10. School of Management Week (SoM)

The School of Management (SoM), formally known as School of Accountancy and Business (SoAB), commenced on the 26st of October through to the 30th, which saw 4 courses celebrating throughout the week. This included; Business Management (BM), Accounting (AC), Marketing & Advertising (MA) and Tourism Management (TM).

To initiate SoM (School of Management) Week, previously known as SoAB (School of Accountancy and Business), the students lined up in their respective courses, and marched along Lapu-Lapu Street and Galleria de Magallanes. The different courses under SoM dressed in individual colors to represent their course: Business Management in Red, Accountancy in White, Marketing & Advertising in Blue and Tourism Management in Black. The walk was quite long and also unexpected because there weren’t clear directions given to the students. Also the morning sun was quite hot caused us all to profusely sweat. A marching band from a local school led the parade, which consisted of the playing of drums, cymbals and chimes accompanied with flag spinning girls. The marching band was quite exhilarating.  The band attracted bystanders throughout the entire parade and also gave the students a sort of energy to keep on going. The parade lasted just under an hour.

After the parade was the official opening speech by the executive director of SoM, Ms. Vicky Nanagas, and the unveiling of the banner which officially changed the name from SoAB to SoM. With the official mumbo jumbo out of the way, it was time for a bit of entertainment and celebration. While the students waited in the parking lot, the MC’s introduced APCDC and the crowd suddenly erupted with excitement and applause. The male dancers dressed in white dress shirts and black pants came running out. However the hype was short lived because the boys weren’t ready with their music, so it ended up being an awkward entrance. After a good 5 minutes of waiting, they were ready with their music. Their dance piece went off without a hitch and proved to be a success. With the crowd behind them, they danced and strutted their moves, proving they were the best. One of the lead dancers even did a spin on the parking lot surface, which I thought was quite painful. The piece lasted a good 2-3 minutes. They gave their last pose before their exit as the crowd applauded in admiration. After the dance by APCDC, the MC’s then introduced the contestants for Mr. & Ms. SoM. Each course cheered on as the names of the respective contestants were called up to introduce themselves after a mini catwalk. Probably the liveliest group was the competition between the AC and TM courses. They really got behind their contestants and screamed their heads off as they were called. Each contestant after completing their catwalk, introduced themselves and their course. Another performance that was also performed was the winner of he 2015 Cheers and Chants Competitions’ cheer from MA (Marketing & Advertising).

 Personally, I was part of the Basketball and Volleyball men's team representing BM. The first basketball game was between MA. We confidently won that game by a large margin, 52-21. They seemed no match for us. So we humbly waited for the next scheduled game would be the next day on Tuesday. Unfortunately on the first game, our uniforms were not ready so we didn't really look the part, but Tuesday came and we were all decked out in our flashy new uniforms with our individual surnames plastered on the back and a big BM in the front. We looked fly.
Tuesdays game was between TM. We were geared up to play a tough game because they had a few key players that we knew were good. Fortunately we beat them again with a comfortable margin, leading throughout the game. The final score was 42-36. With two wins under our belt, we were informed that we would just go straight to the finals on Friday so that was about two days of rest for us. Well deserved I must add. It was in this day that I was informed that we had no BM boys representing volleyball. Shocked, I quickly scrammed to make a team to compete, unfortunately I was too late on Tuesday and we ended up forfeiting the game. We had to wait for the next game which was scheduled for Thursday.

Wednesday came and I was informed to attend a seminar about Cultural Diversity organized by BMAG, I obliged. The first speaker was amazing. He was a representative from Alveo and seemed to have a natural instinct for delivering speeches during seminars. Then he mentioned he gives training and it all made sense. He got the crowd involved and I was captivated throughout the entirety. The second speaker had impressive credentials and a good message to bring across but in all honestly she was quite boring. I tried my best to pay attention and she did teach me a few things, especially what to expect in a ever growing, global workplace and being sensitive to other cultures. The seminar was a success and I even got to win a free movie ticket from the hosts. Following the seminar I took part in Running Man. A game similar to that of the Amazing race organinzed by BMAG. I was in a team of six and unfortunately we did not win but came 4th which is not so bad. I had a ton of fun but it was serious hard work, there was one point we had to run up 8 flights of stairs.

