CCS Colloquium

Last October 24, 2014, we attended the CCS Colloquium which was organized by the Catch2T16 Batch Government. It was a talk with speakers telling us about real life experience in the real field of work and their history in their academic life.

The first speaker was Mr. Ikee Tolentino, he talked about his career in HP. A graduate of DLSU with the course BS ICTM. According to him, he was the last batch of BS ICTM until it was renamed to BS Information Systems. He shared his experience in DLSU, then his experience working with HP. He told us that growing by studying is a key to having and maintaining a job in a company.

The second speaker was Ms. Sheng dela Cruz. Also a graduate of DLSU but with the course BS CS Major in Software Technology. She emphasized to us that balance is the key. For example, balancing social life with academics, balancing family life with social life, etc. I myself cannot balance these things, but I must learn to do so. Balancing money is also a problem for me as I save too much and I don't eat outside, I bring my own food, thus removing the satisfaction of trying out new food.

The third speaker was Mr. Gabe Mercado. He was a really fun and blooming person. Just like in the Yakult (Okay Ka Ba Tiyan?) commercial, he expresses himself through smiling and happiness. On the serious side, he is working with Improv, a theatrical group. He told us to be spontaneous, connect with the team and constantly communicate and collaborate. He asked us to stand up and play a game called "Snap", which was really interesting and helpful since I got to know my partner more and we collaborated for the sake of having fun. Another game he asked us to play was the "Yes, and..." game. Wherein the group would have to build up on each other, like contemplating each other in what they were doing, and combining ideas to form an innovative and helpful idea. Mr. Mercado is a very inspirational and inspiring man. I feel that he is approachable and easy to work with in the working environment.

The last speaker was Ms. Nicole Luzuriaga, another DLSU graduate with the course of BS ICTM. She explained that she joined different organizations to meet new people, interact and socialize with them, as they are going to be the networks that can help in the journey after graduating. She said that she learned to be a business analyst rather than become a programmer. I myself dislike programming and want to take on an analyst role.

In conclusion, these speakers helped me in knowing more about what is in store after graduation, and the tips they gave will surely guide me more.

Mapping My Career Path

On October 17, 2014, we attended a talk regarding professionals in the industry that would help us see what is in store for us when we graduate. The speakers were from itSMF, ITBPM, and HP.

The first speaker, Mr. Alvin Gillo, is currently a systems manager. He first asked us how do we see ourselves in 2025. At first, I thought of starting my own business and having a stable life. Then he explained that the IT path can lead to a lot of opportunities in the working industry. He explained the pyramid which is shown in the picture below. The top most level makes long-term decisions that would benefit the company. He said that everybody starts at the bottom-most level, in which experience is needed, and knowledge is being gathered. He said that he aims for higher positions in the company, and that we should do too.











He made us answer an activity in mapping our career path, and making us know what we hope to achieve in the near future. The picture shown below is what I want to achieve, and I want to be in the analysis and business side when I graduate.









He told us an advice that ITIL is an important framework that gives us the edge in the industry. We learned ITIL when we were taking BUSPERF (Business Performance). He keeps reminding us that knowing what we want to achieve and desire would most probably be the key to success.

The second speaker, Mr. Joseph Villordon, works for HP for at least 8 years now. He narrated his story when he started out working in a manufacturing company, joining in a start-up business, working for IBM, so on and so forth until today in HP. He told us that even in the down times, one can get up through hard work and achieve great things in life.

He showed us videos of what is in-store in HP, what technologies are present in HP-labs and what they are currently developing. Which is pretty amazing actually. Another video that he showed intrigued me, "A Day of Glass 2", which was really interesting and innovative which can be achievable in the future. The technologies present to us are infinitely expanding their capabilities to help humanity. When I got home, I immediately searched the part 1 of that video, "A Day of Glass". Such innovations are exemplary, and beneficial for people all around the world.

He told us that life is constant growing, whenever we fail, we grow as an individual and use those mistakes in the previous failure, and turn them into a successful scenario.



The last speaker was Dr. Alfredo, and he gave us a preview of what ITBPM does. He explained and defined concepts relating to Business Process Management. He also told us that even though one finished an IT degree program, does not mean that one will always stay on the IT path. He explained that everything in the world today is affected by IT, every industry, every company needs IT. So we can venture into different aspects of life when we graduate.

The last speaker spoke really good, really confident, and he captured everybody's attention by his humorous jokes. Furthermore, with his experience in the industry (given by his age, not saying that he's old), tells that we, as students, have a lot to learn in the industry. With the things I learn from everyday tasks, and the mistakes made, I can become a better person in this world.

