! Kumbaga, may GUTS na! But my grades weren’t good enough; I was repeating my math subjects…. Te, I just ended up joining the Cheering contest eh… ka pathetic no? hehehe

Third year was my Golden Year in UP. Nax! Feeling ko lang na I gained confidence and somehow reached some level of maturity. I was comfortable to the UP environment and accepted the truth that I am part of the “Community of the Bright and Promising”… despite my 5.0’s

To make the long story longer, (hahaha!)… I mean shorter, I didn’t end up in the Student Council, I gave up my political ambition. Instead, I concentrated on my academics and was elected Vice President for External Affairs of Junior Executive Society; back then it was a joint org of both management and marketing students. It didn’t come that easy, though. I have made a decision to be part of the student organization despite the apathy of friends and class/batch mates… those thinking that they have BETTER things to do. Later did they know that they missed a lot of things when they learned that I was elected by the Junior Council of Management (Jr. PHILCOMAN), an organization of non-accounting student, as President in Western Visayas…  ano pa abi? Taga-UP ta ‘ya!!! … and you might ask what happened to my Math subjects….  wala na guro Math sa 3^rd year!!!… Baw, dako ko gid nga pasalamat!!!! And one more thing… I was a College Scholar in the 2nd sem of my third year    

I experienced nightmares in fourth year because of STS and CM 174… indi ko gid malipatan ang duwa nga ni. CM 174 is a subject in 3^rd year that was offered in 1^st sem but I realized I missed taking the subject after the end of the 2^nd sem… law-ay gid ya sang feeling… to cut the long story short, but Ma’am Hernando gave me 1.75 when I took the following sem.

I took up STS during summer going 4^th year under the Legendary Teddy Ledesma so that I could have the whole first sem to complete the requirements since only a few completed this subject in a sem … or enroll in the second sem incase I failed in his class. Ask Miriam Santiago kon sin-o si Teddy Ledesma, if you haven’t heard of him.

Ahay, I completed the requirements towards the end of the 2^nd semester when I was filing my application for graduation. Mind you dear students, there were even cases that students were not able to graduate on time because they found out that they failed the subject! Kon indi ka pa na magka nightmare, ambot lang. Actually, part of pressure was to graduate on time so that I can find a job and help out at home since Tatay was already complaining about his health.

Oh, when I found out about my grade in STS? I slept smiling … in fact I think Nanay heard me laughing in my sleep… Ask me why, (WHY?!) If Miriam Santiago got a 3.0 from Teddy… and I got 2.25! Daw atik no? It was indeed a blessing!!! Pa misa ko dayon eh! … and Teddy clapped when I got up the stage during graduation. The End! Hahahaha! Indi pa ah…

One of the my major achievement was when JES and Marketing Society and the College of Management hosted the First National Convention of Jr. PHILCOMAN. Dean Arnold Naldoza who gave us full support that’s why we were able to successfully organized the Convention … showing that UP students and Faculty work with quality. In the same Convention, I was elected as the First National President of Jr. PHILCOMAN… dapat lang, taga-UP ta ya!!! ;-)   Well, this has eventually led me to be nominated for the Dean’s Leadership Award before graduation…. Nominated lang ah

Te, enough of my pasikat ah… I think you’re now ready to hear my box-office-hit answer. You’re still with me? With all my confidence and conviction, I would usually answer:

“Five to ten years from now, I see myself as an ASSET to my organization with few staff under my supervision. I have finished my Master’s degree, be able to support my family and be of help to my community.”

Though scripted, that particular line has been part of my journey as a professional, which started ten years ago. It brought me to the Rural Bank of Pavia where I was hired as Assistant Loan Officer. It was my first serious job after graduation. There, I realized I was indeed in the real world. Indi bala ina real world that pag-abot mo sa work in the morning ginpa ula ka sang basurahan??? Sa tuod2x lng gid, I told myself that I didn’t spend 4 years struggling in UP just to end up emptying garbage cans! Goodness!!!

