15/05/2026
I can finally say it now: we made it. And what a journey this has been.
From the planning stage alone, I already knew this event would test us. It was stressful in ways that only the people behind the scenes would truly understand. There were sleepless nights, last-minute adjustments, and problems that kept showing up one after another. One of our biggest challenges came when our first invited speaker had to withdraw due to personal reasons. Then another concern came our way. We did not have a premium Zoom account that could accommodate more than 100 participants. At that point, I honestly found myself asking, โWhat challenge is next?โ
But sometimes, things really do fall into place in the most unexpected ways. While reaching out and scrolling through my Facebook friend list, I came across Dr. Aurelio Vilbar, who graciously accepted my invitation and became part of this journey. I also want to sincerely thank Dr. Tom Paredes for being supportive and generous enough to lend us his Zoom account. That simple act solved one of our biggest worries.
My deepest gratitude as well to Dr. Shiryl Ytoc, our Dean, and to the Top Administration for believing in us and supporting opportunities like this. I am truly grateful for the trust and support you gave us in allowing experiences like this to happen for our students.
I also want to thank our representatives from the 1st and 2nd years for accepting our invitation and joining us. I have always believed that the best training is exposure. Students do not only learn by listening; they learn by experiencing things firsthand. And I can confidently say this webinar is definitely not the last. I promised myself that this would only be the beginning because, thankfully, my line of speakers for the coming semesters is already on deck and ready to share their expertise with future batches of students.
And now, to all our committee heads โ PUSPUS, BARRIOS, MERCADO, LIMAS, DIEL, BUMA-A, MORTES, MARAYAN, OTERO J., GULMATICO, REBUCAS, and SUAYBAGUIO โ thank you for enduring all my yelling, reminders, constant follow-ups, and nagging. I think you're already immune to it because many of you have been my students since your first year. You already know how demanding I can be, especially when I see potential and know you can give more. Behind every follow-up and every raised voice was someone who simply wanted things to succeed because I knew you were all capable of doing more than what you thought you could.
And of course, I cannot end this without mentioning my power trio: Maynopas, Sag-od, and Ayala. When it comes to activities like this, you have always been my saving grace. I know I can rely on you whenever things become chaotic behind the scenes. Through the years, you have become students I trust whenever work needs to get done. And if anyone still doubts me, have you seen the ABEL promotional video? That alone is evidence enough. ๐
And perhaps the most challenging part of all was this: my students had no experience organizing a webinar of this kind. This was your first time. You entered this journey with no roadmap, just willingness, courage, and the desire to learn. Mistakes happened. Lapses happened. Pressure was everywhere. But despite all of that, you kept showing up, adjusting, learning, and moving forward.
And now that I think about it, this webinar feels like a culmination of our journey together. Not only because this may be your last major activity inside my classroom, but also because this semester may be the last time I get to be your teacher.
As your instructor, I did not witness perfection. I witnessed growth. I saw students stepping outside their comfort zones and learning lessons beyond lectures and PowerPoint presentations. I saw stress, pressure, and mistakes, but more importantly, I saw perseverance.
To my ENG 124 students, this was your first, and every first comes with struggles. But today reminded me that you are capable of far more than you think.
We survived it. We learned from it. And we made it happen. ๐ค
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