Beyond the Four Corners of the Classroom

Today, I am going to speak for about 18 minutes and I want to tell you some stories from my life. 18 minutes rani akong written message pero ang adlib ani mga isa ka oras pod. Unya ang nakapait ani kay mag estorya ra sa akong mga kaagi sa kinabuhi. Ang mas nakapait pa jud, dili na mo pwede mag-walkout. So wala jud moy choice kundi maminaw.

Guests, Faculty and Staff, family and friend of the graduates, and above all, dear graduates, ladies and gentlemen good afternoon. Maayad-ayad gid nga hapon sa aton tanan.

I had completed my 4-year degree for five years and I have a 5.0 grade on my Transcript of Record - buot pasabot bagsak, but during our graduation, I received six awards and two plaques of recognition.

My degree is bachelor of Secondary Education major in Mathematics | but my first job was in the field of Marketing and Advertising | working as Graphic Designer and Visual Merchandiser.
So, how these two contradicting situations brought me on this stage today?

Our class in Guidance and Counseling course in college | was composed of students with different ethnicity and demographics, and in the last term of the course, we were require to submit a reaction paper about different case studies related to guidance and counseling. During the process, we were sharing our sources and ideas | as one group who wanted to produce different individual outputs.

On the submission day, I had noticed that the compiled reaction paper of my classmate | has no Introduction page, therefore I asked that classmate to photocopy the Introduction page of my reaction paper | because it was already last minute of the deadline. We did it and submitted the project to our professor.

Few days later, and it was the end of the semester, it came into our attention that more than 10 of us in class were charge of cheating, and therefore were given a failing grade of 5.0 in the course requirement. The Guidance and Counseling course was a prerequisite of some courses in the next semester | and there was no chance that we can enroll and complete the course before the next semester | because it was not offered during summer.

So we appealed and cried before the professor to make adjustments on our grade | and find possible solutions to the problem, but she was firm to her stand that we have to suffer the consequences of our mistake. Our problem was a big deal since the course was Guidance and Counseling, which is very particular with students behavior.

That problem caused us to finish a four-year program for five years, but it did not stop us from finishing the degree. All problems have silver lining – Catriona Gray.

Pero lahi pod daw ang motto aning wala ka graduate. Ang ilang motto ana, “Bahala’g wala ka graduate basta foreigner and ang mabingwit; unsaon man nimo nang diploma kung estambay ra pod ang imong mabana.”

Our group effort… kabalo mo ug unsa nang “effort”? Ang effort, landinganan daw na sa efflain.

Our group effort to produce and finish our requirement was an example of “unity in diversity”, but the approach of our professor was ‘quality education for all.”

Unity in diversity is a concept of unity without uniformity | and diversity without fragmentation. It is a complex unity based on an understanding | that difference enriches human interactions, and those interactions produce better learning.

When I was in Brunei, I worked in a company with workers coming from different countries of Southeast Asia. The workers have various complex cultural backgrounds, behaviors, skills and knowledge but we were united to achieve a common goal. As we work together, we learnt new skills and learnt how to adjust and accept other cultures.

Quality education on the other hand is a holistic approach in molding an individual | to become an active and productive member of the society. When we say “active”, it causes change, it’s not passive, and when we say “proactive”, it is acting in advance to deal with an expected change. Kumbaga, “advance mag-isip”. Quality education prepares the students for life, not just for testing.

Naa mi usa kauaban nga pinay didto sa Brunei; cashier siya sa Supermarket. Iyang panagalan si Kathleen tapos naa siyay suot nga kulintas nga naay pendant nga cross. Since Brunei is Muslim country, most probably, you are a Christian kung naa kay suot nga cross. Karon kay naay Amerakano nga niadto sa cashier counter para magbayad tapos nakita nya ang cross nga pendant ni Kathleen. Gipangutana siya sa kano, “Are you Christian?” Tubag sa cashier, “No, I’m Kathleen.”
Amo na siya ka importe ang comprehension. She understood English but the quality of her understanding wasn’t enough.

During my fifth year in the college, I was an irregular student, which means I have much time having no classes so I was encouraged to run as Supreme Student Council Officer and by God's favor, I was elected as SSC President. That position and other extra-curricular activities which I had participated were the reason why I had awards during our graduation. During that time, my scholarship was also discontinued because it was only a 4-year contract so I have to find additional resources and earn extra cash to sustain my expenses.

With the help of my High School teachers especially sila ni Ma’am Arlene, Ma’am Jo and Ma’am Hanelette, college professors, relatives, church mates and friends, I worked as tutor, decorator, gardener, sales staff and other part-time jobs.

The leadership and income generating skills that I learned in High School, from this institution, were very useful during those college days.

Diri ko naka kat-on sauna ug luto-luto, mamaligya’g kakanin ug ice candy, garden-garden, magmarcot, grafting, magdecorate ug stage ug naay programs, manahi ug sapatos, painting ug uban pa.

Few months after our graduation in college, I was contacted by a friend, in the person of Ricky Ortega, to join his team of visual artist in Brunei Darussalam.

