Author: Roella Marcelle Bautista

I often wonder about how exams are done in UP. Are the exams super hard? Or are the exams bearable? Or will it make me question my existence (Just kidding!)? Memes are surfacing the internet that the only exam that a UP student can pass is the UPCAT. Ever since, I look forward to the day that we will be taking our long exams just to see what kind of exam UP has to offer. Of course, you should never expect anything less with the university. I would just like to have a first-hand experience so that I can adjust myself accordingly in the next exams.

I took three (3) long exams for the past weeks and I am feeling a lot of emotions. I feel relieved to have finished the exams but at the same time anxious because of the possible results. I wouldn’t want to fail my first long exam. No one wants that. Personally, I’m not a student who reviews her notes two (2) weeks before the exam or someone that would pull an all-nighter just to study. Well, here are some of the things that I did to prepare for the exams and I hope that you would pick up something from it. I created a mnemonic for us to remember the upcoming tips very well: CHAROT.

• Chill! – Having a relaxed mind during the exams is a really great help. Being in panic mode can just cause you to lose your focus and that can cause you to produce answers that are not really on point. Plus, being chill can keep you answering your exams in a pace that you are comfortable with.

• Have fun – Exams are not just all about having high scores and a passing rate. Exams are not meant to harm us but it is a way to test what we have learned and remembered. An exam is a one in a lifetime experience. When you get to take it, there is no turning back. So, just have fun with the exam and make the most out of it. Never dread the idea of exams for it will just make you feel inferior over and over again.

• Avoid all-nighters – As I’ve said, I never did all-nighters just for an exam. I believe that having a good and enough sleep can help our minds function better the next day. We should always face our exams with a clear and well-rested mind. In addition, cramming to learn a lot of information is never an option. Study on your most-comfortable time without compromising sleep and rest.

• Review and Recall – Reviewing and memorizing for an exam is not the end. Recall is an important factor too – you can do this anytime you want. When you reviewed during the night, you can recall while you are getting ready for school. Just recall the important points and see if there are things that you often forget and focus on that point again.

• Obey Instructions – A common mistake. Even though your answers are correct if you did not follow the instructions, you are in a huge disadvantage. Before anything else, read the instructions carefully and see to it that you follow every little detail. Obeying is a sign that you respect your instructor and you see to it that you did your very best for the exam.

• Take care of yourself – Sometimes, when we are under a lot of pressure because exams are coming up, we often forget to take care of ourselves. We forget to rest, sleep and sometimes eat. We must always remember that without our bodies, we cannot study and function. Our physical bodies are our means to go to school and take these exams so let us not take them for granted. Eat breakfast before the exam, it will also really help our minds to function and to not let you get distracted by your rumbling stomach during the exams.

Well, we all have different ways on how to study and prepare for the exams. However, no matter what tips we use and follow, it is up to us to always remember that honor and excellence are two things that comes first and what we always need to uphold.

As a student from the province of Isabela, this year’s Bañamos Festival is my first experience to see on how the people of Los Baños celebrate their heritage and culture. As part of the festival, we attended the Mr. and Ms. Los Baños Festival of Talents. Through this photo essay, it shows an account of what I’ve experienced and witnessed during the event.

Entering the world of Development Communication is a very new experience and feeling for me. I never thought that it would be really different from the things that I experienced during my Press Conference days. Writings and tasks are never that easy. Readings are never that short and easy to understand – a lot of analyses required and a lot of coffee to keep you awake. However, I find the tasks exciting. But then again, looking for and choosing a topic is a really hard decision to make.

A lot of confusion can really get in your way when choosing a topic. You may think that a topic is development-orientated, but it is really not. Now, here is something that can help you out to sort development-oriented topics from those that are not.

• Purposive – Your topic must not only be written and published but it must be written and published with a purpose. We do not only write to inform but to also influence others’ behavior on how to decide or act upon a certain issue. Whatever purpose your topic and your write-up might serve, always remember that we all must have desirable outcomes, targets and specific goals as to why we chose and wrote about a certain topic.

