Thank God for Small Blessings

To finish my MBA degree, I decided to request for a study leave with pay for one year. The University committee decided to deload me by two subjects (6 units) instead. Well, beggars can't be choosy so I thank them and God for the small blessing that came my way this week.

Going back to graduate school was a smooth transition for me. It helped that I'm studying at my former employer and alma mater. Seeing the familiar faces of former colleagues and coworkers made me instantly at home. It was the campus where I spent 15 years of my life since I was a freshman high school student. The warning bell was no longer a buzzer but an instrumental version of Edelweiss from The Sound of Music and the main bell was Elephant Walk.

My classmates are way younger than me. Two or three are my former college students. I'm amazed at their energy level even after 8 hours of work. Their enthusiasm is infecting. One classmate said she was "frozen" (her credits were frozen after 5 years) during the first day introductions. When it was my turn to introduce myself, I said "I'm from the Ice Age," much to the delight of the class. I think I will learn a lot from them and from my classes.

Going back to (Graduate) School

Nineteen years ago, I had passed 13 comprehensive exams to complete the academic requirements for a Master in Business Administration degree. I also defended a thesis proposal on transportation needs in General Santos City.

Nineteen years ago, I transferred from a private Catholic college to a state university here. It was some culture shock I went through. From syllabi-bound and guided teaching to an academic freedom-driven one. I still remember my shock at being told at the university that the grading system is up to me (you decide the passing grade, you decide the raw score equivalents of 1.0 to 5.0).

For 19 years, I've helped send four siblings through school until they finished their college degrees. After a brief respite, I then sent nieces through school because their parents couldn't afford to do so (after producing a lot of them!)

Now it's my turn for me to be sent by myself to school. To reinstate my residency and eventually complete my MBA, I now need 15 units of academic subjects and 6 units of Research which basically will take 2 semesters and 1 summer.

What's weird is I'm enrolled in courses which I also teach in the undergraduate. Teacher by day, student by night. In my Human Resources Management class, I have two former students as my classmates. It's also a good thing I'm not the only "senior" student in class.

I look forward to attending my grad school subjects. Probably it's because I've always been a student at heart. I just love the cerebral stimulation in grad school.