Para sa mga wala kabalo ug asa na dapit and Brunei, duol ra na diri, naa rana sa Sulu. Ingon gani sila nga kung gusto ka moadto ug Brunei pero wala kay pamasahi sa eroplano, didto ra aka agi sa Sulu unya langoy lang ka padulong sa Sabah, Malaysia tapos diritso sa Brunei ung modiritso pa jud ka ug langoy, maabot na sa Singapore. Pero and ilang kwarta didto is DOLLAR; usually 33 pesos ang value sang 1 Brunei Dollar.

So I was contacted and without hesitation I sent him my resume, which highlights my related skills and competencies rather than my degree, and processed the other necessary documents to work abroad. But prior to that, I already completed the processing of my papers for the Licensure Examination for Teachers | yet 15 days before the 2007 LET Exam, I left the country to work abroad as Graphic Designer and Visual Merchandiser, a kind of job that was far related from BSEd-Mathermatics.

My job abroad wasn’t easy. I worked from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m, that is 12 hours a day, but we have to be at the working site 30 minutes before and after the business hours. It means that we spent 13 hours or more in our working site. That routine happens 6 days a week and sometimes 7 days a week for 2 months especially during Ramadan and Chinese New Year – Christmas is just like a casual day in Brunei.

Since I was a fresh graduate who has no formal education in Advertising or Graphic Design, the company has offered me a low salary, which was only similar with the salary of domestic helpers |  but I had to accept it without any choice.

I knew that the only way to make them increase my salary | was for me to prove that I can deliver an output more than their expectation, and that they need me more than I need them.

There was a time that the company hired an experienced graphic designer | and paid him with higher salary than I had to replace me from my job. My works was taken over and I was assigned to other tasks. Sakit unta sa boot pero agwanta lang.

After one month, that newly hired employee resigned. His reason? Work pressure. Stress. All the works then was returned to me.

My job includes:
• Product photography and other photography related activities
• All types of graphic designs, from small flyers to magazine, packaging, and billboards
• Products display oversized props
• Seasonal display and event decorations
• Distribution of marketing materials and installation of print advertisements
• Video production for in-house ads and social media updates and more

After work, I have to stay awake late until 1 or 2 a.m. to study the things about my job so that I could understand the language and technicalities of the industry and to upgrade my talent in visual arts and skills in visual communication. I also learnt the basics of the Malay language  | hence I could easily communicate with the locals of the host country. Thanks to the internet and the nearby book stores.
After working for one year, my salary was raised by about 50%, and another 50% raise after 2 years until I was already receiving a wage from the same company | that was 4 times higher than my starting salary.

As I continued my self-study, I discovered that the articles I was reading online were coming from websites that are called “blog” | which are written and published by different individuals. That triggered my interest to create my own blog | where I can showcase my artworks and share my ideas. My first blog was then born. Time goes by and the readership of my blog increased, then I learnt how to make money from blogging in 2010. From that point, I spent more time on blogging after work.

Changes in the internet in the past decade were very rapid. The preference of internet users in term of gathering information | has shifted from plain texts and images to audio visual presentation.  Now, YouTube is ranked as the second-most popular site in the world after Google.com. Facebook is only third. This was the reason why I created my first YouTube channel, which is the CreativyWindow, in 2014.

In 2016, the monthly income of my blogs and YouTube channels | was already enough to sustain my monthly expenses here in the Philippines, so I decide to leave my job abroad | and went home for good in September of the same year.

Last February 2018, I received the Silver Creator Award from YouTube for a milestone as video publisher.

Instead of teaching students inside the classroom, I am now sharing my ideas and skills to the million people | from different corners of the world using social media platforms | while enjoying the things I love to do | in the convenience on my own schedule and without a boss.

To you graduates, your education doesn't stop today. You might already have good achievements, but time will come, you will need to erase the board of your achievements | and allow yourselves to become beginners again. There is a time to learn, and a time to unlearn.

Ako bitaw sauna, hawod kayo ko anang Algebra kay Math major gud ko | pero karon ang nabal-an nalang nako anang X and Y? “Forget about the X and never ask Y. Just move on because X has no more value. Mao bitaw na nga ang ax^2 + bx + c = 0 kay let us say ikaw ang C, you have the choice to become negative | or stay positive and let the X’s and their pairs become negative.

O diba, nalibog mo… kay Mobile Legends ra guro inyong nabal-an?

Remember that you are not in school | just to get passing grades so that you can proceed to the next Grade level, but also to gain knowledge, acquire skills and prepare yourselves to become better individuals | who have value in the community. You will be paid and earn a living according to that value, and not according to your grades.

Along with the wisdom and provisions that our Creator has showered, all of those personal experiences I have shared with you today | are part of the quality education I have acquired | which wasn’t only found and learnt in the four corners of the classroom | but also in the real world, contributed and taught by different institutions |  and people with different backgrounds in life, social statuses and professions, united with a common purpose: Making other people an active and proactive member of the society | who is living a better life.

For me, that is the essence of unity in diversity | which results to quality education for all!
To God be the glory, and congratulations graduates for completing this chapter of your life, and to the teachers and staff of this school, parents, guardians, and everyone who become a part of this milestone, mabuhay po kayong lahat!