• Pragmatic – After setting our purpose and goals while using your topic, we have to make sure that our topic can be result-orientated. We need to make sure that we will be leaving an impression or an impact to the readers. Our topics must always be relevant to our chosen audience (know thy audience) for us to know how to stir up and generate results from them.

• Valuable – Last but not the least, always make sure that your topic is valuable and worth it. No matter how good you wrote your write-up if it is not something worth remembering or something that does not appeal to the audience, then your work will go to waste. It must be something that concerns a lot of people – their values and their ideas. The audience must also think that the topic is also important for them for you to achieve your goals and receive you results.

Well, topics can be development-orientated in a lot of ways. Basically, in development communication, we assume that there is an attached value in every message that one communicates (Jamias, 1975). As long as our aim is to reach and promote development through communication and through our writing, we are slowly reaching our goal to being the best version of our ideal development communicator.

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Being in the university is dream come true for a lot of freshmen. Sharing their first-hand experiences with their own families and friends can really be a really long story. As for me, I am away from my family which hinders me to share every detail of my stay here in UP. However, being able to live independently and learning from everyday experiences can be considered a bonus for me. I never thought that I would survive this long without crying and telling my parents to come pick me up.

After a month of my stay in the university, I can say that I am getting used to it and it is a lot more bearable now even though I am apart from my family. Here are my top 5 learning during my not-so-long stay in the university.

• Top 1. Being masipag is the key – Everyone knows that studying requires a lot of patience and hardwork. In my first month in the university, a lot of readings have been given and a lot of quizzes and exercises have already come along our way. Take home assignments and reflections are always present and I couldn’t have done it if I am not being masipag. Having this quality can make your life a lot easier. If you do all things that you have to do without procrastinating then it would give you a lot more time to rest and think about things.

• Top 2. Being matipid is the key – We are still working and a lot of our resources especially money is from our parents. I do not have a job to save my life so I rely on my parents for money. Being able to spend your money wisely can help my parents a lot. They give me allowance as well as pay for my dorm rent. So, I really cannot afford to make them send money always. Our family has other expenses aside from my schooling so I need to work on with what I have. Being able to find alternatives and substitutes for things that offer the same result can come in handy.

• Top 3. Being matapang is the key – Being alone in this new environment makes me want to go home from time to time. However, I learned to be strong and find friends that can keep me company while I am away from my family. Having the courage to study here is already a good start. I think that the University of the Philippines never forgets to teach its students courage to face all challenges and to be strong no matter what happens.

• Top 4. Being malusog is the key – With all the requirements and stuff going on in the university, you can never afford to get sick. Missing one class is like missing half of your life. Choosing what to eat and how many hours of sleep you get is also a factor to consider. All these things can affect how you perform in school the next day. Our physical bodies have their limits. So, let us take care of it before it kicks us out of it.

• Top 5. Being matanong is the key – As a freshman, I have a lot of things that I do not know. That is why I learned a habit to always ask. It is never wrong to ask for information as long as you are not bothering someone. Making sure of what you know is a must to avoid confusion and conflicts. Never pretend that you know it all because we all have a space for learning and new information.

So that is my top 5 learning during my first month here in the university. This is just the beginning and I know that I will be able to learn a lot more in my upcoming years in the university. Hoping that these learning will remain and continue to be of use during my DevCom journey.

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

Being a Development Communication student is easier said than done. Just having the confidence and skill for writing is really not enough. Sometimes, we need a little something extra to help us achieve the best results that we aim for. Let’s dive in to my Ultimate DevCom Survival Kit!

Just a reminder, you do note (not) forget one of these things. If you do, prepare the proper dose of resourcefulness you have in you. Grab a pen and paper and I will make you absorb and see what is inside my kit.

