What is your message to this year’s graduates?
“Well, ang una kong message for the Batch 2023 is to be responsible as we always are, and continue to find alternatives when it comes to handling certain issues and problems the way you did it in the classroom setting in the real life.”
What makes Batch 2023 unforgettable?
“In my experience in handling Political Science, this is actually the class that has transitioned from online setting to face-to-face. So, nakita ko ‘yung excitement sa kanila ulit, para silang mga first year [students]. And it’s pretty fun on getting that normal student life. So, yun ‘yung nakita ko. Hindi ko sila napansin as graduating, but more as freshmen dahil sa pagbabalik ng face-to-face.”
What is a lesson they ought to apply in the future now that it’s filled with uncertainty?
“You have to understand that life is different outside the classroom, whether this is a virtual classroom or [the] face-to-face basis. You may encounter some people na iba sa nakasanayan ninyong ugali or mga kaklase ninyo. But, that’s normal. That’s a part of life. I’m confident enough naman na makakapag-adjust kayo.”
What is your advice to the graduates who are feeling anxious about the next chapter?
“It’s normal to feel anxious, okay? ‘Wag kayo papadala sa pressure. […] It’s more on how you deal with it. Hindi kasi ako pwede makapagsabi kung paano because this may not be applicable to each and everyone of you. So kanya-kanyahan tayo dito ng means to adapt [to the] incoming pressures of life.”
Seeing the graduates develop into the men and women they are today, how different are they now compared to the first year you’ve started teaching them?
“They were able to do much more. Sabihin natin ‘yung excitement and energy. Kasi pag-first year ka pa lang, bago-bago ka palang, excited ka pa sa university life and challenges. Darating ‘yung major subjects mo. They may have different sets or bars of energy.”
What are the challenges they ought to prepare for? What do you wish for them to achieve?
“I wish them to achieve ‘well’. ‘Yun lang kasi life has so much to offer. And, you may have your ups and downs but that’s part of life. […] That’s the beauty of it— that’s the thrill, that’s the excitement.”
What is a thing you’ve taught them that you’d like them to remember you for?
“Always do more for yourself. Or, do the things because you want to. Not because you’re pressured in life or because someone wants you to, whoever that may be. Do things because it is you who wants to do it.”
– Jazztin Jairum Manalo, political science professor
Interview by IRISH FERY
