To Jaresa Felipe, an alumnus of Southville International School and Colleges, even the tiniest of tasks should be given much effort.
We met up with Ms. Felipe at a café and even though it was in the evening and she had come all the way from her work in Makati, she greeted us just as cheerfully as she had always appeared even when she was a college student.

Choice of School

Southville had not been her very first school of choice, she admits to us. Her senior year as a high school student in Rehina Maria Montessori was drawing to a close and with that, all her other classmates already had colleges planned out for them. On the other hand, she was juggling six other schools in her head until finally, her mom suggested Southville due to its proximity to their home. What was the advantage to this? Less time traveling and more time to catch up on sleep and sneak in reviewing for subjects! So with a school decided, she had to pick her course.

Choice of a College Program

Already having a background in communication didn’t give her much of a hard time deciding that she wanted to get into the course. She’d been part of her high school’s theatre club for four years and she even had photography as a hobby.  “I checked the course requirements for Communication and I saw two subjects: Theatre Arts and Photography. Then I decided, okay, I guess this is it! So I just aligned it to my strengths.” She took up communication all throughout her four years in college without having shifted, and she proudly says that she graduated on time.

Southville Experiences

So how did Ms. Felipe describe her stay in Southville? As the vice president of her org Communication Society back when she was in her third year and as its president when she was in her fourth (and final) year, life in Southville was a busy one. She was a contributor for the Collegiate Mover and, due to her fondness for photography, she applied for another organization called Artists Anonymous. However, being a Communication student was certainly not a bed of roses. As Ms. Felipe recalls, “It was tough balancing time, keeping track of activities, meeting high expectations, and having to learn things such as photo and video editing all on your own.” In spite of those challenges, she credits Southville for the lessons she learned during her stay, which she was able to take with her even after having graduated. One was being able to adjust to people, especially when it involved being in groups and cooperating with them in order to get the work done.

Challenges Met

Another was her participation in the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP), which she admitted that she’d done without having much of a choice after being encouraged by the dean. She was thrown out there without a clue but this led her to develop analytical thinking. “I like being on stage, but I like memorized lines,” she said, differentiating her roles in theatre versus being part of the PRSP. “What’s hard in PRSP is answering the questions on the spot.” Thesis was also another memorable experience—one which had opened her eyes to what career she’d be having in the future. It had been an exciting and amazing journey, in spite of all the challenges such as sleepless night, and even going so far as to travel from one city to another to interview someone at 1:00 AM. Their efforts were worth it as they had won Best in Thesis for their video production titled “A Webseries on the Evolution of Courtship in the Philippines.”

Handling Obstacles

Most, if not all of us, have a motto which we live by. And what is Ms. Felipe’s? We asked her this and she pauses for a moment, reaches for her phone, and starts searching for the exact verse. She then reads,”Matthew 5:37. Just let your word ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ your ‘No,’ ‘No…” She explains that the reason behind this is that it is so hard to deal with people who don’t keep their word. “Sometimes they’ll say they will show up at this time but then suddenly, they won’t. So then, everything is screwed up right? That’s why I really like that verse from the Bible and I wish everyone would live by it too coz if they would just do what they promise to do, for sure nothing gets messy.

Present Job

So what is she currently doing now? Her face brightens up as soon as we ask her this. It is evident from her reaction that her job is something she enjoys. She tells us that she works at a production house called ThirtySix-O Media where she is responsible for meeting up with clients to figure out what they want, keeping track of the schedule, and overseeing each project to ensure that deadlines are met and clients are satisfied. She also mentions the most fun part of the job which is traveling—she’s covered events in Boracay, Palawan, and Carimoan. As for the least fun part, event coverage is difficult.  Majority of our event coverages are triathlon. You have to shoot swimming, biking, and running. It’s the most challenging especially if the area is so big . So although five crew members are spread out across the area, there’s an instance where there are things in the shot that are missed.  Another would be stress. There are times when everyone gets stressed and if that happens theer are tasks left out then everyone starts getting pissed. Ms. Felipe mentions all these while still remaining bubbly that one wouldn’t think these challenges actually stress her out.

Looking Ahead

In the future, Ms. Felipe sees herself as part of her church’s main production house in New York. Although being a member of the team is a form of voluntary work, she longs to serve the church and produce videos that will be shown worldwide. She plans to pursue this dream once she has saved enough money and she hopes to be in her desired position in five years’ time.
Finally, she leaves a few words of wisdom to the generations of Southville Communication and Multimedia Arts students to come. “Take your OJT seriously and make the most out of it. Valuable experience is more important than the number of hours.” She also states that students should take the initiative to learn as much as they can from their OJT and use it as an opportunity for growth. Ms. Felipe concludes the interview by saying the greatest efforts should also be exerted upon even the most mundane things.