To the class of 2023: ‘Infinite possibilities’ await you
It’s graduation time for many universities here and abroad. Last year, 1.6 million students graduated from state-run higher education institutions in the Philippines. The stats aren’t in yet for this year, but the number of college graduates will certainly hit over a million.
What’s in store for this fresh wave of graduates, the future of our country — unless the future is in the hands of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which I suppose also need human beings to program?
During my graduation from the University of the Philippines, with a degree in Journalism, in the ‘80s, the future didn’t seem rosy for the press. But I took up Journalism anyway.
But not in the beginning. I entered UP in 1979, and at the time, the press wasn’t the same free and freewheeling press we have today, albeit with some exceptions then and now. At the time, everyone was careful.
So I applied for a slot in a quota course, Business Administration, and was accepted despite the limited slots. But my advanced Math subjects seemed like Greek to me, especially Calculus. I was so unhappy that I even went for some career counselling at UP’s Vinzons Hall. The guidance counsellor and I went over my UPCAT test results and I was told, “Your aptitude is for communications and the arts.” Something I knew all along, but denied. After all, I wanted gainful employment after college, not just a degree.
But at the end of the day, I followed my heart. My mother Sonia Mayor actually provided me the lightbulb moment. She had met Max V. Soliven in a gathering, and she told him her daughter wanted to take up Journalism but was hesitant because of the prevailing conditions at the time.
According to my mom, Soliven made a prescient forecast, “If your daughter wants to take up Journalism, let her. It won’t be long now before the press will be free again.”(True enough, in 1986 — three years after I graduated — there were 24 newspapers, the Philippine Star, the 23rd to hit the stands.)
Back to my turning point in college. I shifted to Journalism in my junior year and immediately got a part-time job in the STAR! Monthly magazine, published by Isaac Belmonte, a fellow Journalism major in UP, with his mother Betty Go-Belmonte as my editor-in-chief. After college, I had a full-time job waiting for me. I wasn’t going to be a pauper as I feared. I had a job!
Which brings me to my first advice to graduates.
1. There will always be surveys and studies about which job is the most marketable, which job you should or shouldn’t take. But in the end, just follow your heart. You won’t be good at what you’re doing if you don’t love or like what you’re doing — whether in the corporate world, in an NGO, even government service. This oft-quoted piece of advice (CTTO) is true: “Choose a job you like and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” There will be good days and bad days, but if the good days outnumber the bad by a landslide, you’re in the right job.
2. Truly, when opportunity knocks, open the door and let opportunity in. After all, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,” goes a saying attributed to Roman philosopher Seneca. I remember the day in college when Marlu Villanueva-Balmaceda, a Journalism major as well, invited me to go to STAR! Monthly magazine’s launch at the Club Filipino in San Juan. My ever supportive dad Frank Mayor drove me from our home in Las Piñas to Club Filipino even if it was family day, a Sunday. I met Mrs. Belmonte and my career as a writer was born. I don’t think I would have had another opportunity to meet Mrs. Belmonte, who would subsequently be a founder of two major newspapers, if I wasn’t prepared to seize the moment that fateful Sunday.
3. When in doubt, just do it. As a member of the press, you will face many crossroads where you will have to make a decision. If you’re after a scoop and you smell even a whiff of it, go after it. The late Press Secretary and STAR columnist Teddy Benigno once told me, “When in doubt, cover.” “Cover” means going to where the news is, even before you know it is going to be big news. Also, don’t think it over too long.
4. Be visible to those who can appreciate your hard work. I don’t mean boot licking because this will backfire on you sooner than later. So for me, just make sure your work is noticed. That your contributions and inputs are not waylaid in the rat race. Let your exceptional work be your propaganda. If it is truly exceptional, your reputation won’t be fake news. Do not keep your light under a bushel.
5. Never stop learning. Do your homework. Read, listen, take notes. As Mahatma Gandhi is quoted to have said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.”
Congratulations, dear graduates. The world is your oyster.
Serving others is succeeding
Let me share a message for the graduates that I requested from Dr. Angela Regala, president of Assumption College:
Graduation is a time of mixed emotions. It’s a moment of immense happiness and pride as you have completed your education and are poised to embark on a new journey. Yet, it also brings a tinge of sadness as you bid farewell to a chapter with cherished memories. Each graduating class is different, with its diverse array of gifts and talents, making it unique in its own right.
As you prepare to leave your beloved institution, I implore you to carry three essential things with you:
Our education holds value when we use it to SERVE OTHERS. Let the knowledge and skills you have acquired make a positive difference in the lives of others. Remember, actions speak louder than words. Merely contemplating and discussing ideas is insufficient; it is the actions we take that bring about tangible change.
Each of us has a unique mission and purpose in life. Some of you may already have a clear understanding of your calling, while others are still discovering it. Embrace the journey and trust that everything will unfold in due course. Your mission is personal and tailor-made for you. Once you discern it, hold onto it steadfastly. This SENSE OF PURPOSE will lead you to true joy and inner peace. Remain guided by your values, draw strength from your principles, and forge ahead with determination. Doing so is the right thing to do.
Nurture a strong relationship with your faith and with God. In times of hardship and uncertainty, your faith will sustain you and ignite hope. Now more than ever, BELIEVE a divine presence is watching over you. This steadfast belief can serve as a wellspring of comfort and resilience, enabling you to weather any storm that comes your way.
In these uncertain times, remember that in God, you find the power to live with hope and unity, even amidst diversity.
May your journey be filled with purpose, love, and the unwavering pursuit of your dreams. As St. Marie Eugenie said, “Resolve to have as a goal, not glory, fortune, or the things of this earth but the good of souls, the glory of God, and the extension of the reign of Jesus Christ.
Congratulations, graduates, and may your future be blessed with infinite possibilities.
(You may e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @joanneraeramirez.)
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