#MassCOMMpetitive: 5 Valuable Lessons Communication Alumni Taught About Communication and Career Life

FOR A graduating student who is tired of the MassCOMM-portable denigration, last Saturday's affair dubbed as "Career Insights: PR and Digital Media Jobs for Communication Graduates" has given many reasons why one should love Communication. As my senior year comes at its dawn, these talks turn to be relevant and necessary as soon, I may venture my career path. And to have seven people who come from the same place from where I am now and now thrive on the road they have chosen is inexplicable.

     So, out of all the things you could take from that day's affair, I've rounded up five essential advice that I took from the discussions of the seven speakers.   

♥♥♥

"YOU have an EDGE." - Nicolai V. Reyes, PR Professional

In the corporate realm, we are shattered about the "limited" possibilites of finding jobs related to the course, kesyo GMA, ABS, sa radyo lang yan, mahihirapan pang makapasok yan ... But through it all, the seven Communication graduates proved that the course is one of the most flexible courses that one could ever take. It may not be as bloody as pre-med courses or as analytical as Engineering courses, but Communication is nothing to be belittled.

"Past is not just past." - Cherry Ann Mungcal, Senior Digital & Creative Executive

Every single thing that we have learned, every experiences that taught us something, every person we have met correspond to us becoming a wiser, braver, and better individual. So it is not fitting to just leave them behind a treasure chest. We must always be reminded by the essence of these past possessions to keep us moving further on our career. As long as we do not dwell on them, the past will be like a friend a long the way; teaching you the necessities of how to succeed.

"Complacency is your greatest enemy." - Michael Tiotuico, Content & Marketing Specialist  

It is great pride to achieve something from your hard work but we should not stop learning. The world is an oyster where we can explore things and with the ease of knowledge brought by the Internet, learning becomes limitless. We should not rest alone on what we know now; we should continue expanding our thoughts and insights from what we read, what we do, or whom we meet. 

"Don't be afraid to fail and to embrace new things." - Jeremy Cortez, Senior Training Specialist 

You may find a great job that is not your expertise or not in your line of interest, but what is learning for? Through the advent of modern technology, people can acquire skills via massive open online courses (MOOCs) or researches. Indeed, there can never be any excuse to not know something. Sometimes, it's difficult to master something new but as articulated by Lucius Annaeus Senaca, "it is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness". From then on, fake it 'til you become it.  

"Always be a better version of yourself." - Jeremy Cortez, Senior Training Specialist 

Nobody wants to be labeled as "mediocre," so you need to overcome your fears and insecurities so as you can offer your best foot forward. It's not about toppling other people or getting awards for your work, but it's about taking down your sole competition, yourself. 

♥♥♥

The premise of the event repainted my thoughts about the course; I should be more proud and unashamed of it. More so, the passion of these seven graduates to uplift the course transpired as their talks went by. Maybe all was asked of them was to give a brief career talk, maybe they would've stick on that, but they had done more; they inspired and enlightened us that Communication students were never MassCommportable but MassCommpetitive. It was a true sign of a Comm-blooded individual. I was beyond grateful that the event had happened and met these amazingly successful people. It got me thinking, "Could I be next?"

Aspire. Arise. Achieve.