I am Neorichcel: Reminiscing my MBM Journey

Getting a degree is everyone’s dream, an achievement that gives a person a glimmer of hope and a challenge to make real the knowledge gained throughout the years of schooling.

Becoming a Doctor in Business Management is one of my dreams and a course sine qua non to it is Master in Business Management among others. Days from now, the degree Master in Business Management (MBM) will be conferred upon me and my colleagues at Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology. As the day of commencement exercises approaches, I come to remember special moments of ups and downs; of successes and failures, of laughters and tears in my MBM Journey.

I could still recall the day I applied for enrolment at the MBM Office. I met Prof. Milagros R. Narido, the CBAA Graduate Program Coordinator and her staff Ms. Elizabeth Delmo who accommodated and guided me in the enrolment process. I prepared myself then for another set of years in the academe as a student.

The first day of classes came and I was in a new learning environment - meeting new classmates and acquaintances. As practiced, we were told to introduce ourselves, where are we from, where are we connected and what was our undergraduate major. I was amazed then that MBM is a convergence of eager learners from the different fields of expertise – Engineering, Sociology, Biology, Political Science and Business Administration among others.

One of our professors asked us what are our dreams and I got puzzled at first, refreshing my dreams in life. Everyone shared his/her ultimate desire and I must say that expressing your goals is a liberating experience. Thank you so much Ma’am Narido for facilitating. J

During the first semester, I noticed that the student body has no set of officers. Having the desire to become one, I signified my interest of leading the MBM Student Board. From then on, we held MBM Get Together Party, MBM General Orientation, MBM Acquaintance Party, MBM Outreach Program, MBM Enhancement Seminars and MBM Educational Tours.

MBM Student Board Officers - (2010-2011)

MBM Get Together Party 2010

MBM Get Together Party 2011

MBM Acquaintance Party 2011

MBM General Orientation 2011

MBM General Orientation 2012

Tree Growing Activity

MBM Outreach Program

A Seminar on Cross-Cultural Managerial Competencies

A Seminar on E-business

Showcasing Deliciosa Ice Cream ar MSU-IIT Tabo sa Pasko

Organizing educational tours was the most exciting, exhilarating and challenging task I have ever done in my MBM undertaking as the president of the MBM Student Board. Preparing request letters of permission and approval from the institute officials and faculty; complying long list of field trip requirements; communicating companies; facilitating, guiding and leading the delegates; and negotiating certain matters with business owners and asking, searching, exploring for the whereabouts during the tour were so laborious yet fulfilling. We started visiting companies in Iligan City namely, Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation, National Power Corporation, PILMICO and HOLCIM.

With a signature pose @ Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation

@ Mabuhay Vinyl Corporation

With rock salt from Australia (background) @ MVC

@ National Power Corporation

@ Nature's Park, Maria Cristina Falls :D

@ HOLCIM Philippines

@ PILMICO

We also visited the Philippine Stock Exchange, Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant, Gardenia Philippines, Tanza Oazis and Steelfab Water Solutions, Asia, Inc.

MBM Educational Tour in Luzon

6th Global Business Conference

Taking a pose at Gardenia, Philippines

@ Tanza Oazis, Cavite, Philippines

@ Steelfab Water Solutions, Asia, Inc.

@ the Philippine Stock Exchange

And yes, we explored Singapore – a first world country. The trip was the most daring, challenging and ecstatic educational tour we had. We visited Mycofarm – Singapore’s largest producer of mushroom, Asia Pacific Breweries Pte. Ltd, the producer of Tiger Beer – Singapore’s first locally brewed beer, Universal Studios, Sentosa and Marina Bay Tower which was awarded as the “Best High-Rise Architecture and Best Marina Development” by CNBC awards in 2008. We were truly impressed with the country’s systematic transportation services like the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) where people find it convenient and affordable. We were also amazed with its very clean environment and the presence of lush trees amidst tall buildings. More so, with Singapore’s emphasis on Entertainment and Tourism that attracted millions of visitors, thereby augmenting income and job opportunities to everyone.

A welcoming pose at Changi Airport, Singapore

Free taste of sauteed mushroom @ Mycofarm, Singapore

Cheers for bottomless beer @ Tiger Brewery, Singapore :D

Hello Universal Studios :-)

Conquering Battlestar Galactica, Singapore - one of the largest roller coasters in the world

It was a long journey of fun, learning and appreciation on the new perspectives about business and life in general. There have been moments of mistakes and detours during the entire tour but it made the venture really educational in the truest sense of the word. The group has indeed learned in terms of enhancing self-confidence, appreciating cross-cultural differences and having fun while learning.

