In this series of blog postings, we feature our alumni as they talk about their experience being in the program as well as their unforgettable moments as former XU DevCom students.

Why did you choose XU DevCom?

I wanted to take Mass Communications but XU doesn’t have it. XU for college was non-negotiable so I took the course that I think is closer to where I want to be – to become a journalist and to be where the breaking news and top stories are.

Tell us about your experience with the program.

Back in college, I was rejected many times. I was singled out because I don’t write well. I had so many red marks in my journals. I was the weakest link among my 12 other blockmates. Before I enrolled for journalism major, my teacher even told me to reconsider it. In my face, my teachers told me these: “You don’t belong in this class!” and “I am not a toilet bowl!” Believe me- those moments of rejection took me to where I am now.

So if you want to graduate with a DevCom degree, bring with you all the guts, courage and determination you have. Don’t be onion-skinned! It won’t take you any further.

Here are few of the most memorable adventures I had in my Devcom days:

• In our first year, we went to a remote community. We crossed river, walked through the forest for long hours and climbed mountains to meet vulnerable people.

• In one of our majors, we were asked to write a weekly community newspaper. We felt like real journalists back then. Barangay officials would text us about what’s happening in the barangay, including some controversies they were involved

• Here is the craziest thing we did – crazy for us back then. We were having our thesis and we need to go to one of the municipalities of Lanao del Sur. Back then – we were conditioned that Lanao area is dangerous. We knew that when we ask money from our parents to go to Lanao, they won’t allow us. So we had an agreement with my teammates that we have to pawn our mobile phones for us to have gas to travel to Lanao. All the while our parents thought that we were doing our research in one of our classmates house, just within the city.

Are you using what you learned in college?

I could not be more adaptive to places I lived and visited if not because of the things I experienced back in college. The immersions and interactions with vulnerable communities were a good training ground. It prepared me to working in remote communities and in highly insecure environment.

Would you recommend studying DevCom?

If you have the heart for humanity, never doubt to be part of Devcom family! It will not just give you job to fill in your pocket, it will take you on wild adventures and to different places you could not even imagine that exist.