5 Things College Students Needs To Prepare for Their Future

This blog post is a speech delivered when I was invited as the guest speaker in the 2021 Gintong Hiraya Awards conducted by Bulacan State University – College of Information and Communications Technology. Gintong Hiraya Awards is an online event that aims to recognize college students who strive and thrive in the academic year amidst the pandemic.

A pleasant day everyone!

My name is Nelsielene dela Paz. It is an honor to be your guest speaker in this very first Gintong Hiraya Awards conducted by our beloved college. I would like to congratulate you and your parents for your awards and achievements. I admire your diligence in these trying times where changes and adjustments become our “new normal”. Thank you Dr. Keno Piad, our beloved Dean, for recognizing, trusting, and inviting me here.

Hi to my former professors, friends, batchmates, and orgmates. Sabi nila suki raw ako sa CICT. I never say “no” to every invitation, may it be a panelist for final projects or a resource speaker in your seminars. For me, it is my way of giving back to my CICT family because I wouldn’t be who and where I am now without your guidance and support.

Let me begin my speech by informing you that I was not the best student in college nor in graduate school. I am not the best performing employee in the company that I work for, either. I am an average and ordinary person. Yes, sometimes life is like that. Ordinary people are meant for extraordinary purposes. I hope and pray that I will be able to fulfill that extraordinary purpose today.

I celebrated my 10th year in the corporate world last May. Three weeks ago, I earned my Master’s degree in Technology Management at the University of the Philippines – Diliman. My major accomplishment as an employee happened almost two years ago, when I managed a national project. This was launched by the Bangko Sentral Ng Pilipinas called QR Ph.

QR Ph is the national QR standard of the country that enables interoperability among financial institutions. Under this is the person-to-person transfer or QR P2P that allows money transfer from one bank to another via QR. Maybe you may have been benefited by this project in one way or another especially during the pandemic where we were all deprived of going outside of our residences to prevent health risks from face-to-face and over-the-counter transactions. Right now, I am working for a similar project which will contribute to changing the payment ecosystem in the Philippines which is to go cash-lite.

These are the things that were seemingly impossible back then. But see, dreams do come true! It comes with many bonuses! Things I never imagined achieving. The journey was never easy. I thrived and survived. You know what? What happened to me can also happen to each one of you. As you embark on your own pursuit of success, you may consider taking some advice from me to make you unstoppable for reaching the stars.

The first advice that I’d like to share is to “be very clear on who you want to become and what you want to achieve”.

There’s a reason why I took up this computer course. The good news is, there is a buffet of opportunities waiting for you when you graduate. But have you decided what job position you would apply for? Have you listed the potential companies that you would like to work for? What are the skills that you would like to know or improve so that you will surely land on your desired job position and company?

Back in college, I didn’t know that there’s this job called “Business Analyst” until my senior, one of the people I consider as mentor, Ms. Alicia N. Magtira, also from CICT, told me about it and that I will be good at it. So that’s the job that I applied for after graduation. I knew of IT companies back then, but I was so intimidated to apply. That is why I am telling you to start planning now. Ask yourself those questions that I shared earlier. Be proactive. Because remember, failing to plan is planning to fail. Fortunately, I landed a job for a telecommunication company. This was referred to me by the then CURSOR Faculty Adviser, Sir Jayson Villafuerte.

My second advice is to find mentors. A mentor according to Indeed.com is an individual who acts as an advisor or coach for a less experienced or advanced mentee, providing expertise and professional knowledge from a more experienced perspective. I mentioned a while ago of Ms. Alicia or Ate Ale as we call her in CURSOR. She is like an older sister to me who listened to my story, and showed me how a woman should be; strong, independent, and unique. She helped bring out the best in me during college days.

I was also blessed with a good boss, my first boss. I learned a lot from her in terms of work-life balance, managing projects, and handling people among others. She was like a superwoman! She was not just a boss, but a good friend as well. She has a mind like water and yes, part of who and where I am now is because I was mentored by her.

Do you have people like them in your life who will inspire and empower you to achieve your dreams? If none yet, go ahead and find one or more! I have lots of mentors in different areas of my life.

The third advice is to equip yourself with required skills. Life after you graduate is a battle. And therefore, you need to wear your armor. I think I don’t need to discuss this because most of you or all of you are Gen Zs already. You are more independent, more entrepreneurial, more communicative, more competitive, and are driven by careers or financial goals. These characteristics will equip you in the so-called battle. I trust that one day, all of you will coact to make a positive difference in the world.

