By: Camille Pelaez
For this blog entry, we feature the former chairperson and alumna of the Development Communication Department, Shiella C. Balbutin.
As her former student, I look up to Ma’am Shiella a lot. She was my first teacher in the program; and besides the paradigms she discussed one day in our lecture, it is her spirit that I can never forget.
I was surprised, but very willing when she approached me to write about her. I felt a sense of pride that someone who’s had so many students over the years would choose me, and maybe a little bit of pressure because how can I possibly put into words the icon that we all know as the wandermole.
It’s a little hard to believe, but once upon a time she was already set to study engineering in MSU-IIT. However, there was a terror event that made her parents re-evaluate their decision on where to send their daughter. Eventually, they would send her to Xavier University.
Ma’am Shiella has always been fond of writing, and her teachers took notice. In high school, they advised her to pursue a course that would allow her to hone her skills. When a promotions team from XU introduced Development Communication, she was inclined to take it up but forgot about it later on. When it was time to enroll, she decided on AB thinking that she will figure out what to do with it later. It was a friend and a sweet coincidence that put her back on track. They bumped into each other in campus, and when the friend learned the course she was taking, she asked “Aren’t you good in writing? Why not take up DevCom in the Aggies?”, as that time there was still AB DevCom. Her friend added that it’s more fun and exciting in the Aggies. Ma’am Shiella then remembered DevCom, thanked her friend and went back to the admissions office to change her course preference.
She didn’t know it at that time, but that was the beginning of a career that would go full circle. As a student, Ma’am Shiella was quite reserved. She was a shy girl, and although she was active in her co-curricular organization, Development Communication Society (DevComSoc), she didn’t have the confidence to run for any position. She was an average student in need of a great push that would put her in the frontline, and Ma’am Shiella would find the person who would do that in no other than, Ma’am Mayette Rivera.
A few months after graduation, Ma’am Shiella decided to pursue further studies while she worked in the Department of Agriculture. It was a stepping stone for her, thinking that it was what’s going to direct her career from then on. She went back to XU to get her recommendation letter from then DevCom Unit Head, Ma’am Mayette and was surprised when she was offered a job instead.
Initially, Ma’am Shiella declined. She already had a plan in mind, and it wasn’t teaching. She couldn’t possibly teach, she thought. She was quite an introvert and had difficulty believing in herself. She told Ma’am Mayette to ask her again next time they meet, thinking that that will not happen. But then, by some work of fate, they crossed paths. She asked her the same question, and she couldn’t decline the second time, so she finally decided to give it a try.
Ma’am Mayette was Ma’am Shiella’s former instructor. She decided that if she could see her potential, then maybe it was time to work on her self-confidence. She was the person who helped her believe in the capabilities she couldn’t find in herself yet. It was the push she needed. She started part-time, and her and Ma’am Mayette would team-teach. Looking back, she’s just really grateful that even when they became colleagues, Ma’am Mayette remained her mentor.
When Ma’am Mayette would be out, she stepped in to represent her. She attended meetings for her, and little by little, she would learn how to run the unit which later on became a department. However, she needed a master’s degree to be able to secure her position. HR was getting impatient, the number of enrollees were increasing, and there weren’t any more teachers coming in. It was during that time that she tried applying for Erasmus Mundus scholarship without any expectations of getting accepted which made it a happier surprise when she did.
Could she go? It was a good opportunity, but not the best time with a growing DevCom. Her journey in the department was indeed a good one because angels just kept coming her way and making sure she could keep flying higher. This time, it was Ma’am Trel Borja. She helped her leave properly; making sure all her classes were manned and that everything was settled. It was because of colleagues who supported her that she was able to study well and at ease in Europe.
When she came back, everyone was excited. With a master’s degree now, she’s finally off her probation as faculty, and up for a promotion. She came back from her MA in 2007, and officially became chair in 2010. By then, she was quite confident in her management skills. After all the seminars and trainings in and out of the country, the girl who wasn’t confident enough to run for a position in her organization has now become someone who’s capable of leading DevCom.
Over the years of her teaching career, many people would ask her why she’d stayed. It was always the same answer every time. She had found in DevCom what people who earned bigger than her had difficulty finding in their jobs. It was the fulfillment. It was knowing that she had a family in her colleagues, and had students who became her friends. She loved the challenge of constantly learning things so she could have something new to teach the next day. Going to work became easy, because her workplace became a home.
I asked what made DevCom so special. She appreciated how there was a sense of balance from classroom to community. You get to learn theories in your lecture, as well as you’re given the chance to put them into practice in your laboratory. You have this experience of planning community-based projects and implementing them. The activities put you where you’re most needed; where communication is most needed. Case in point: her immersion with the fishing community in Bonbon, her internship at the Department of Agriculture, the productions she did with her classmates: a puppet show in Divisoria, and the school-on-the-air in Valencia, Bukidnon. These are the highlights of her DevCom life as a student.
DevCom has given Ma’am Shiella all the tools she needed to constantly grow. She had mentors who enabled her to trust herself when her steps faltered. She was nurtured in their presence, and she was allowed to meet so many students who continue to inspire and touch her life. She has found professional fulfillment, and maybe if she left early, she wouldn’t be where she is now. Maybe if she decided to just dip her feet for a while and not go on a full-on swim, she would not have been able to grab all the opportunities the years have laid on her path.
Ma’am Shiella is in Italy now. She once told me that when you’ve been abroad, you become restless. Before she left to pursue her doctorate, she was my teacher. I remember her hope and excitement that she would be able to experience life and education again, but this time in a different environment. She needed a break after her six-year chairmanship. Naturally, a doctorate was the next step for her and her DevCom journey has made her a go-getter.
Looking back, she’s lived a life with no regrets in DevCom. She outgrew her shyness and became the Ma’am Shiella we all know now: driven and confident. When she left for her PhD, it was like closing a big book for her. She knew it was time to take a step back, and focus on herself. DevCom has grown into a big family, so far from the DevCom of her student days.
I asked her what DevCom is for her to end our conversation. It’s different for every person, she said, but for her, it’s a whole other universe with special people, special experiences that make it difficult for outsiders to understand. However, it is her hope that more people in the department will continue to live out the essence of the program and touch more lives. Essentially, that is what DevCom is: making yourself an instrument for people who need someone to represent them or share their story. It is an opportunity to figure out who you can become, and what you can do for the community.
Ma’am Shiella’s DevCom journey continues. Maybe it’s not in a classroom setting anymore, but when you’ve given so much of yourself to something which has given you so much in return, it will forever be a part of your life. A gentle pull of the heartstring, and a quick reminder that this is where it has brought you.
Xavier Ateneo DevCom Department 
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