• “This could be our last mother’s day together!”
• Father is proud of his son

“I only have one mother, but with my studies, I can go back to them later.”

A college degree can open a lot of doors for anyone who has it. Education is undeniably important, but what is more important is family. This is what exactly what Liu Xinhong thinks.

Liu decided to stop pursuing college education for a while to take care of his mother who was diagnosed of parotid cancer. About a year ago, he was just another freshman at a university in Yulin County, Taiwan, but now he is more like a nurse at his mother’s Peace Ward, attending to her every single day.

Liu understands that family should be placed above all, and that a college degree can be pursued anytime.

As he was crying, he said, “Mom has put a lot of time and effort in raising me. She’s helped me with homework and lots of other things, but I have not spent much time with her. This could be our last Mother’s day together.”

Liu always prays that the one above would ease his mother’s pain. It seems like he has accepted that there is nothing that could be done to prolong her life.

He is lucky to have a circle of people, including his brother, who helps out after school, who provided emotional support to help him get through this.

Liu’s father is proud of him for doing the things that he does, as he cannot attend to his wife since he is running their business.

On Facebook, he showed the world how much his mother means to him.

“Thank you mom for bringing me into this world and for the endless love that you’ve given me. Now my mom needs caring for and as her son, I have the full responsibility of taking on this role. Everyone must face death one day. It’s unavoidable. I think companionship is very important during a person’s last days. Facing the inevitable, I would like to discard regret and say goodbye to my loved ones and bless them; isn’t it better than just being sad?”

Being a star of a television show is without a doubt tiring and schedules can get crazy at times. However, this does not stop ‘Sahaya’ star Bianca Umali from pursuing a college education.

The Umali just graduated from senior high-school and got her diploma from Veritas Catholic School in Paranáque City in March.

“Magpapatuloy ako ng college and I will pursue a degree.”

It seemed that the young star is determined to finish college despite her busy schedule.

She is still not certain of what school she will be enrolling in but there is no question that she will pursue a degree. To her, education is still important even though she gets paid handsomely for acting.

“Wala pang sure na school at wala pa rin certain course, pero tuloy-tuloy ‘yun.”

Bianca pointed that everything they do on the set is hard but is worth it because of the support they get from the fans.

“Lahat ng bagay sa Sahaya, kung paano gawin walang madali talaga. But then again, dahil sa suporta at sa pagmamahal ng mga tao sa amin nagiging worth it at nagpe-pay off ‘yung mga ginagawa namin.”

The cast also agreed and said that things are more difficult on the set because of the heat. Not only that, the capturing of scenes is hard because the entire theme is set on water. The cameras are positioned on the boat or the in the water.

“I’ve never done this before kasi ‘yung set namin nasa tubig. The angles are not as easy to capture because hindi naman kwadrado lahat at hindi siya isang kwarto. And the cameras have to be mounted on the water or on a boat,” shared Mylene Dizon, one of the cast members.

“Lahat ng ipinapakita ko, lahat ng efforts ko, lahat galing sa puso. Which is, ngayon ko lang na masasabi kong ginawa para sa isang role,”  Umali added.

‘Sahaya’ has positive receptions from critics and fans alike. Watch ‘Sahaya’ every 8:20 pm on the GMA Network.

The photo was taken during Pasigay’s graduation in 2013. Pasigay graduated at the top of his class and proudly and gratefully gave his father his medals for him to wear as Pasigay’s graduation was a huge achievement for the man as well.

Pasigay shared how his father worked as a construction worker just to have his youngest son finish high school and how the day they had all been waiting for finally came.

“May sakit pa siya nyan, pero hindi nya hinayaang hindi makapunta sa graduation ko. Kasi alam niyo ba, sobrang saya niya ng malaman niyang valedictorian yung anak niya. Lagi niyang pinagmamayabang yung nakuha ko, at lagi niyang pinagmamalaki ang pangalan ko. Masasabi ko na ngang, siya ang number one fan ko. [He was sick on the day of my graduation, but that did not hinder him from attending. He was so happy to know his son is a valedictorian. He would always proudly share my accomplishments. He was my number one fan],” said Pasigay.

In August that year, however, his father passed away. But even with his passing, Pasigay believed his father deserves to be loved.

Pasigay remembered how proud his father was of him and when his father told his mother to always take care of their son and to have him continue his studies. 

Pasigay will be graduating college soon. He felt sad that his father would no longer be around to witness him graduate but nonetheless, Pasigay continued reaching for the stars. 

Years may pass but his father’s memory will never fade.

“Ang pangalan, at ang yong mga ngiti ay nakatatak sa aking isipan. At ang iyong pagmamahal at pag aaruga, ay laging nakatanim sa aking puso. [I always remember you and your smile. You love and caring will always be in my heart].” said Pasigay. 

It’s very heartwarming to see such love on social media. Pasigay’s post is overflowing with longing for his father. Many students should take a page or two out of Pasigay’s book and learn to appreciate their chances at getting a good education.

