Once A Herald

Our family picture taken during San Beda College Alabang’s 15th Commencement Exercise on March 26, 2013 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

COLLEGE LIFE HAS been one hell of a roller coaster ride for me. It was a five-year ride; an exhilarating journey that took me to a lot of highs, lows, reverses, and detours. From the moment I transferred to the upscale grounds of San Beda College Alabang from the University of Sto. Tomas in 2009, I swore to myself that I would make my college life in SBCA a productive one—both in academics and extra-curricular activities—given that the school is way nearer our home in Laguna and therefore I could handle more work than what I could in far-off UST. After four glorious years of Ora et Labora in SBCA, I can proudly say that indeed, what a productive college life it has been!

            Of course, I would not have reached this far by myself alone. There are those people who had gone with me along the way as I journeyed towards graduation; who believed in me and supported me in all my endeavors; who taught me countless lessons that served as my inspiration to carry on; who had always been there to cheer me up during my low points and rejoice with me during times of celebration; who had been my source of guidance that has become part and parcel of my personal constitution; and whom I owe a lot for who I am now.

            First of all, I want to thank the Almighty God for the divine providence and for the never-ending love. Life has set forth many challenges ahead of us, and bearing in mind that God only gives us challenges that we can overcome makes the burden much lighter. Life doesn’t always go as planned as well—many times I had experienced disappointment, depression, rejection, confusion—but knowing that everything happens for a reason and that God has a perfect plan for all of us keeps me sane and makes hard life so much bearable. Who I am and what I have, I offer all to God.

            Secondly, I express my overflowing gratitude to my parents for their selfless love, unrelenting support, sheer hard work, helpful guidance, and full trust in me and in my dreams. Thank you Mama and Papa for pulling all stops to provide me with education, which is, as you said, the best pamana you can ever give to me. I am witness to all your sacrifices and efforts to get us through school ever since pre-school up to college. Even though our family had been faced with a lot of financial challenges, you still managed to make things alright and provide us with the things that we need. Congratulations, Ma and Pa for doing a great, great job. Words are not enough how much lucky I am to have you as my parents. I am sorry for all my shortcomings, but nevertheless I promise to patch things up and help you meet the ever-growing needs of our family now that I have already graduated from college. All my achievements are a testament to all your love and passion. Thank you so much, Mama and Papa, you are the best parents in the universe. I love you!

            To my beautiful sister, Angeli, thank you for all the random advice and acts of sweetness at home. Though we often fight over things, how little or big they may be, at the end of the day we still manage to talk things over and laugh with each other as if nothing happened. Means to say that we don’t keep grudges with each other, which is actually a good thing. I can’t wait for your “moment”—that shining moment when you, too, will make our parents proud. Sorry for everything, however in a way thanks to our little fights; without which life would have been so boring at home. I love you sister and I always appreciate the pasta you cook sometimes for merienda. Peace be with you!

             Next off, I express my sincerest gratitude to Prof. Shirley Padua, chairperson of the Communication and Media Studies department. She had been my second mother in college who had always supported me in all my endeavors, whose efforts and passion for CMS describes her of a “stage mother” kind. Thank you Ms. Padua for all the lessons I have learned from the subjects you taught us, especially Journalism and Public Relations, and for all the life lessons that cannot be learned in the four walls of the classroom. I will definitely miss the moments we spent together in the corridors, in your office, and in the Ad Congresses in Subic and CamSur, among others. Thank you so much Ma’am for helping us CMS students to be the best that we can be. We promise to be good and excellent media practitioners someday, set to humanize the entire world. CMS the best!

           To Rector-President Dom Clement Ma. H. Roque, OSB, to CAS dean Thelma Geraldine Baricaua, to vice deans Dr. Paulito Hilario and Atty. John Jacome, to prefects Prof. Ma. Adrianna Quioyo and Prof. Jean Ariola, and to the rest of the department chairpersons, thank you for being the beacon of light during our stay in the College of Arts and Sciences. Without your guidance and policies, life in the CAS would have been hard and not that harmonious. Thank you for supporting us rain or shine with all the activities we organized, and I do wish you and the entire CAS all the best in the PAASCU accreditation next school year.

In this great milestone in our lives, much credit shall also go to the professors who had mentored, honed and prepared us as we are set to enter the so-called “real world.” Thank you professors for the nuggets of wisdom and all the experiences you imparted to us that helped us understand the world and all its dimensions better. Thank you for your patience as well to all our shortcomings and kakulitaninside and outside the classroom. Your quizzes, recitations, projects, and exams may all be difficult, but we know that it was just tough love on your part. Rest assured that we will apply in real life all the lessons we learned from you. We love you all and will miss you. Kudos to your passion for education!

