It's not always the school. It's how you're schooled

When I was hired as one of the new managers for a newly-opened fastfood franchise in Makati, my co-managers were curious about the school where I came. When I told them that I was educated in one of the Catholic universities in Cebu, one of them kidded “Eskwelahan ba yan o simbahan?” (Is that a school or a church?). While everyone seemed to have enjoyed the joke, I just grinned without blurting a word and went on with work.

My brother, also educated in one of the universities here in Cebu, emerged as the “highest pointer” in the exams from more than a hundred examinees who scrambled for the position that was advertised in the classifieds, got the surprise of his life when after the exams, he was told: “Congrats. Pero di ko masyado kilala yong school mo.” (“Congratulations, but your school is quite unheard of.”) That also happened to him when he tried his luck in Manila.

It’s such a pity that a lot of people still have not graduated from the notion that graduates coming from the provinces are “inferior” in terms of education. And this is also not to say that people in Manila are like that, it is just unfortunate that there are people in there who are like that. The same is also true elsewhere even here in Cebu. I’ve encountered people like them who tend to look down on graduates coming from the provinces as if it is a big deal.

It’s not where you are educated. It is how you are educated that ultimately matters in work and in life. And if you ask me if school really matters insofar as employability is concerned, my answer would be “no”. There is more to life than school. It is also about character. Between two graduates with equally the same skill, I would choose the one that possesses the right attitude -- humble and yet also a go getter. Usually, these types are found in graduates coming from colleges or universities that are usually labelled as “unheard of.” 

From my experience for example, we once thought that the best software engineers come from such institutions that banner “center of excellence,” “center of development” and such other titles that wrap the edifices of many schools. To our surprise, we found out that while the products of these schools where indeed very good in terms of knowledge and skill, they were mostly the most complaining, more arrogant not to mention noted for tardiness and laziness. Those who graduated from the provinces on the other hand, were mostly the silent type and reports to the office early. While they were less assertive, they were the most obedient and more eager to learn.

Performance and attitude is the name of the game. Not the name of the school.

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Speaking of schools, while many would like to stereotype our schools as unheard of or inferior compared to the schools in Luzon, we have proven once more our excellence in the field of medical studies. Last month, 18 graduates from different universities in Cebu made it to the top 10 in the nursing examinations and just recently, Velez College tops in the recently-conducted medical technology licensure with three others making it to the top 10 who were all from Cebu Doctors University.

I have no doubt that Cebu probably hosts the best medical schools in the country producing the most wiz every licensure examinations.

So if you happen to be a graduate in one of Cebu’s universities, and feel like finding your future in the National Capital, and the interviewer tells you that your school is not so well-known or unheard of, fret not. Admit to your interviewer that he is right. Tell him that it is not our habit to advertise. Performance says it all.

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