A University of the Philippines student had six different jobs in college yet managed to graduate as Cum Laude, Sunday.
Leo Jaminola posted on his Facebook post that he worked as an encoder, a transcriptionist, a library student assistant, a tutor, a writer, and a food vendor during his five-year stay at the school.
Jaminola recalled his growing up years in Mindoro where he played near the esteros and makeshift houses made of tarpaulin as a child.
“These were everyday scenes in my community, a community where most members grapple with the everyday reality of poverty. My family was part of this struggling community,” Jaminola wrote.
He added that he’s part of the society who does not have their own homes, fails to pay electric bills and struggles to make ends meet.
“Juggling jobs, academics, and organizational involvement was not an easy feat. While my classmates were busy preparing for exams, I was coming home from tutoring sessions. While my friends were sleeping soundly, I was finishing transcriptions for interviews. While my colleagues had finished submitting their semester term papers, I was concluding articles for clients. There was little actual time for me to devote to my academics as there was a constant need for money,” he added.
He was also in a point where in he needed to choose work and academics. Work was always his priority because he needed it to keep him alive.
“Due to the lack of money, I could only go home to the province only at the ends of every semester (or sometimes during week-long breaks). Then, just to get back to Manila for my studies, I literally had to knock on the houses of relatives and neighbors just to ask for 20-peso or 50-peso bills just so I could gather enough money for my fare,” he added.
A Political Science major Jaminola said that his experience reflects what other people are strugglig with in life.
“My own small success does not mean that all it takes for poor people to succeed is hard work. While hard work is important, it does not guarantee success as much as privilege does. For although my family was poor, I still had access to privileges that other children did (and do) not have. Thus, stories like mine are the exception rather than the rule,” Jaminola added.
Jaminola’s post has 17 thousand reactions and more than 7 thousand shares.
