Approaching the end of this semester, there are things that I realized for myself. These are new things as well as the same things all over the again. To my past self, to the Julius from Day 1, here are things I wish you knew from the very start of the semester.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/18yxB1vNqv4J5XFw3m7urmI5GyxQJbXki/view?usp=sharing
Here is a short video introduction of my hometown Calatagan!
The semester is about to end but this is just the beginning of the lifelong journey that I will experience as a development communicator in training. I can still vividly remember the first time I entered the college building. I was in complete awe about everything for I was eager to learn new things. I knew for a fact that I am not in anyway the best because this is UP. However my motivation to keep going is first, to genuinely serve my countrymen enabling them to experience development and second, to be able to improve myself not only for my benefit but more so for the benefit of this country.
I have realized that through my first semester journey I was able to improve my communication skills through the conduct of various interviews with both MOS (man-on-the-street) and likewise with the expert. It is also significant to really experience the lessons that we have discussed through news coverage. It is not enough to memorize all the things we have learned inside the four corners of the classroom, what is a more in-depth learning is the application of those theories and topics in the real world. Only through experiencing those topics will you truly value and understand its significance.
Moreover, it is necessary to uphold the truth and the credibility of the news because nowadays the proliferation of disinformation and misinformation is rampant. Let us consider that media plays an important part in nation building for it has the ability to manipulate the minds of the audience. Therefore, the news I write must be accurate enough.
I strongly believe that my weakest points during the start of the semester which is gathering information and being resourceful has been enhanced through both lecture and laboratory exercises. I was able to realize that when things did not go the way I planned it, I should be able to cope up smoothly with the changes rather than being upset over it and thus being unable to do anything. Remember that life goes on even if you are not yet ready so bear in mind that you should keep on moving forward.
Lastly, I want to reiterate that this has been a good semester. Even if there are a lot of uninvited situations that have happened, I believe that it is meant to happen in order for me to know and understand deeply the ideals and aspirations of being a development communicator. I am likewise happy that I have been able to improve my skills. I have realized that it is not an excuse if I am not knowledgeable on a certain thing rather I should be open for new learnings for that is the only way to overall improve myself.
After a semester in devcom, I can say that I have learned a lot and in turn improved my skills. The qualities of being industrious, resourceful, and persevering have improved among others. I can say that I became more industrious and resourceful through all the practical lessons I learned in this semester. I realized that I improved in this aspect since there were a lot of given tasks that requires innovative and ingenious ways to accomplish. I learned the importance of diskarte in achieving a lot of things. Regarding the quality of being persevering, I can say that I became more determined in achieving my goals. I have faced a few roadblocks and hindrances but these did not fully stop me from progressing.
I consider gathering data and writing clearly and effectively as two of my skills that improved. Right from the start, I’ve learned that gathering data is a very important skill for a devcom student. True enough, I have utilized this skill for a lot of tasks that were given to me. I consider this skill as the one that improved the most since I was able to learn different ways to gather various kinds of data through my experience in accomplishing our tasks. On the other hand, my skill of writing clearly and effectively also improved. I can say this since I already know the things to avoid when writing. However, I this skill still has a room for improvement. This also applies for all the other qualities and skills I have as a media writer. I will continue to strive in improving each of these aspects.
“Realization always comes late.”
Jaime E. Lualhati
Mr. Jaime E. Lualhati is a graduate of class 1984 with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Agriculture major in Animal Science. Mr. Lualhati is a successful business man in which he likes to stay humble about. He is a loving father of two children, one of which is a freshman in the university and the other is in senior high school. When asked about his experience as an iskolar ng bayan, he describes his stay by telling about how as an Animal Science Major, he would memorize, research and comprehend. It became part of his day to day college life.
I guess from a more mature point of view of mister Lualhati, compared to his old college self, He would encourage his old self to manage his time more and become more independent early on, he would have focused more on those subjects that weren’t too difficult.
“To graduate with honors could have been possible also. Realizations always come late.”
Jaime E. Lualhati
This message is essential for us struggling college students because one day, when we look back at our old selves and think that we’ve come a long way, we always have some minor regrets that we wish we could have done. This is not to scare us but to encourage us to do the best we can and to have fun as much as possible while we’re in the university.
Another thing is that we may falter at times but it’s okay. What’s important is we are able to move on from that and also learn from it. We must not dwell on our regrets and failure and keep in mind that there is a plan for us. We must never give up no matter how much caffeine is in our system or how many sleepless nights you’ve had. Always remember that when you look back from the future, you’ll know that you did your absolute best.
Hi Kyle!
Congrats! You got in UP Los Banos. All that hard work paid off. Now get up on your feet. It’s your first day.
I know it feels all right and good now but get ready. No seriously, get ready, ’cause what’s coming to you is one of the craziest, mind-bending, heart-breaking, stress-inducing chunks in all 19 years of your existence.
I have met a lot of people already. They all helped me be what you are going to be five months from now. Great advice from a lot of good people and I hope you would listen to them when you meet them.