After 3 challenging months, I was hired by DTI-Iloilo as Trade and Industry Development Analyst, a contractual job assigned to the Financing Program of the Asian Development Bank. I could vividly remember another question during my job interview; the Regional Director asked me if I like to travel. Daydreaming about plane trips and foreign travels I immediately said YES! Who wouldn’t like to travel anyway??? Weeks later, I embarked to my first travel. Ask me where… WHERE??? To Lambunao!!!… and I have to ride in the tricycle to visit a client!!! =D

In fairness to DTI, there were indeed opportunities that I went trainings in other places and met people in the industry. And I was paid well despite the contractual status. Working in DTI was my formative years. I will always be grateful to DTI for it has been a big part of my over-all development as a professional and as a person. After two and a half years with DTI, we were informed that project was ending. There were a few slots for the permanent positions and sadly I was not lucky to get one.

Came the opportunity to work with the KCPAFI, the insurance arm of the Knights of Columbus. I was hired as Admin Assistant and was tasked to set up the new office. I was also tasked to process policies and do minor accounting stuffs. I wasn’t regularized both due to office politics and incompetence…. Ouch!

I was unemployed for 3 months before I was hired as Mall Marketing Promotions Supervisor at SCMC, the Mall Management arm of SM Group of Companies. Being part of the pioneer team that opened the mall, I always reminded myself how blessed I was to have the job. The job was also overwhelming; I realized that whenever I went out of the mall and see how big it is. Well, the job taught me a lot of things especially realities in the corporate world and the benefits of good public relations and networking. I really enjoyed my two-year stint in SM City Iloilo. I got to meet heads of offices in government and private sector, artists and celebrities, — different kinds of people especially lost children ;-)

After two years, I left SCMC and transferred to my present job as Project Officer at the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). CUI is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in urban areas across Canada and around the world.

We are engaged in facilitating the development and enhancement of knowledge and skills of local government personnel and officials. Meaning, we organize and/or conduct trainings, seminars and other learning opportunities to mayors, councilors and technical people. It is a fulfilling job; it

As I now look back to my standard answer, I realized that somehow I attained the goal that I set for myself.

Component	YES	NO	WHY/WHY NOT (Circumstances)	LESSONS
1.      Asset to organization	/		Boss got to delegate jobs; show of confidence As incentive, I had my second trip abroad early this year… another one before the year ends	·        Patience is a virtue – restlessness of a typical yuppie ·        Take on responsibilities within the your scope of your job. More than anyone else, I gained from the experiences ·        To those that much is given, much will be asked. ·        Those that can be trusted with small responsibilities will be effective in handling big responsibilities. ·        Take responsibility of your actions and the consequences and benefits it will bring you. Yes, it is OK to fail but the lesser the possibility to fail, the better. Btw, remember to learn from your failures.
2.      Finish master’s degree		/	On-going; Never too late	·        Better to gain experience so that the learning process is more real. ·        Enjoy first few years of not being in school
3.      Support family	/		Gratitude, Happily single, by decision	·        Communicate to them if you have concerns in your studies — Class card technique ·        Best way to help solve the problem of your family is NOT TO BE THE PROBLEM. Just like you, they also deserve peace of mind. ·        Do not under estimate the love of your family for you. Three months that I was unemployed, even if we could not afford, I never heard anything from them. ·        They will always be my family; I will never be where and who I am now if not for them… even if there were circumstances that their support was wanting/not enough… those were the times that I have to look out on my own and eventually developed myself.
4.      Be of help to community	/		CUI job; Serving as Barangay Kagawad; Youth role model	·        Your destiny will bring you to your heart’s desire…. But you have to work on it. ·        This is one way of giving back what the country has done to me. ·        Brings sense of fulfillment whenever you would hear people affirming your existence … may pulos ka man gali

As I end my sharing with you this afternoon, allow me to further share with you some of the lessons I learned from my journey and maybe some tips that could help you in your remaining days in this university:

1.      UP Education alone is a PRIVILEGE and RESPONSIBILITY.

We belong to the ‘cream of the crop’ that is why our countrymen are PAYING for our education. I think you also heard of the joke about the country having two universities: “UP and the rest”… such a flattering thing to hear but sadly, most of the time it doesn’t hold true anymore. 