Congratulations, Jace Pasigay! We are sure you made not only your father but your whole family proud of you.

“Hi, I’m Johannes, graduate of B.S. in Fermentation Major in Brewing.”

Who says major in beer won’t ever pass the curriculum in college?

Doesn’t want to take engineering but seeing a future of becoming a craft brewer? Oh, Yes. It’s not only possible but many colleges are offering brewing program nowadays.

California State Polytechnic University started joining small colleges and huddling up students to create high quality craft beers– then sell it.

“To make the beer here and sell the beer here and have a cafe and have an educational component, we’re the first to have put all those pieces together,” Dining Services Director Aaron Nielson said over lunch of pizza and mouthful of beer.

Claiming that Cal Poly is the only college to make and sell its own beer inside the campus, that could change. Educational opportunities for aspiring craft brewers in Colorado State University is set to launch its microbrewed beer at a campus pub before this year ends, said by Jim Francis, director of the school’s Beverage Business Institute.

Other campuses around the country also make beer inside like University of Wisconsin, Madison and Oregon State University.

The pioneer campus in Davis has been brewing since 1959 and considered as one of the oldest fermentation programs in the nation. It does offers bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in food science. Wanted to get shorter courses? Take six-month Master Brewer program and a four-month Professional Brewer’s Certificate.

There’s also an annual best brewmaster’s competition.

Beer makers have noted an increase number of young enthusiasts tripled over the past 10 years to about 3,000. Fascination is what they see motivating a future bloom in college brewing.

“A lot of young people, 30 and under, consider themselves beer geeks,” said Francis, whose school offers a degree in fermentation science.

First things first, I would like to extend my greetings to this year’s graduates. To be more specific, congratulations to our new college graduates! Have you ever wondered where will your college diploma lead you after you set your feet out of the graduation hall?

“How will I get a serviceable work experience if every employer is looking for applicants with at least half a year to two years work experience?” Yeah, it really sounds unreasonable and unfair.

Will I ever get the dream job that I have been longing for ever since I started out being a college student? Will this type of motivation come into a pragmatic fruition? Will it be better for me to take up a Masters Degree and heighten my credentials even further? These are just some of the most frequent predicament of every fresh graduate.

Work Experience

I suppose it is unjust to expect too much from a fresh graduate who is just about to enter the vindictive job market with only his/ her diploma, soaring energy, and high aspiration as their main weapon. They are often having a hard time thinking how to start-up their career when no one is even eager to give them a chance. This may not be the same case for those who graduated from top schools but this happens to almost every fresh graduates coming from mediocre to decent universities. Truth hurts and I am one of those who are terrible dismayed by this kind of disposition.

So how can you deal with this? Study says that you can highlight your OJT (On-the-Job Training) or even part time jobs, summer jobs and casual jobs as one of your qualifications when applying for your first job. Seize the opportunity to emphasize how trainable you are. Every single detail of your accomplishments counts. You may not have a lot impressive arsenal yet so try to make the most out of the simple credentials that you currently have.

Starting Salary

After I passed our course’s professional licensure exam, I had a short chat with one of my professors. He told me that engineers like me usually receive around Php 18,000 as a starting salary. Any offer lower than that is would be considered a travesty. So I went out to test the waters of our country’s job market. I was oozing with confidence during that time. Unfortunately, I failed some of my first interviews as I have figured out that I am asking for a rather unlikely starting salary. So I negotiated with every company’s HR personnel until I found myself modestly asking for a Php 13,000 starting salary just to get hired! Good thing I am already past that pace now.

I suggest that you should always keep in mind that every employee usually starts from the bottom, from tiny steps. This requires a lot of patience. It isn’t easy. You may even start out once again as an intern or trainee just to prove to your prospective employer that you are capable. You don’t have to worry, ten to fifteen years from now, you will just see yourself in good spirits with a smile on your face realizing how for you have already come to. There will always be an exception though, if you come from these big named schools or if you are a Latin honor, chances are you may have the right to command what your starting salary would be. So you must strive hard and think meticulously if you are just about to begin your college life!

Tight Competition

In accordance with the some statistical studies, about half a million (500,000) Filipino fresh graduates flock in the streets with the hopes of finding their first jobs. Imagine that, you are competing with thousands of young and energetic applicants who have the same credentials as you. Don’t lose hope; all you have to do is to highlight all the accomplishments during a job interview no matter how small it is. Include in your resume all the seminars, workshops and trainings that you have attended during college. You may also feel free to include some of the outreach programs or charity events that you have participated with as it may appear to be impressive to the eyes of some employers out there.

Be resourceful and clever when looking for a job. Use every job vacancy sources possible. Browse the internet for online job postings, read the some of the well known broadsheet’s classified ads every Sundays. Explore your network and find connections which you think may help you find a job. If the saying “ It’s not what you know, it’s who you know “ is right, then just embrace that fact and prepare to plunge in!