On Thursday I played volleyball and was quite excited. I love playing volleyball and missed playing it also. We managed to tale the win over TM, however since we forfeited our previous game, we couldn't progress. I still had a ton of fun and wished we had more games for volleyball. Friday came and we were scheduled for the grand-final basketball game playoff with AC. The game was close and we had tough opponents, however we came uo on top. We lead throughout the game and won. The final score was 45-38.

The final event I attened was the Mr. & Ms. SoM. I really enjoyed it and ended up cheering for the BM contestants eventhough I did not know them personally. The night was quite long but it was entertaining too. The winners were well deserved I think. A long was it was and I was exhausted and starving, I couldn't wait to go home.


All in all I think that SoM week was a great success and I am looking forward to the upcoming College Week and SoM week next year.

4. Teatro Play: Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo

During my high school days I always watched the plays that were showcased and I grew a certain fondness for it. I have always been interested in arts, from dancing to visual arts and theatrical plays to movies. So when I was told to watch a play for my English Enrichment Class, I was quite excited. 

Entrance of MPH1, APC displaying the actors and their
respective roles 

After I found out it was actually in Filipino, I was quite confused but needless to say I was still happy to watch it because theater is not just about a understanding the language but the holistic feeling you get from the performances.

Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo written by Isagani, R Cruz, PhD is an adaptation of the French play "The Bold Soprano" by Eugene Inesco. This play was written in the style of the Theater of the Absurd, which is a type of drama that tries to portray absurdity of human life using illogical, meaningless, and deliberately confusing action and dialogue. 

Ang Tatay Mong Kalbo is an excellent example of a theater of the absurd. The plot follows the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Santos, Mr. and Mrs. Reyes, Maria the maid and Hepe the fireman. Though I did not understand fully what was said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

In the beginning, Mr. and Mrs. Santos have a ridiculous conversation about rice. Yes! Rice! I assumed that this being a Filipino play and it’s common knowledge that Pinoys love their rice, it was bound to be in there. They get into heated arguments with each other and Mrs. Santos points to the crowd saying that "all guys are the same". The crowd cracks up and Mr. Santos is clearly annoyed by her complaining. The actress that played Mrs. Santos was perfect for the role. Her sublime performance of a over-the-top Dona was truly fitting for the role and I loved her expressions in her eyes and face. Her sly looks to her husband was quite hilarious and she managed to pull it off each time.

Later on Mr. and Mrs. Reyes joined the scene. When they first entered the stage, they acted like they did not know each other but had a slight inkling of them meeting somewhere before. The scene was cleverly written and as each clue of where they might have seen each other was said, I soon realized that they were husband and wife. I laughed at how idiotic the scene was and how oblivious they seemed, but I guess this is exactly the requisite of a 'theater of the absurd'. When they finally realized they were husband and wife, they both were ecstatic and filled with love, caressing and hugging like they haven’t seen each other for a very long time.

My favorite part would have to be the entrance of Maria the maid. I seriously lost it there, especially when he makes his grand entrance and then does a twirl on stage saying "360". The actor that played Maria was flawless. He was funny in every sense. I loved his playful flirtatious character especially during the scenes where he would bend over showing his under-garments to the crowd. The audience all laughed hysterically and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance.  

Final prepared stage before the show started

The fireman, Hepe, was equally is funny. His hysterical loud gasp when Mrs. Santos who seemed to be hitting on him so weirdly funny. It was like a mixture between a loud baby crying and an old man shouting with no teeth. My favourite part of his was when he fell in love with Maria the maid. He jumps on her, caressing each other. I laughed so hard at that part. 

To my readers, if you ever have the opportunity to watch this play either in your local theater stage or school, please do so. You will not regret it. Or if a play in the style of 'theater of the absurd' is in your area, then watch it.  

2. What it takes to be a teacher?

Do you recall the very first time someone asked you "what do you want to be when you grow up?", whether it may have been your dad, teacher, your best friend, playmate or that distant relative who always seemed to be a tad bit too nosy?