MBM journey wouldn’t be complete without series of sleepless nights studying lessons for the exam, complying research works and loads of study cases for analysis. One major requirement in MBM is the completion of THESIS. It was the hardest and toughest course requirement I had to pass. Here are the lessons I learned while working on my thesis.

· 1. Have a timetable. Follow the schedule. Work on it immediately and do not procrastinate. Procrastinating has been the biggest problem I had. I kept on postponing the tasks I should have done and completed.

· 2. Focus. Focus. Focus. This matters a lot. I was supposed to be spending more time with the thesis but because of my other priorities, things were compromised. We just can’t serve two masters at the same time.

· 3. Never give up. One thing I have assessed in myself is that I am persistent, patient and resilient. I never gave up even when it seemed impossible because of my lapses. For 6 long weeks, I had sleepless nights, unbalanced diet, butterflies and “dragons” in the stomach, LBM, fever and embarrassing situations. Beyond all these, I just pursued, continued and moved on – never losing hope.

· 4. Pray. Pray. Pray. My guiding verse is found in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Amidst the struggles, I cling to God’s promise as stated in the verse.

· 5. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate. One thing I missed was to constantly communicate with my thesis adviser who has been very concerned of my research work. I learned my lesson of giving updates, submitting output and following through.

· 6. Decide when do you want to achieve your goal. Our decision really matters. It is when we decide to reach our goals that every opportunities and even circumstances will conspire to make it happen. More than this is the Divine Intervention from God who continually gives us strength and courage to realize our dreams.

To my thesis adviser, Prof. Melissa B. Mangali, thank you so much Ma’am for your passion to impart your knowledge. I am very happy with the output of my thesis because of your guidance. I would be forever thankful for giving me a chance to complete my thesis even if it meant long hours you would spend for checking the paper. I truly appreciate your hardwork so I could get my thesis done. Thank you even for letting me learn again the importance of focus, of setting priorities and of making excellence a goal.

With my thesis adviser, Prof. Melissa B. Mangali during the thesis defense :-)

With Dr. Alita T. Roxas, Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Prof. Milagros R. Narido, CBAA Graduate Program Coordinator

To the panel members, Prof. Milagros R. Narido and Prof. Adrian P. Galido, thank you so much for your continued support, encouragement and valuable comments. I was able to withstand the challenges because you were always there for me – graciously pushing me so I could graduate. Special thanks to Dr. Alita Roxas for the valuable suggestions. My gratitude also goes to Ma'am Elizabeth Delmo for the constant reminder. Thank you so much.

And to everyone, who in one way or another have helped me finish my scholarly work, from the bottom of heart, thank you so so much…

With the requirements of the degree I have satisfactorily completed, is a glimmer of hope for the realization of my dreams. It’s a one big step, a leap of faith and a test of courage on how far I will go. Very soon, I will be teaching a new batch of students at Mindanao State University Main Campus – the institution that helped mold my dreams. Thank you so much.

My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the following:

My Iligan Bloggers Society (IBS) Family for helping me learn the basics of blogging. Thanks Lovette Jam for introducing me to the blogosphere.

My Toastmasters International Family for helping me enhance more self-confidence in public speaking. I was able to attend a toastmasters meeting at Singapore where I won the best table topic speaker. Special thanks to Prof. Pamela Ressurreccion for introducing me to the organization :-)

Iligan Toastmasters Club

Toastmasters International Meeting - ACCA Singapore

My Tita Fannies Family for warmly welcoming me as a marketing consultant. Thank you so much for allowing me to have a hands on experience about marketing and about business in general.

13th Anniversary Celebration of Tita Fannies Liempo and Chicken Haus

My JCIL Family for the spiritual guidance. God is indeed so good!!!

My graduate dormitory family for the 2 long years of being together.

MSU-IIT Graduate Dormitory Get Together Party

My MSU family for the continued support especially in my MBM undertaking.

My CBAA Family especially Prof. Potre P. Riga for giving me the opportunity to pursue MBM.

My CBAA Family :-)

My BROLJ Family for the constant communication, never fading love and friendship.

Lloyd, Ondoy, Rolly, Richard, Brian

Jun2, Lloyd, Rolly, Richard and Brian

My very own family for the inspiration, support and motivation.

With some of my nieces and nephews

With some of my brothers and sisters in law

All of these is a continuing challenge of putting into practice what I have learned as a student, a toastmaster, a blogger, a marketing consultant, a classmate, a friend, a person and a Filipino citizen.

To all those I met in my MBM undertaking, thank you so much for the lessons shared, aspirations expressed and journey crossed. Thank you so so much. Thank you Lord.