To give you a clearer perspective from the “employer’s side”, here’s a short speech which may serve as representation of every recruiter’s mindset:

[blockquote author=” David P. – Aftersales Manager at Jonathan Lee Recruitment | jonlee.co.uk”]Firstly, and probably most obviously accept that your degree is not going to guarantee you employment. It might get you to the starting line but you still have to run the race! For those of you that may still be studying, get yourself involved in some practical work based projects, whether it be part-time, summer placement or industrial placement and take some learning experiences from it. It will add to your stock when applying for jobs!! If you have already graduated and are seeking employment then you should consider the following; Are you only applying to graduate schemes? There are many other opportunities out there if you are prepared to look beyond the “scheme” arena. Are you looking beyond the big brand, blue chip organisations? There are an abundance of businesses out there where opportunity to gain a wider scope of experience is broader than those within the larger organisations. How are you differentiating yourself from your peers? I’m not talking about becoming an eccentric or dressing in outrageous clothes, I’m talking about showing initiative, being pro-active, expressing a desire to learn and develop and most importantly, demonstrating to potential employers that you can be of commercial benefit to their business!! What I am really saying is that in this extremely competitive marketplace, you need to be sharp and savvy and consider what is going to help you stand out from the crowd! Your degree will get you to the start line, the rest is down to you![/blockquote]

References:

What’s the biggest dilemma faced by fresh graduates today?, https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Whats-biggest-dilemma-faced-fresh-3971830.S.59865307

recruitmentbeast, Common Fresh Graduate Dilemmas, https://recruitmentbeast.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/common-fresh-graduate-dilemmas/

Busy corridors, students walking here and from, different banners and tarpaulins with big greetings from different individuals mostly politicians, a familiar ambience lingering in the air, well I guess I could say, it’s really a start of another school year again.

As you strode along the familiar rooms, galleries, and sections of your campus you see different things happening with the students and faculties, the way they respond to the busy atmosphere and how things are settled. I guess looking for the top ten things happening every first day of class would be fun right? Well let’s see, starting with no. 1.

1. CONFUSION

It’s the first thing almost all students encounter, because of all the excitement in the first day, they often get dizzy going round and round for what rooms are they assigned at. There are even some who forgot what their first subject is!

2. SEARCH

After entering the school premises a student’s eye turns into a jaguar’s, in search for familiar faces among the herd of different individuals, finding where his prey is he pounce at him and both of them burst into laughter.

3. SURVEY

With friends alongside an empty room, everyone has his own way to kill time. But the best choice is? Survey anxious friends gathering around you asking different questions about how your summer turns out, what places did you visit, or anything that’s happened worth telling. It’s almost like you’ve been arrested and is now up for interrogation.

4. BIDDING

It’s a common thing to a group of students to have an auction like debate, about the marks they get last year in their subjects, similar to the auction where people raise money to win ownership of certain things like antique, gems or anything valuable. But In the case of simple students, the prize will just be admiration, respect and of course, popularity. Ok guys, I got 90 in English! Anyone wants to bet? And by the way it also works with daily allowances.

5. HUNT

It’s quite similar with search, the only difference is in search you are looking for familiar persons, but in hunt, it’s finding new people who you might have a chance to be friends with, a new opportunity to socialize with the unfamiliar, after all, you’ll be seeing each other for the whole year period.

6. BATTLE PLAN

It’s a systematic way on how you and your friends are planning to tackle almost 10 months of academic barrage, oftentimes it’s compose of how your seating arrangements will be, will you guys be positioning in the front row? Or in the back, and which student will be in charge of a specific subject depending on his/her intellectual capacity. Good luck marines!

7. PROMISES

After a bad year of a certain student, like having failed marks, or being sent to the guidance two or three times, here comes the words, THIS TIME REALLY, DEFINITELY THIS YEAR, I PROMISE, a promise of a better year, where he/she would make up for the times he/she wasted. Well, good luck kid, 10 months to proved those speeches you’ve made in your mind.

8. JUDGEMENT

As the teacher or professor enters the room the atmosphere suddenly change from the summer of May to the winter seasons of December. Everyone froze on their seats; eyes fix in the slowly moving figure in front, every breath steady, waiting for the greeting that will decide whether the person in front is Santa? Or Dracula let’s find out next meeting, class dismiss.

9. BUILDING FOUNDATION

If there are tons of techniques of surviving your subject, there is the most effective which do not require a lot of brain but a lot of charm. Who is the one making your grades? Who is the one teaching you day by day? Supervising the way you interact with the others, your teacher of course! so the best way to pass indeed, is to root where the big tree is.

10. GET TOGETHER

After the long first meeting, school hours is finally over, but the day is far from it, one of you will bring up about hanging out because it’s still too early to go home, and there’s nothing important to do because it’s only the first day, one or two are against but still, majority wins right, so there you go a bunch of laughing meat bags in uniform, I can only guess what will happen to these guys when they got home.

Well that’s something going around finding out how things are in the first day of class for a student, well it’s certainly hard sometimes to survive but as long as you know what you are doing is right, you’ll definitely make it out alive.