#edgewise.ph

Throughout school year 2010-2011, the consultancy company I work for has sent me to nine higher education institutions (HEIs). All but one are outside of Metro Manila. Sent to the colleges and universities of Nueva Vizcaya, La Union, Aklan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Negros Occidental, Quezon and Iloilo, I was impressed by the development of provincial HEIs, and how technology played a key role in leveling the playing field of education.

Many Filipinos underestimate the quality of higher education in this country, especially the provincial HEIs. But with technology and industry partnerships from the likes of Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and SAP—to name a few from the Western Hemisphere alone—being labeled a diploma mill by anyone has become an unfounded idea.

Investing in infrastructure

Almost all of the provincial colleges and universities I have visited seem to be bullish on one thing: infrastructure. Whatever the source of funding—increased student enrollment, tuition fee increase, alumni donations, or grants by government and non-government organizations—they know where to put their monies in.

I have seen the construction of new dormitories to welcome the influx of enrollees (including foreigners) and new college buildings as a result of spinning off from their mother units (such as IT breaking away from Business). Many of the investments seem to be going towards IT in the form of new laboratories, acquisitions, upgrades and partnerships.

At a young age, Jesamyn “Sam” Go knew she wanted a career in journalism. A two-day visit to New York when she was 14 years old was enough for her to dream of someday making it in the city that never sleeps. After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University with a Communication Arts degree, Sam made a beeline for New York and took up a graduate program in Magazine Journalism from New York University, figuring that since the city is a major media capital, it was the place for her to be. Sam has been living her dream for the past 11 years in the Big Apple and enjoys being in the midst of the action.

As a web producer for msnbc.com, she manages a small team that publishes web content for different news and opinion shows for the network. Getting her dream job was not easy, especially because she finished her NYU program in December of 2001, post 9/11, when the job market was really tough. Fortunately for her, Sam did several internships while in NYU, including one at msnbc.com.

When an entry-level position opened up, her old bosses encouraged her to apply. She got the job, and the experience of working in “30 Rock.” Though Sam hasn’t yet run into Tina Fey, she has ridden the elevator (silently and star struck) with Alec Baldwin.

What would you consider is the biggest project you’ve handled so far in your career? “It’s tough to say: Working in news around the 2004 and 2008 elections was big. Every big news story feels like a big project – whether it was covering the Iraq war or the recent quakes in Haiti, Chile and Japan. Being in the newsroom and doing your small part during breaking news situations always feels important.

“It was also big and exciting to be part of the team producing ‘Inside the Obama White House,‘ a 2009 NBC documentary on a day in the life in the White House, filmed a few months after President Obama took office. I worked on putting the documentary online. While we were filming, we also let the day unveil in real time in Twitter, giving our audience tidbits of what we were seeing. I also produced segments for the Web that were longer and interesting but didn’t make it on air for one reason or another.

“As for projects, being involved with the development of our first iPad apps was exciting because it was so different. The portability and interface of the tablet feels like a game-changer, and seeing journalism in a new medium was amazing.”

What kinds of personalities do you deal with because of your work? Are they more within the company or external? How did you learn to deal with these personalities? “There are a lot of different personalities – it’s that way in any big company, I think. Most of my relationships are internal. Effective relationships are a critical part of any job, particularly here when we’re dealing with different mediums, teams, and cultures. TV and Web people sometimes think and react differently. A lot of folks I work with are in Redmond, Washington (msnbc.com’s headquarters), or bureaus of NBC News like in Burbank, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and London, so it’s also important to be able manage remote relationships.

“The great thing is that most people I work with are very smart, dedicated and hard-working. So I think being diplomatic and helpful is always welcome (and I think I am generally that way). Also if you approach everyone thinking that you have something to learn from them, you’ll find that most people are nice and will respect you. And you will learn things from them.”