Smart Phone – Let’s hit it off with a smart phone. Years have passed since the first release of smart phones. Since then, a lot of updates and technological advances had been applied in their production – a lot of new features and programs. Smart phones tend to do a lot for us now. We get to have a lot of tools inside our phones. Instead of bringing a lot of things, our phones can contain most of those things now. Need to do an audio recording? Your phone can help you with that. Need to take photos and videos? That is an easy task if you have your smart phone. Need to access information from the internet? Your phone will be glad to help you. I can cite countless of things but I know you do know what your smart phone can do.

Laptop – Let’s go with a bigger tool from my kit. Yes, smart phone can be really handy but complimenting it with this one, you can already finish and do a lot of things. If installed with the right software and equipped with the right hardware, you can finish tasks well and fast. It’s true that things that you can do with phones can also be done in here. However, there are limitations to what phones can offer and I think that laptops have the remedies to those limitations. Video editing can be tiresome with a phone, in laptops, you can see it in a whole better view. Designing posters, creating layouts for different projects can be way easier and doable with laptops. So, if you don’t have one, start saving up. I am sure that it will be worth every bit of your savings.

Pen and paper – Let’s do it old school. Phones do have note taking apps and features but doing it manually by hand gives you the legit feeling of being a writer. Pen and paper might seem a waste but when you use it efficiently and regularly, you get to discover the art of taking notes. Practicing your penmanship is also not a bad thing. You never know that these skills might come in handy.

Umbrella – Let’s go crazy! This one seems a little bit absurd but I am really serious about this. Being in the field work mandates us to be ready at all times. When you are outdoors and you are conducting your research or an interview, you never know what is going to happen. Better be prepared for unexpected heat and unexpected rain – we never want to risk our health. Having a right state of health can equate us to perform our job very well.

Money and Identification Cards – Let’s go back to the basics. It is a fact that we cannot turn our eyes away to our necessities. In order for us to go to different places for our field work, of course we need to have a basic amount of money that we can use. We cannot always ask for favors to survive. Identification cards are also a must because sometimes other people tend to ask who we are and asks for verification. For them, it is a security matter and these identification cards also can help us in different circumstances.

Well, that concludes the tour of my Ultimate DevCom Survival Kit. I have my own version and you can also make yours. Just make sure that everything you include; you use it efficiently and comfortably. Always remember that these tools are only there to help us and not for us to always rely on them.

Going to different places and gathering information is never new to me. Being a Humanities and Social Sciences student in Senior High School made me work the extra mile for information and documentation. During these kinds of activities, you can encounter different kinds of people – with different character and different culture. However, it all boils down on how do we execute these kinds of tasks.

Being able to work with your groupmates is a must. No proper communication with your groupmates leads to a conflict with your execution. Adjust yourself in the right manner and learn to deal with as many people as you can. Afterall, as development communicators in the making, we must uphold that communication will be our lifelong tool to pursue our aspirations for the society.

Not all of us are blessed with easy going respondents. Some of them are strict – requires letter, a lot of explanation and a lot of patience. But some of them are super nice – very accommodating, attends to guests very well and leaves a good impression. Although they are very different, as interviewers we must always learn to be grateful for, we are the one who needs something from them and not the other way around.

During the task, the method of data gathering our group used the most is the interview method because we want to immerse ourselves and know the place better by asking the right persons/authorities. Most of our data were gathered through asking for information and we could not have done it without proper interview etiquette and skills.

If we were given a chance to give three (3) tips that we can share with the next batch of BSDC Freshmen it would be these things:

• Just Relax – Panicking and stressing yourself out would not do you any good. Being relaxed is equivalent to showing others that you know what you are doing. Just breathe and remember the reason why you chose Development Communication and how can we be an influence for others.

• Be Confident – Having a lot of confidence is a plus in DevCom. Being confident enough can help you in a lot of activities. We will be future development communicators and we should uphold our duties as early as we can.

• Stand for truth – Always remember to only share and inform facts/information that are true and correct. We should see to it that we aim for excellence and remember that all of our actions would fall back to what DevCom has taught us.

