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Even after a month has passed, when I try to recall the day I found out that I got in this university, everything still felt surreal. I had mixed feelings, I was elated at the fact that I’m finally fulfilling a childhood dream of getting in one of the most prestigious universities in the country, but I was also scared of the things in stored for me. The original plan was to be a developmental pediatrician, after three years of being involved in the school’s publication during my junior high school life, I finally decided that I’ll be taking the STEM strand to fulfill my dream of being a doctor. But here I am today, a lot of roads have turned for me, I guess I’m being directed back to my first love. Getting into BS Development Communication and in UPLB in general, made me realize these things:

Getting in UP is a privilege.

I have to admit that my mindset before entering the university was that being a UP student means being the cream of the crop or being the best of the best. But after I stayed here for a month, I realize that being a UP student is something more. I realized that we iskos and iskas are privileged. We get to study for free because of our countrymen and we are lucky enough among the many to receive a free but quality education. This does not give us the ticket to brag, it’s something we have to be proud of. It should urge us all the more to do and be our best to serve our country and our countrymen.

Development Communication is not easy, it shouldn’t be underestimated.

When we’re asked of our college program, we’re all familiar with the line, “Devcom? Ano yun?” It makes me sad that people are not aware of what Devcom is, I think this contributes to the mindset that Devcom is “Devcom lang.” To be honest, before I entered the university, I had this mindset as well, but after a month, I realized that in order to get through this program, you really have to exert a lot of effort, you have to be persevering enough because roadblocks or dead ends will all be part of the process. You do not just have to be intelligent but you also have to be “madiskarte.”

Know thy audience.

I believe that it was through this mantra that I began to love Devcom as a college program. Being people-oriented made Devcom stand out from all the communication and journalism courses I know. Our goal is to communicate development to the marginalized, the poor, and those who have less in life. It made me realize, that the hard work we exert to be able to pass a requirement or to take a test is all going to be worth it someday since through these, we are trained to be able to help and be of service to our countrymen.

No man is an island.

Devcom also made me realize that sometimes we can’t do things alone. I have to admit that due to my experiences in high school, I promised myself to never get into groupings again. Through Devcom, I understood the importance of working in groups, I understood that each one of us has capabilities to offer. As development communicators in training, we still do not acquire every single skill needed to be a professional media writer, that is why we need help from others. For example, he/she might not be good at writing but has the best photography and editing skills, working together, we can create a good output since both of our bests are incorporated in our work.

Development Communication embodies an iskolar ng bayan, para sa bayan.

With the privilege we have from acquiring quality education for free due to our countrymen’s taxes, it is our obligation to give back to our country. I believe that this is what Devcom is about, it trains us, students, to take small steps to create a bigger influence on our country’s development through different communication mediums. Devcom allows us to see the bigger picture, to see the problems we Filipinos face every day, but it doesn’t train us to just be aware of these, but it urges us to do something about it.