My aim in life is to help my family first since they are always supportive of me in what I do, then next is to have a stable family, with a house and a car. With this goal in mind, I can say that my career path is straight and my objective is clearly defined.

In conclusion, the speakers somehow helped me see what is in-store after I graduate with my current degree program, BS-Information Systems. They also helped me in seeing which path I should take in order to make myself happy by following the path that I want, and achieving the position that I desire. These inspirational speakers are good in helping lost minds, leading them, guiding them to the right path.

A Visit To JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Last October 10, 2014. We visited JP Morgan Chase & Co. located at BGC.

Jerome, our speaker for the day, introduced to us JP Morgan Chase & Co., it's history, organizations within the company, as well as partnerships and the global reach of the company. Furthermore, he told us that he is a licensed nurse, but working for a banking/financial company (as part of the advertising/recruiting/promoting of the company).

The site tour gave me a glimpse of the working environment inside an international company. The technology was advanced, the ambiance of the company was chill, the employees looked happy and satisfied.

The speaker from the IT department told us the advances in the technology that JP Morgan Chase & Co. was using, the tele-presents, as well as the mobile tele-presents were being used so that if there was an important meeting to be attended, one can still be part of the meeting not physically present.

I realized that even though one is new at the company, making friends is the key in working well with others in a suitable environment. Furthermore, in JP Morgan Chase & Co., there is less stress on the work, and a little extra stress relievers for the employees (having extra curricular activities like fun run, team building activities). I then realize that in the industry, some companies take work too seriously, while some don't (but still have to produce an output by the deadline, for example Google, there is a play room in Google office wherein employees can play PS4/Xbox all day, but they have to submit the requirements after or on the due date).

What is it to be like after graduating? :)

On October 3, 2014, I attended a seminar/talk about some of the stories after graduation by alumni of De La Salle University who took ICTM as their course. Their talk would give us some insights of what we would expect in the outside world after we graduate with our course and if we have chosen to pursue in making a business after graduation.




The first speaker was Mr. TJ Amorado. He created Royal Chimney, a bake shop wherein he handles the IT side of the business. He is also part of IT Sync Services. He manages to handle both companies, which is surprising and amazing. They also make mobile applications, web development, etc. He explained to us that we needed to have our goals in life, and what dreams we need to achieve after we graduate.


He said that having businesses has its own pros and cons. I believe that as well, since my family also had a hardware business. It did well in the past years, but declined since there were a lot of competition and the usual buyers were not coming back to the store.


He then explained pieces of advice that would help us in making decisions in life after graduation. The advice that struck me the most was the last one, to remind ourselves why. My motivation right now is my family. As we are having financial problems at the moment. I put my personal goals and dreams aside to help my family first, because I am the eldest in the family, my siblings and parents are counting on me to support them. This is what motivates me to study hard and finish college early.


The second speaker was Mr. Sean Si, his presentation was entitled "How to Become a CEO at age 22". By looking at the title, I got really curious and excited at the same time. I listened very carefully to him. Especially his opener that he was an addict in playing DotA when he was in college. I somehow saw myself in him, we were somehow alike.


He explained that he had failing marks, and his dream job was to work at HP. He was surprised that he got accepted there, but didn't really like the work, so he left. Then a life-changing opportunity was presented to him, he grabbed it and started a company with the investment. He met a girl that referred him to a company that needed SEO (Search Engine Optimization, ranking the website to show up higher in the search engines.)


He told us that he likes to read books regarding marketing, IT, etc. Which shows why he knows some principles like the Lichpin principle. For example, Apple, Louis Vuitton products are being bought by people and used for exclusivity and status, so that other people can see the high status that one has. A concrete example he gave is that a woman buys a Louis Vuitton bag, but the contents inside it is not even worth the bag itself. The Dip is when you are in a low state and about to give up, but then one must work hard and do their best to rise from the dip and cross to the other side. The other side would be the good part, where everything sacrificed would be paid off.


Mr. Si explained that hard work is the most important factor after graduating. He left us with 3 things to remember in mind. God, Guts and Hard work. God meaning I should always pray to God for help, and that He is always there to help me when I am in need. Guts meaning to grab all the opportunities given in front and take necessary risks to produce beneficial results. Hard work means there is no shortcuts to things in life, all are achievable if one works hard for it.


After the seminar, I had some thinking of the questions being raised by both speakers. I put my family in the priority of what I am doing right now, and all the decisions I make is for them. Hard work is the key factor to success in life. As well as confidence, on how the speakers spoke in front, that is what I need. I also need to be more outgoing to people, meet new friends and make more connections.