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?

There are two reasons why I enrolled in Development Communication. First. I assumed that the curriculum that I am enrolling in has a theater subject which I love since high school and only to find out that my batch was the first one to undergo the new curriculum and I thought that “Sige lang, bahala nani. Kay nasugdan naman pwes, tapuson ta.” Second. I was expected to be a disk jockey on a famous radio station by my high school classmates if I graduate Development Communication because of my ability to modulate my voice to sound like someone else but later on I realized that I’m not funny enough to follow the trails of Bernie Bitok-bitok. So I gave up.

Tell us about your experience with the program.

DevCom have a lot of interesting subjects to offer for your growth as a communicator. These are the courses on journalism, research, photography, multimedia, TV productions and the likes. But one thing that I love during my DevCom tenure were the immersions that it organizes as part of some of the subjects. It is the integration of all communication tools to help the grassroots communities by giving them a platform to share their sentiments as members of the marginalized sectors and also for the students to face the areas for development in a specific community. This epitomizes the heart and soul of what this program is.

What is your current job?

I am now a Field and Social Media Manager of Peace Crops, a US Embassy-funded project which endeavors to promote agroenterprise to the out-of-school youth of Lanao del Sur. This involvement really encourages me to apply the technical skills that I learned in DevCom – photography, journalism, videography, graphic designing, social marketing, research, and community organizing – to enhance the project for the communities that I am working with.

Would you recommend studying DevCom?

I entered college as a “barumbado” student. I embodied most of the negative traits that a barumbado student can have, but when I enrolled in Development Communication, it activated the cura personalis spirit in me. DevCom is not just a mere program for those who are avoiding numerous math subjects in college or just a course for aspiring film-makers and photographers, it is a calling.