Tag: April 30, 2007
‘I think, therefore I.T.’
“’YOU WORK that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth,’” quotes Dennis Manalastas from Khalil Gibran’s book The Prophet, an excerpt given to him by his Theology professor. The passage became his inspiration to pursue a career unrelated to his college course.
This Information Technology (IT) businessman of Bulacan may not have been able to make a living out of Philosophy, the undergraduate course he took in UST, but he attributes his success to the discipline.
Going overboard over board exams
TO SOME members of Batch 2007, graduation means rest, summer vacation, or job hunting. But to others, it means preparation for the licensure exams.
At first, former Accountancy Student Council president Jayner Cruz felt frustrated that while most of his batchmates were already scouting for jobs, he still had to study for the September board exams in order to obtain his license. “It is really nerve-wracking,” said Cruz.
Top secrets of topnotchers
POURING knowledge acquired over years of studying into a single exam is never easy. The thought of a looming licensure examination can relentlessly torture an examinee physically and mentally.
Some, however, welcome the challenge with open arms.
One of them is Dr. Patrick Leonard Co, who bested 2,696 applicants from all over the country by topping the Physician Licensure Examination with a grade of 86.83 per cent last August.
Co took his pre-med course, BS Biology, at the Ateneo de Manila University and finished Medicine in UST in March 2004.
Kakaibang orasang Pinoy
“Many Filipinos live on what they laughingly refer to as Filipino time. Unfortunately, this is the very reason why they are falling behind the rest of the world. They are living in a different time zone.”
- Julia Campbell, US Peace Corps volunteer
Levi-Strauss’ bricoleurs
THERE are around a million English words in use, according to good old Webster, and this column would only use a hundred or so of them. So it was no surprise that when our editor in chief told me six months ago that I need to start thinking of a name for my column, I quickly grabbed the thick Webster Dictionary from his desk to look for a good one. After spending an hour browsing through it, I developed a slight headache from the plethora of words in small print. In frustration, I decided to take a breather.
‘Santo subito!’
WHEN I first wrote for the Varsitarian, I was asked to compose a piece on the late Pope John Paul II for a special commemorative issue. It was two years ago and yet everybody still cherishes memories of the late Pontiff. Moves to canonize him prove the people’s unwavering reverence of him and his recent elevation as a “venerable,” which puts him a step closer to beatification, has pleased people from different religions as it has the Catholic faithful.
A convenient solution
“IT’S PROBABLY best to ignore the film’s political subtext and simply concentrate on the message…”
This is yet the most poignant review I’ve read on the documentary film An Inconvenient Truth that I saw on a free screening at an SM cinema last Earth Day (April 22).
The curse of a gifted
UP summa cum laude graduate Mikaela Fudolig proved that young gifted children like her can succeed in a harsh and competitive university if given this one condition—a life spared from public and media scrutiny.
Mikaela, who started her B.S. Physics degree at 11, led the graduates of the country’s premier state university after garnering a remarkable 1.099 general weighed average. She told reporters that more than her academic achievements, she was proud that the Early College Placement Program (ECPP) designed for gifted children like her succeeded.
Prince Diaries
IN CHESS, the knights, the queen, the bishops, and the pawns can all make or break a king.
Same in politics, at least for Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (no pun with my name), the classic power pundit. The moves of a politician’s right-hand men, spouse, churchmen, and people can spell checkmate.
Catholic vote is conscience vote
IT IS just as well that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has resisted calls for it to name its candidates in the May elections. There’s no need to because it has, after all, come up with the criteria to guide voters on choosing candidates based on the Catholic Church’s moral and social teachings.