Like you, they took the bleep test. They also evaluated paintings, movies, and literary pieces. They contemplated on Ethics, Family, and Philosophical Anthropology. They survived Math too.
Your teachers also became their teachers. Assignments, which were exactly like yours, were met with the same sighs of tiredness by these Dragons born outside the Ortigas campus. If you had sleepless nights, so did they.
The only differences would be that they started to take their bachelor’s degree seven years later than you did, and while you were having classes on Work and Society, they were applying them minutes after their class. And on a graveyard shift.
Meet the pioneering TELUS Dragons.
Twelve young professionals from TELUS International Philippines, Inc. form part of the Golden Jubilee Batch who walked down the PICC Plenary Hall in Pasay City on August 19, 2017 to receive their diplomas. For these men and women in their early 30s, it was a fulfillment of dreams put on hold and an impetus to dream even more.
Know three of your fellow Dragons.
Regine Ronette Gargollo
Regine dreamt of becoming a broadcast journalist, so she took up Speech Communications at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. Halfway through the program, she had to stop and help the family as the eldest in a brood of six. At 30 years old, she will be celebrating her 12th year in TELUS this April. She works as a learning and development facilitator in the company. She reads Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Amy Tan and would like to go to teaching if given the chance.
Did it occur to you to go back to your studies after working for a couple of years?
That was my ultimate goal when I started to work. When I was still in school, unlike other kids, I wasn’t excited to go to work. I wanted to study. ‘Yung university environment ang na-enjoy ko nang sobra. Very hesitant talaga ako na mag-start ng work. I just needed to. In fact, ‘yung mga first few years ko sa work, it was a struggle. In my mind, working was temporary.
What makes UA&P different from where you initially studied?
They are similar in that they both encourage critical thinking among their students. There are many differences also. For example, how one views freedom. How I understand it now with my UA&P classes is that you have the freedom to perfect yourself as a human being. Before, it was just the freedom to choose whatever you want.
What do you like about the UA&P education?
I appreciate that everyone, whatever specialization they will take, spends their first few years being exposed to liberal arts education. Before I went to UA&P, I only knew two people who graduated from the school. Now I understand why those two people can give good inputs and converse well on any given topic. It was because they had that kind of exposure in UA&P. You learn how to analyze a certain subject from different standpoints.
Did the UA&P education help you become a better person?
Masaya nga nung may mga classes pa kami kasi merong—dahil magwo-work kami after—sometimes almost direct application about what we learned. Or when we talked about the things that we discussed in class, sometimes we couldn’t help but share it with our workmates. For example, when I train a new-hire class, even if it’s product training, I sometimes encounter issues about ethics. And then I get to share a little bit of what we have discussed in class. And, it makes us more reflective of the things that we do, the decisions that we make. ‘Yung mga classmates na workmates din, we find that the education somehow elevates our discussion also about the things that happen in our everyday life, what we hear in the news.
How were your teachers?
They were able to deal with us really well. We’re students, but we’re also adults. We didn’t feel that they handled the classes differently. I appreciate that we received the same quality of teaching, the same demands. In hindsight, I’m also thankful that they didn’t pull back the punches in terms of what they require of us.
What was your biggest challenge in studying?
Schedule. Before I took on my present role, I was conducting product-related training. I was training operations representatives, so the sessions were mostly at night, from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am, or 11:00 pm to 8:00 am. Ang mahirap is parang back-to-back ‘yung class for eight hours. Sometimes, ‘pag lunch break na, hindi na ako nagsasalita.
What do you consider as your joy in getting a UA&P education?
I think knowing that you’re growing is a good encouragement. You would think that when you’re already working, in your 20s or 30s, your learning capacity is not as much as when you were younger. We realized that’s not true. We actually learned Spanish when we were almost 30. We survived Math. We can still learn no matter how old we are.
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