Get ready for the emotional and mental roller-coaster that is college. There are a lot of people in that community. Some can inspire you, some you can inspire. Some can love you, some can hate you. You would have to learn how to tiptoe around these people; I know you can do this. Besides you have a lot of experience with people.
You are going into a new frontier, and what comes with that are new people, new relationships, new advocacies and new problems.
Now we both know that we did not pass UPCAT. Ask Kovi if you meet him, even he didn’t pass that test. Don’t worry man, don’t be ashamed. At least you got in right?
Focus up on your studies, ’cause now that you’re inside UP, you better do good to get out of there. As some alumni say “Madaling pumasok sa UP, ang mahirap diyan ay paano makalabas.”. Make your academics part of your priorities!
Don’t be afraid to tell people how you feel. Don’t be “liberal” okay?
The people you interact with on a daily basis – your soon-to-be-friends, they don’t need you kissing their asses. We live in an age where almost everyone in our generation understands each other; so just be constructive with them.
As one Kylie Victoriano said, and yes, I know this is the header but I’m going to say it again be a GO-GETTER!
In “Elbi” there will be lots of opportunities and chances to gain more experience through socialization and exposure. Do not be afraid in joining groups that can help you in these areas. The future you already joined Umalohokan Inc., and I’m sorry but, if you won’t join that org, I will go to the past and MAKE you.
Lastly and most importantly, prioritize yourself. I’m not joking about the problems you will face in the next five months. It’s okay to think about what you want. Never lose sight of who you are, you are a good person and the options you chose should be mainly for yourself and not JUST for others.
You should be well first before you can help others be well. Just trust that either way, even with all these challenges to come, you’d get over them. Even if you can’t by yourself, you have people who love and support you even though you’ve just met them during the last five months.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Mxgf-shUd-sqBdvgYNzzj9FRenzd8AAH
Welcome to my hometown: the town of Sta. Maria!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tfkYOuhOyv2L5ByFw98sHvqTx_Nc-hv3/view?usp=sharing
At the beginning of the semester, I felt clueless and not up to par with my classmates in terms of being a development communicator. Prior to entering this program, I thought I was adequately prepared because of my background as a campus journalist, but it turned out that I still was not, and that I also had a lot more to improve. Inch by inch, output by output, I began to shape myself into the development communicator I aspire to be.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lhtgnzHimHGiSxKdoO1AcKnv0nz-YNMb/view?usp=sharing
In terms of qualities, the area I lacked in the most was in being interested in and loving to work with people. As someone who is shy, I tend to dislike having to talk the strangers, which is a no-no for DevCom students since we are required to work with them for some of our outputs. For this semester, I vowed to work on this, and now I feel a lot more comfortable with approaching people and talking to them for interviews and such. I also became more curious and inquisitive because being in DevCom opened my eyes to the realities of life, and made me realize that I should take a second look at the things I encounter everyday. In addition, I also became more industrious and resourceful due to all the outputs we were required to do, as well as the numerous setbacks we faced in completing them. Lastly, I also became more service-oriented because in DevCom, I realized just how privileged I was compared to other Filipinos, which was why the desire to serve them through my work burned a little brighter.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ojx-Nb-43ddWkeBPUzLP1HIwau3XT5la/view?usp=sharing
As for the skills, I improved the most in organizing information, because I now find it easier to sift through data and sort them based on their relevance. This skill came in handy in doing the outputs for our lab class, especially whenever we used different media. Other skills I improved in were gathering data and verifying/clarifying information, because I now felt more comfortable in interviewing other people as well as retrieving and validating information from legitimate sources. Lastly, although I improved a bit in the proficiency in using communication tools and devices, I still feel that I did not improve enough because my skills in using those tools are still not that good. However, I am still looking forward to the coming years because they will serve as more time for me to hone the needed qualities and skills to become an effective development communicator.
Assessing oneself is a good way to find rooms for improvement. One of the activities I’ve done was to assess my skills and qualities as a media writer and through this, I realized that I lack some of the things a development-communication practitioner must possess. After a four month stay in this program, there are few improvements on the qualities and skills I have.
After few months of being here in this program I became more inquisitive and curious of what is happening around me. I became engaged in making myself aware of the various social issues and current events. Additionally, I became more resourceful to be able to cope with unexpected changes I encounter. Dev-com taught me to become more “madiskarte” in many ways possible. Moreover, I became interested and learned to love people. Activities from my different courses let me socialize to different people whom I don’t know personally. This was a great challenge for me at first but thanks to devcom courses, I learned to overcome this!
I was also able to improve some of my skills because of various activities we’ve done. My skills gathering data improved as well as validating and clarifying it. This was also a challenge to me since I have to do great in this field to establish my credibility as a media writer. Furthermore, I learned to effectively organize the informations I have to be able to communicate it efficiently.
There are more things to work on to become a better development communicator. I am hoping to learn this in a short time through the help of different activities from the devcom courses.
This is a group output created with John Gherald Navera (UV-3L), Ray Anne Germia (UV-1L), Alexandra Gesmundo (UV-1L), Lawrence Neil Ebueña (UV-2L) and Daniel Mapanoo (UV-1L).
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