The fourth one is to seek opportunities. If you choose to become an employee, you have to sell yourself a lot of times with your skills and talents. You have to find a place where you can grow as a person and a place where you will feel valued. But before that, you have to know your worth and the things that you deserve first and foremost. Yes, do not settle for less.

Seeking opportunities would mean expanding your network. Networking is about establishing and nurturing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships with the people you meet. Take note, “mutually beneficial”. When you become a leader, you are required to get things done through people over whom you have no formal authority. I especially appreciate this networking and partnering when I wrote for my capstone project, wherein I was able to get good and useful information about my topic from my network in the financial sector. When you reach the maximum number network, that is called “social capital”, and that is considered an asset.

Finally, my fifth advice is to enjoy the detours and be flexible. As much as we want to execute our plans smoothly, the reality is, certain circumstances surprise us. It is present even in project management that is why the change request process and risk management plan should be in place to deliver quality projects within scope, budget, and timeline.

Instead of feeling bad about it, why not take advantage of it.

My ultimate dream is to become a journalist and broadcaster. Our entire household, however, was against it. I already knew that IT is a high-paying job at that time, so this is the one that I took with my then best friend. To compensate for my desire to still practice journalism, I joined CURSOR Publication where I eventually became the Editor-in-Chief and was awarded as the first in the college to receive the Outstanding College Journalist award.

I still write up to this day, in fact I owned a blog. I used to write about my travel adventures until I realized I got a bigger mission, which is to empower women. My goal is to reach, inspire, and bless the younger generation, especially women, with blog posts about life lessons, gospel reflections, life hacks, and other girly things that will inspire them to fulfill their heart’s desires while they are still young, while they still can, and be a better version of themselves every day.

My first work was a Business Process Analyst, it’s creating and improving the corporate process. Hence, non-technical. After 4 years, I pursued an IT Business Analyst job for a bank that eventually led me to my dream job which is to become a Project Manager.

Now, everyone sees me as a successful woman based on my accomplishments, having worn the sash or sablay of UP Diliman, and being in the top management. Well, this is how the world defines “successful”. But for me, success is measured by these five things:

1.    Having time with your family.

What is the use of having this and that, accomplishing this and that, being into a certain place, etc., when your family doesn’t know you anymore because you’ve been very busy with lots of stuff. Do not miss the opportunity to honor them, especially your parents.

2.    Live simply.

I can afford eating in restaurants but at the end of the day, I still crave for nilagang talbos ng kamote and tuyo. I crave for sardines and street foods. I was surrounded during pre-pandemic times with different malls, big ones, but at the end of the day, it feels like a luxury to be able to have a merienda in a farm inside a bahay kubo and hearing crickets at night, seeing trees and breathing fresh air. Somehow, living simply is associated with being grounded. We know this. Keeping our feet on the ground.

3.    Being able to give back.

For me providing any form of service for the people and to the community the best way I can is a form of gratitude. I am grateful for all the opportunities, answered prayers, and fulfilled dreams. Who am I to not give back? When I turned 30 last April, I realized that I was not praying for things that give temporary happiness, but long-lasting joy in my heart. I organized a donation drive for an institution, and I called that “Blessed to bless.”.

4.    Living according to your purpose.

Have you heard of the term Ikigai? Ikigai means “one’s life purpose”. It originated in Okinawa, a place in southern Japan, where many people live beyond 100 years. These Okinawans are happy and still productive in their 80s and 90s. Four questions to ask yourself to discover your Ikigai:

a.    What things can you do very well?

b.    What do you love doing?

c.     What can you do that you can be paid for?

d.    What do you do or have done that the world needs?

5.    Being a good ambassador of goodness to the world.

I love the line from the song Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It says, “A pebble in the water makes a rifle effect. Every action in this world will bear a consequence”. I may be small to create a positive difference in the world, but I can influence many others to do the same. Your life is your message to the world, it may be the only Bible people ever read. Be sure that they are seeing what they ought to see and hearing what they ought to hear. Who knows, some are considering you as their mentor.

When we meet someday, I hope that you will greet me with how you’ve been blessed by my speech. That would be my sweetest reward. If you want to network and partner with me, look for me on LinkedIn or visit my personal blog at nelsiedplopez.com.

Your best life is still ahead of you. Again, congratulations for striving and thriving this academic year.

Thank you, be safe always, and may your dreams come true.

God bless!