2.      Your primary role now is a student… be the BEST student that you can be

·        Protect your transcript of records! That will be reference your future employers will look at. You will be VERY FORTUNATE if you will be given a chance to justify your grades… but most of the time you’re not! … I was asked why I failed Math subjects. I gave all the justifications I can think of, those that cannot be taken against me. My interviewee just smiled… he knew I messed up Also, sometimes companies prefer to hire those who belong to the top 20% of the graduating class. This goes true in applying for scholarships, here and abroad.

·        Check on the subjects you are taking… remember my nightmare in STS and CM 174

·        Take the Civil Service Eligibility Exams. As the name implies, it will be qualify you to work in government offices.

·        Be confident but not arrogant or over-bearing… presko

·        Be humble or appear to be humble whenever you apply for a job — you will not only earn admiration and sympathy, you will also create a very good impression

3.      Success, Happiness, Excellence is a matter of CHOICE.

Right now, UP can only offer you opportunities for learning but it is up to you on how you are going to maximize it.

Discover and develop your potentials.

Get involved in student organization and community works. Attend free workshop and trainings … these will be another space occupier in your resume. Take note that in applying for work, organizations favor an applicant who has POTENTIAL… a good combination of satisfactory, if not excellent academic records, a good team player and showing leadership skills… getting involve in an organizations can help you develop these skills.

On Gratitude from my good friend Althea Gibson said:

No matter what accomplishments you make… somebody helped you.

This opportunity is indeed a humbling experience for me. Ten years after graduation, I was called to “report” where my UP diploma has brought me. Looking back, I can only be grateful to this university especially to my teacher/friends that made this institution a second home during those years… and is STILL now.  Looking forward, I’m still quite anxious of what will happen in the future… but there are TWO things that encourage me to look positively toward the future: First, my UP education and the life’s experiences and learnings that came with it; and Second, GOD***, who has always been my Provider… who sustained and keep on sustaining me until this very day.

*** Something happened here, hehehe anyways, to fill the “gap”, I shared to them the CREDENDA…

May all of you have a meaningful journey and find your own place under the sun … God bless everyone and have a good day!

recently cried over this song, hehehe… after a LIFE-CHANGING experience during the 2005 National Leaders’ Training Conference (NTLC) of my community -Ang Lingkod Ng Panginoon, God gave me this as OUR themesong…

this will always remind me to be always humble and that life is more than making myself shine brighter… but making God as my SOURCE of light and letting my light shine to men so that will see my good works and give glory to God… 

now i realize that more than prestige and honor, one thing is important: serving the Lord. now, i’m making serving God as my business… because when all things summed up, it all boils down to the fact that whatver i do, it will always be between me and my GOD.

sing it… NOW NA! =D =D =D

Kung minsan ang pangarap
Habambuhay itong hinahanap
Bakit nga ba nakapagtataka
‘Pag ito ay nakamtan mo na
Bakit may kulang pa

Mga bituin aking narating
Ngunit langit ko pa rin ang iyong piling
Kapag tayong dalawa’y naging isa
Kahit na ilang laksang bituin
‘Di kayang pantayan ating ningning

CHORUS 1
Balutin mo ako ng hiwaga ng iyong pagmamahal
Hayaang matakpan ang kinang na ‘di magtatagal
Mabuti pa kaya’y maging bituing walang ningning
Kung kapalit nito’y walang paglaho mong pagtingin

CHORUS 2
Itago mo ako sa lilim ng iyong pagmamahal
Limutin ang mapaglarong kinang ng tagumpay
Sa piling mo ngayon ako’y bituing walang ningning
Nagkukubli sa liwanag ng ating pag-ibig

[Repeat 2nd Stanza]
[Repeat CHORUS 1]
[Repeat REFRAIN 2 except last line]

Nagkukubli sa liwanag at kislap ng ating pag-ibig