Being a student for almost all my life made me learn and develop a lot of skills. However, I do not consider myself as a professional on anything. I place myself in between the professionals and to those that need more work. I do believe that we are all lifelong learners and in everything that we do, in all of our experiences, we learn a lot of things. Indeed, life is like an everyday assignment – we work on it and we work on how we develop ourselves.

Developing our skills make us more confident to present ourselves. When we know that we are good at something, we make efforts for other people to realize that we would like to create or contribute – we want to be leaders. But when we feel like it is not our forte, we step back and let others take the lead. Being able to assess ourselves is like an eye-opening experience for me. No one would know ourselves better expect us. We know how we feel, how we suppress our feelings and how we express ourselves in different situations.

Out of all the qualities of a media writer, I gave myself a two (2) in these following qualities: industrious, persevering, and loves to read. I made this decision maybe because I know that I am a person that is willing to learn and is very diligent in all tasks given to me. I make sure to do all things in a fast but sure manner. I gave my self a lot of threes (3) but out of all the qualities, I am not convinced with my resourcefulness. I tend to get frustrated when I could not easily access the information that I need. However, I know that I can overcome this because I have my perseverance to push me ahead. I am hesitant to give myself a one (1) rating because I know that I can still improve a lot during my stay in the College of Development Communication.

It is really hard to rate yourself in terms of skills mainly because you do not want to go overboard or because you do not want other people to judge you. I gave myself a two (2) rating in all of the skills needed by a media writer expect for the proficiency in the operation of communication tools/devices. If I were to choose a skill that I am confident the most is on how I can write clearly and effectively. I have been writing since 4^th grade and I have learned a lot of techniques and I think that I am on my way to building my own writing style. On the other hand, I gave myself a three (3) in the proficiency of operating the communication tools/devices because deep down I know that I need to improve a lot especially with the complex soft wares and devices that I need to use.

It was a really quick assessment, but in all fairness, I discovered the things I need to work on and develop and the things that I need to maintain and improve. At the end of the day, you will not be successful as a media writer if you do not recognize your flaws and if you do not take the courage to step up and Work on It.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always be where you’ve always been.

T.D. Jakes

At a very young age of 10, with a pure heart and excited mind, Roella Marcelle M. Bautista started to join the field of writing. Through the years, she had a mix of up and down experiences but kept holding on because she found comfort in the arms of writing. Born and raised in a peaceful community in the province of Isabela, she strives to bring honor to her hometown and to her family as well. This young writer never forgets to push herself to her limits and believes that there is no other way to start another chapter of her writing journey but in UP. As she enters the University of the Philippines Los Baños under BS Development Communication, along with her hopes and dreams, she firmly holds on that someday all of her efforts and learning would be of great help and will be used as tools for development. In addition, she understands that through writing, everybody is provided with the chance to develop and realize their full potential.

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A lot of people, events and experiences made this young writer to be who she is today. Being a part of her elementary and junior high school newspaper had its share in building the foundation that she has for writing. She had experienced writing in different forms such as news, feature, and editorial which made her gain the nickname ELLAborative. However, out of all events that she had explored, copy editing and headline writing was the closest to her heart. On the other hand, she enjoys reading about current issues and making her own stand which she believes is important because it makes our minds critical and for us to not just accept everything that is coming before us.

In the future, the serious but child-like Ella is hopeful to be a media producer especially in the field of broadcast communication. One of her reasons is that she would like to reach a greater audience to communicate and educate with. Her vision is to let everyone know that problems can be traced to its root causes and can be solved through information and communication. She had seen the situation of some marginalized sectors of the society and she stands that when you have seen and known the truth, it is already a sin to close your eyes. Also, she aims to use her expertise to be of service and to reach the people whose voices are not heard. Although she is still just on the beginning of a harder but greater journey, she still chooses to believe and manifest that to further strengthen her foundation in writing to be used for development, there is No way but UP.