the term that was

In the end, it ends :-)

I just signed off the FINAL grades at the Registrar's Office. Though parents, students and soon-to-be-employers will see numbers, professors, like me, saw the story behind the numbers. A story that the qualitative equivalent of the quantitative number could never tell.

First, the "Boy Wonders" - Alvin Ariola and Christian Zablan from my Strategic Planning and Management class (IE302).

Both were multiple takers in this class. But in the past 11 weeks of their lives, something happened. They blossomed. Something switched on. And I hope it never gets switched off :) The results of their multiple choice answers and their style in expressing their thougths and insights in essays suggest a new found confidence. And what's fascinating about them is that they got better as the term rolled on. And this is fascinating because they have classmates who were in the same situation such as theirs but never found the courage and determination to own up like they did. Classmates who reported to class every blue moon. By that, I meant they had an absence every week.

I do not know what is the logic bubble of these "blue moon" students but I hope that that bubble gets burts sooner than later. Because sooner than later, they will no longer be young men but men. And by then, the adjective that might be used to described them is weak. I pray they see how limited their thinking is and will finally see the light.

My hats off to Alvin and Chris. You found something this term that all students must find. And it does not matter that it took you this long to find it. The important thing is that you found it. Be brave. Stay determined. And your dreams will become real. Stay the course.

Second, my Engineering Management Practices(EMG130) Class. In this class, I glimpsed how the young of our Asian counterparts see their future and how ours do. (A South Korean was enrolled in my class.) Their visions are continents apart. But our young, has hope. For in this class, I saw worldclass thinking. But sadly, it was far and between. Maybe the South Korean understand what it takes to be of service in this new world economy. And our Filipino youth, are still trying to figure things out - his identity and his place in this world. But that day will come. It is sooner now. One can sense it. I can. :-)

And then their is the EMG111 classes. My two Multimedia Arts and Science class. We ate the food called Principles of Marketing. They fed me with a different kind of energy. Their thoughts and wavelengths, I considered, are tangential. It reacquainted me to a past role I once enjoyed. A role I once thrived in, an Area Manager. And this class also bridged the taste of victories in this past role with the current blessing of being seen on TV :) Somehow, things aligned. Molded. It clicked. It was a joy to facilitate this class even if it started at 7:30 AM :-) I just hope the class sensed the joy I had.

To the students who have been given another chance to be in the same class, I pray you have become better persons. I pray that you see and realize the logic bubble that hinders your progress. I pray that you discover your strength and your courage in this trying time. I pray for your well-being. And I trust God will speak to you in a very special and personal way this next few days. Be still. Listen.

To the students who will move on, life is the hardest of all the teachers. It gives the test before the lesson :) Know that we are all journeying. That that the achievement we have now is simply a step towards the next lesson. And the lessons are arranged according to the dreams you keep between the shadows and the soul:) I pray that He gives you the dream you are suppose to dream.

Father, thank you for this term. I am humbled by what You gave. I am simply an insignificant man, who up to now still asks, why did You choose me?

Thank you Father for choosing me :)

"... why think like mere men?"