Leaving My Sanctuary (by JTF Solivar)

picture courtesy of WCC brochure for China

        Teaching has been my life and passion for the last eight years, all spent at WCC. It has been my joie de vivre since November of 2002. Alongside teaching I was given administrative functions which made my life, well, more interesting and exciting.  But nothing beats teaching. I consider the classroom as my sanctuary, my own paradise, my own piece of heaven. It is a place where I am at my best element. I am not saying though that I did not enjoy my 5-year stint as Coordinator. Otherwise, I would not have lasted this long.    

    

        As mentioned in my previous post, I graduated in 1998 (April). But what’s next? When all the excitement and hullabaloo that graduation brings have simmered down, you ask yourself what now? Graduating from college is a big achievement in itself and this cannot be denied. Everybody wants to get hold of that precious diploma. But this is just the beginning as we all know. You may rest on your laurels for a while but you have to get up and find a job soon, or review for your board exam.

        So I spent four years job hunting, just for the heck of it, with gimmicks in between. I was like drifting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean not knowing which direction to take. I did not have any clear picture of what I wanted to be. The Classified Ads section of Manila Bulletin was my buddy every Sunday. I took note of possible employment opportunities. I applied at a soon-to-open hotel (during that time) at Ortigas. I was interviewed in the morning, and was asked to come back in the afternoon for another interview. But unfortunately, I did not come back. You might be wondering why I let that opportunity slip from my hands. Well I really don’t know why. That hotel later on was named Discovery Suites. I also applied at a famous computer school and got interviewed right away. A week after I was asked to come back but I did not. Tinamad ako.  Another opportunity that vanished into thin air. I also applied at other companies, took exams, interviews and all, but was never asked to come back. Their loss, I thought. Also tried commercial modeling.  But my face daw registers best sa black and white na monitor, e colored na mga tv di ba? (joke lang ito huwag pa-apekto).

        In the year 2000, I decided to take up graduate studies at my alma mater. Since I did not have any job yet, I had to engage myself into something productive. That same year I also got to work as an English tutor at a language center but only stayed there for a while. I vividly remember submitting my letter of irrevocable resignation one early morning, posting it with a tape on the glass panel of our supervisor’s office since she was not yet around. Nobody was around that time except me. I purposely went there very early so that nobody will know that am resigning until they see my letter. This work is not for me I thought. Besides, I hated the smell of kimchi after my tutees have eaten their lunch.

        Fast forward to October of 2002. My friend told me that WCC is in need of faculty, and that she was being invited to teach Christian Ethics. So we went to WCC and visited the Dean of the CAS whom she knows and submitted our resume. Everything happened so fast in that I was already being asked to choose the subjects that I am capable of handling. I guess this job was given to me on a silver platter!  I was hired immediately. Thank you Dean Raquel C. Landong! I started as a part-time instructor, then became full-time in the middle of that semester. From then on, I was always given a full-time teaching load. Looking back, I realized that I did not have to look as far as Ortigas or Makati to get myself a decent job. I will forever be grateful to WCC.

        I do not mind teaching for the rest of my life. After all, knowledge does not have a shelf life or expiry date. But life has some unexpected twists and turns, as I shall be leaving my sanctuary for a while. But you will still see me at WCC. So don't worry.