            I’m also grateful to having shared my college life with the non-teaching personnel in the CAS, who I always greeted with bright smile whenever I visited them at their offices or whenever I met them along the corridors of St. Bede Hall. Thank you to Mr. Joey Balasico for being our number one go-to person when we have school-related and random problems, and when we need sound advice on how we should plan our activities. Though you have ended your productive service for San Beda Alabang last January, your spirit remained alive in your small office in the Office of Student Affairs, especially for those who had really known you and had become your friends. I wish you all the best and may you find greener pastures in your new endeavor. I would also like to thank Mr. Deck Santos for all the opportunities you gave our family to expand our tailoring and shirt printing business. Thank you for your trust and confidence that we can provide San Beda Alabang with quality polo shirts and T-shirts. You are one of the kindest and funniest persons in the Bedan community and I’m pretty sure that with your bubbly personality, you can go places and reach high in life. Also, thank you to Ms. Ghail, Ms. Addie (both from OSA), Mr. Harvey (from faculty office), Ms. Tina, Ms. Tammy (from departmental office), Ms. Candy (from Dean’s Office), Kuya Ricky (a.k.a. “Ang Alamat ng CMS” from IMC), Ate Jerlet (security guard), Ms. Jacq, Ms. April (both from Accounting Office), the friendly staffers of Whoopee and their boss, Ms. Eva Ravago, and the maintenance personnel of Titleist Services Inc. (TSI) for making my college life happier for all the good things you had done for me. Thank you and I love you all!

           To the CMS family, keep the fire burning. Here’s to the many sleepless yet glorious hours we spend finishing a short story, piecing articles together as we lay-out a newspaper, meticulously completing a vector art, going to places and shooting for a video or film project, waiting for a video to finish rendering in Vegas or Premiere, writing investigative reports, brainstorming for creative ways to advertise a product, risking going up the bridge for a tray lights shot assignment, practicing our roles for a theater play, authoring a term paper understanding a media text or a communication theory, and all the demands in between of those professors who consider their minor subjects as majors. It is fun and awesome to be a CMS student and what I like most about it is the spirit of teamwork and creativity that we develop in everything that we do. To those who we will leave behind, keep the fire of CMS spirit burning. Learn from the experiences of your ates and kuyas and join competitions outside the school so that your knowledge and skills in media will go to a fast forward. To my batch mates, congratulations to us for surviving the tough curriculum of our degree program. I will never forget all the memories we shared inside and outside the classroom, especially those moments when we were united showing off our CMS spirit during Integration and Cheerleading Competition. Thank you guys for everything and I just want you to know that I’m so happy that you were my batch mates. May we become successful media practitioners in the future who are grounded with game-changing creativity, unshakeable integrity and unfaltering commitment to the truth. I will miss you guys and see you around in the media industry! Naks!

Communication and Media Studies Batch 2013 in high spirits after graduation. (c) Lorenz Roi Morales

            Finally, I express my infinite gratitude to The Bedan Herald, the publication where I spent the four most productive years of my life, the best student organization in the College of Arts and Sciences which we can truly call a family and a home. I had learned a lot as a student journalist for The Bedan Herald—on-field journalism, work ethics, professionalism, social dynamics, decision-making, leadership, among others—which I owe to the past and present members of the publication. Within the span of my stay at The Bedan Herald I had the privilege to meet and/or interview some of the big names in the country such as former President Fidel V. Ramos, Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel and Sen. Gringo Honasan, and to go to many places I never imagined myself going before. Moreover, I will surely miss the everyday life in the Publications Office or the “Pub” from early in the morning until the late hours of the night—and sometimes, until the afternoon or evening of the next day, just to make sure that every issue that we release is of high quality in terms of content and layout. I will surely miss the members of The Bedan Herald, both past and present, whom I consider as the craziest and wackiest but wisest and kindest people I had ever known in college. To those who came before me, thank you for your nuggets of wisdom and guidance that had become our inspiration to work hard and give our best for the betterment of our publication. Without your efforts before, we wouldn’t have enjoyed the rights and privileges that we have at present, or rather we wouldn’t have a paper to work for as a student journalist in the first place. To the editorial board and staff of Volumes 15, 16 and 17, thank you for the personal and professional growth you have developed in me. I know that I was not a perfect member but I thank you for giving me the opportunities and positions in which I could serve best the publication and the Bedan community. To the editorial board and staff of Volume 18, kudos to us guys for a job well done. We may have lapses in terms of our releases, but I can say that our content and creative appearance have truly taken a higher level. I express my special thanks to our editor-in-chief Marco Angelo Cabrera, to our managing editor Christine Easter Halaba and to our creative editor Giovanni Miguel Alfonso for making my last year in college and in The Bedan Herald a productive one through the plans we had executed this school year. And lastly to the editorial board and staff of Volume 19, I wish you guys all the best in bringing The Bedan Herald to a higher level. We did our best to set a standard of responsible campus journalism this volume and we do hope that you will surpass our expectations and what we have achieved. Always remember all the advice, lessons and experiences that we imparted to you so that you guys will be grounded firmly as you take on yet another exciting year of Noble Obligation. To The Bedan Herald past and present members, I love you all! I will not say goodbye because as the saying goes, “there are no goodbyes, only catch-you-laters.” So see you when I see you guys and always remember, “Once a Herald, always a Herald!”

My The Bedan Herald family. Illustration by Gian Clarete

            Congratulations to the batch 2013 graduates, or rather the “Ruby graduates” of the College of Arts and Sciences – San Beda College Alabang!

            That in all things, God may be glorified!

***

The article was published as the author’s last entry in his column "Big Boom Theory" in The Bedan Herald (March 2013 issue), the official student publication of the College of Arts and Sciences – San Beda College Alabang. He was the former Associate Editor of the said publication.