EVERY SUMMER, it’s either bumming around or earning a sum for some Thomasians.
With the grueling pressure and migraine of schoolwork, summer break should be a breath of fresh air for the Thomasian community, most especially for its students.
But instead of sporting flip-flops and hitting the beach, some Thomasians have opted to pound on the metro beat to earn cash, gain experience, and make the most out of their vacation. They either work part-time or do practicum.
Instead of idling around this vacation, incoming sophomore Marc Paulo Catolico has found a way to earn money by working in an Ortigas-based online English language center helping Koreans master English.
“I have a 40-year-old doctor, two finance officers, and a high school student as my [students],” said Catolico, who is taking up BSE in Secondary Education major in Science.
With a diverse class of students, Catolico had to adjust his teaching schedules to suit his students’ preference. Even when outside the classroom, he continues his lesson plan through online messaging.
“I have lessons with them at the time of their availability,” he said.
Although coping up with the students’ free time is arduous for Catolico, he makes the most out of his job by understanding students with different cultures.
True enough, Catolico is beginning to enjoy every day he spends at “class” as he has made friends with his students.
“My students are friendly and fast learners. They are also very diligent when it comes to studies.”
Additionally, the whole experience made him aware of the seriousness of work and the opportunity he has while he is still in school.
“Enjoy your life as a student because once you’re obliged to work, you must be serious. It is a reality that everybody must work for a living,” Catolico said.
Family matters
In her desire to help her family, incoming Architecture junior Talitha Jalandoni puts away her T-square during the summer break to work for her aunt as a personal assistant (PA) in Makati.
As a PA, Jalandoni’s task includes doing minor errands for her aunt such as organizing files and documents and editing PowerPoint presentations.
At first, being a personal assistant was not in Jalandoni’s game plan. She had applied for a job in a fast food restaurant in a nearby shopping mall.
“While I was waiting for the managers’ feedback, my aunt suddenly offered me a job in her communication services company,” she said.
With the company’s motto of “passion for quality,” Jalandoni tries to keep up with the company’s demands.
“You have to think and act quickly. Your work should always be perfectly done,” Jalandoni said.
Though her job seems easy, still it is no cakewalk. When she was asked to edit a presentation regarding energy crisis for a public official, she was running on a deadline.
“I did not sleep the whole time I was doing it. Daylight came and I had to do a lot of corrections,” she said. “But thankfully, I was able to get it done.”
With the fast-paced flow of work in the company, Jalandoni applies what she has learned in school. “Time management is very essential in Architecture and so I try to manage my time in everything I do and avoid procrastination,” she said.
Hands-on training
For Corazon Cristy Lim, summer 2008 means practicum, a requirement for all incoming Commerce seniors.
Lim takes her on-the-job-training at Airlift Asia Inc. in Parañaque. A Marketing Management major, she works in the company’s marketing department.
As a neophyte in the workplace, Lim makes it a point to adjust and strive to do better.
“As a first timer, I find it really hard to adapt since all people that surround me are professionals.”
Lim said she’s assigned to the proper documentation of transactions as well as convincing clients to use the services of Airlift Asia Inc.
Lim also considers herself very lucky for having bosses who mentor her about the business in a hands-on way.
“My superiors are kind. They try their best [to teach me] so that I could gain knowledge from my practicum with them,” said Lim.
Being a Thomasian, she relates the value of treating her co-workers with respect in order to establish a healthy professional “relationship.”
For Lim, personal adjustment is also necessary in order to “execute well [her] role as an employee and a co-worker.”
“In the office, everyone is professional so you have to act like one,” she said.
An intern’s vein
She first planned to go to Italy to be with her parents this summer. But when duty called, senior Medical Technology student Margaret Saquing immediately unpacked her bags and went straight to the World City Medical Center for her year-long internship.
“We are already in a real hospital setting. We deal with patients and nurses,” said Saquing.
Her rounds in the hospital usually consist of blood extraction and operating lab machines.
First-time jitters came when she had to draw a blood sample.
“I had to try and try until I was able to do it properly,” she said.
Aside from perfecting her phlebotomy techniques, Saquing said she learned composure.
“Professionalism should always be kept in mind because there are patients who eventually die,” she said.
Her greatest challenge came when she had to extract blood from an infant who was suffering from fever in the wee hours of the night.
“The infant’s family was there when I came and I felt shy. I really wanted to cry because I thought I couldn’t do it. But then I eventually did,” she said.
A true Thomasian, Saquing always makes it a point to show competence, commitment, and compassion, even if patients’ tempers flare before novices like her.
“They are patients so we should understand what they feel,” she said. “We just try our best to make them comfortable.”
Though Saquing’s rounds in the hospital include a 24-hour and night duty, she enjoys her internship because of her group mates who help her cope with stress. Additionally, they also help her boost her confidence.True enough, every task becomes much easier when it’s done together.
For Saquing, everything is just worth it especially when all the lessons she took up in class are applied.
“It’s nice to know that we could already apply the things we once saw in textbooks and other materials,” she said.
Life’s lessons are best learned through experience that classrooms could only accentuate. For some Thomasians, summer is at its best when it is spent on stretching every opportunity for self-growth and discovery. For a single step out of one’s comfort zone is the best way to get started on real life.