Well, I do.  I was probably in the 2nd or 3rd grade and living with my dad. For as long as I could remember and mind you I have bad memory skills, my go-to answer was "hmmmm I don't know, probably a business man". My dad would then re-iterate the question saying "what makes you happy?" and always the first thing that came to my mind was 'helping people' but of-course I never said it. More specifically when a fellow classmate would have come up to me asking for assistance and I would gladly help them to the best of my ability. I also really liked children. I spent a good portion of my childhood taking care of my younger cousins who are half my age. Of-course being the older cousin, we needed to take a bit of responsibility at times. 

It was not until a few years later during my early teens that I started to put the pieces together that perhaps teaching would be a good career option for myself. Or at least in the field where I'm in the act of teaching my skills to others. I just imagined myself being immersed with eager learners and the fact that they would address me as Mr. Davis or maybe a nickname if I became the 'cool teacher'. It seemed like a very good ambition to have. However I never really had experience actually being a teacher of some sorts. I never really knew 'what it would take to be a teacher'. 

My only experience was helping my fellow classmates with school work and sometimes my teacher would ask me to explain or be their tutor after class. That made me feel good about myself and I felt like I contributed a lot to my friends understanding the content better. But again that was just middle school. I guess I could count my few leadership roles I played throughout my elementary, middle and high school period because I did learn a lot from them. Being a teacher is being a leader. A leader that leads by example and one who inspires.

Grade 2 students at International School Manila

My first official role as a teacher assistant was a short stint while I was a senior at the International School Manila. For a whole semester I dedicated a block in my class schedule for the teacher aid position, that was a meeting twice a week. I signed up and was assigned to the 2nd grade class under Mr. O'neel who was the head teacher. My requisite job was to basically firstly observe, assist students where need be and learn from my experience. I was to write an online journal entry weekly to document what I have learned each time. My final assessment was to teach the class. To tell you I was nervous was an understatement. Ive always liked kids and if ever I was to be a teacher I would have teach young kids, truthfully I just couldn't deal with prepubescent kids or rowdy puberty stricken students.

The late Mr. Travis O'neel

My mentor was Mr. O'neel. He was a former college football player, so you could only imagine my surprise when I walked into his class the first time seeing this huge 6'3" beast of a man teaching these tiny 2nd graders. It was a juxtaposition that I wasn't expecting but nonetheless he was amazing with them. He taught me that being a teacher is just not about knowing the subject matter really well. Its about having patience and being kind, about when to be tough and soft-hearted, about knowing who needs the most help and the least, about not just being an educator but also a parent, leader, one who inspires etc ; and about knowing that your impact though it may seem minuscule, is part of a journey which makes everyone a better person. He never sugar coated things. He told me that teaching is hard and that I was to prepare for long nights, disgruntled parents, disobedient students just to name a few. But he always said it was worth it all if you were truly passionate about it. I could honestly say that yes I was a little shaken up but I did gain a ton of experience from just being present in his class. I dedicate this blog post to the Late Mr. Travis O'neel who tragically passed away due to a motorbike accident on June 19, 2015. He was a inspiration to me and will forever be remembered.

Recently, my classmates from batch BM-151 and I are all in preparation for the "2015 Chants and Cheer Competition" in Asia Pacific College. I volunteered to be a leader not knowing what I was getting myself into. After dealing with college students whom I presumed where grown and mature enough not to be told what to do all the time, I can honestly say teachers have one of the hardest jobs out there. This experience had actually inspired me to write this blog. I tried to be understanding and democratic in my decision making process but it seemed like a lot of the students just didn't care. It was only after my fellow classmate/leader Peter had to scream at them that everyone paid attention. I don't have a similar leadership style so I let him speak.

This experience gave me a greater appreciation for all teachers out there. Teaching is probably the most under-rated job out there and I wish everyone would give a higher pedestal to all teachers and commend them on a great job. Well at least a majority of them, I am not saying every teacher is amazing :).

So if you are a student reading this post; please don't give your teachers a hard time and if you are a teacher yourself, Thank -You very much. Your hard work is very much appreciated.