Story By Maria Rallieza Carbajosa, Grade 12 HUMSS
Photos By SDPC
“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” – Howard Ruff
Before you take the first step, life presents you with a plethora of questions about the next step you should take. But we must recognize that life does not operate that way. The problem is not faith, but fear. That is the benefit of planning ahead, of anticipating what may or may not occur in the future.
“It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark,” Howard Ruff remarked. Noah prepared everything and made sure he was equipped, capable, and had all the required items and abilities for them to live.
This is just like entering college. One must be prepared in every aspect.
It seems like only yesterday that we were in seventh grade. Now, our high school experience is about to end. There’s a whole new chapter in our lives that we haven’t fully explored yet.
Through the College and Career Readiness Week, hosted by Ms. Ma. Nita Bolo, our school’s guidance counselor, we, the Grade 12 students, had the opportunity to learn about our upcoming journey. The virtual program aimed to prepare students to be college-ready and career-ready. The readiness program came with an assessment and the results gave us a complete understanding of our own strengths and weaknesses as young students.
During the session, we talked about our work interests, relevant careers, and preparedness level.
Fray Jhoben M. Rodriguez, OAR spoke about Discernment, a spiritual decision-making process in which we must decide sensibly and reflectively using factors available to us.
He added that we are to experience God through prayer no matter what decisions we make in our life and that it is necessary to have a reason to govern all of our decisions and that we must allow reason to guide faith. We should gather more knowledge about our options and remember that we are not alone on this journey. We should think carefully before reaching a choice, especially since most of us force things that aren’t really for us.
“A lot of people are unhappy because they often look for the wrong thing,” Fray Rodriguez remarked at the end of his session.
The day’s final speaker was Mr. Evan Ray Pama of CST-R Batch 2018. Mr. Pama discussed what it means to be college-ready. He shared the problems he encountered in his first year of college. He gave us tips and advice on college readiness advice.
College readiness necessitates “communication, teamwork, collaboration, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities.” To help you deal with challenges, he emphasized the importance of building a good study habit. He suggested time-tested techniques like time management, assimilation of materials and reading with purpose.
Exploring interests is also necessary for you to understand who you want to be and how to prepare for the future, he continued. He talked about the importance of staying focused on the goal and being open to failure and criticism.
The academic component of college preparation refers to your ability to complete your chosen degree program successfully. On the first day of this preparatory program, I learned a lot, especially on how to make suitable decisions to match my preparedness level, my target college degree and plan for future career. All of the pieces of advice and tips I received are now in my personal checklist.
So, here I am, with my batchmates, gearing up for the next big step of our lives.
