Wazzup Pilipinas!
Internship at a business establishment allows for further and more extensive growth among students since actual real-life experiences are best learned outside the school grounds. Nothing beats being trained personally by those who live and breath the actual work on a daily basis. Our professir could only do so much because the best way to totally immerse ourselves in the working conditions is to be there doing the hands-on work where situations are greatly diverse and unpredictable.
Thus, we should grab every opportunity to stregthen our knowledge and skills because the only limitation to our success is when we stop learning new things.
I recently enjoyed a whole day event at the Life of an Intern event at the Fairmont Hotel on October 25 with the J8 Center for Student Internship (CSI) for their Life Of An Intern and Hotel Re-Familiarization Seminar featuring executives from hotels in Thailand, the Thailand Embassy, CHEd, etc.
The annual event organized by J8 CSI gathers university students around the Philippines for the CHED SIAP Thailand. It is attended also by the deans, professors and/or heads of universities. The seminar aims to empower the students by familiarizing them about the internship program and the participating hotels where they may possibly do internships for several months, specifically 3 to 6 months, of being outside the Philippines doing OJT at a foreign country only two hours away by plane from Manila.
With its proximity, Thailand is an ideal country to visit and do internship since it also boasts of being a top tourist destination not only because of its instagrammable tourist spots but also because of its world-class hotels and resorts. I've been to Thailand for 7 days yet I never really was out of place because as a Filipino, its easy to blend in with its people since our race are similar in features. Just like us, they have high regards to family especially their parents whom they take good care even during their old stage. Family is closely-knitted so expect similar treatment to their friends and visiing guests. When I visited Thailand, our friends from the country personally toured us around until night time. They even taught us a few Thai words so we can cope in haggling during shopping at their many malls or markets. Lol!
Majority of their food is known to be spicy so expected a couple of days trying to manage the spicy level, but you'll surely get to adjust from it after a few more days. My fellow blogger suggested we could probably invite them to Bicol so the Thais would be perfectly at home. Think of Bicol Express or our Sili Ice Cream from 1st Colonial.
The executives from Thai Hotels and Resorts who were present at the event were Nontawan Engchuan of Krabi Tipa Resort Group, Sirinya Suankaew of Sugar Marina Group, Junjira Khonwai of Le Coral Airport Lounge Group, and a fellow Filipino who loved Thailand so much he never left - Glen Ferrer from the Kata Group.
The initial part of the program was a panel discussion among the previous trainess where they shared their memorable abd life-enriching experiences amidst an equally excited audience eager to hear about how they spent their days in Thailand. I'll add here the names of the students if I get the list of their names.
Aside from hearing the talks of four guests from the different Thailand hotels and resorts, and the three heads of the universities, we also had the opportunity to interview them personally. It was an interesting discussion especially when we hear Filipinos shining above the other nationalities with their exceptional work ethics, and fluency in the English language - an advantage we have since it is our second language. My kids are even more fluent in English than the vernacular so they would sometimes have a hard time understanding some Tagalog words. Since majority of the best shows and movies would come from foreign countries, we tend to patronize them more and thus the proficiency in English rubs off towards us to the point that we would rarely speak in full Tagalog. Thonk of Taglish, or better yet, totally speaking in English all throughout a conversation with others.
The heads of three schools pressent at the event were Dean Irene De Villa PhD of the University of Batangas, Dean Marilen Pablico, DBA of the University Of Northern Philippines and Prof. Sandra Morales, MBA of the University Of The East.
There was also a talk from the representative from the Thailand Embassy. Urawadee Sriphiromya, Charge d' Affaires, was supposed to attend, but she just sent a representative who was the one signing the VISA applications.
Saving the best for last, Dr. Teoticia Taguibao, Consultant and former CHED Director is introduced by Dominic Amayun, PhD, J8 CSI Center for Student Internship Managing Director, to deliver the closing remarks.
Dr. Taguibao delivered a strong and inspirational message beneficial to the students who would soon go on internship. It caught my attention well for being a powerful closing message with impact that could significantly resonate within if the audience would listen with intent.
The list of participating schools in the internship program include University of Northern Philippines, Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College - Sta. Maria Campus, Don Mariabo Marcos Memorial State University Mid-La Union Campus, St. Louis College - La Union, University of Cagayan Valley, Isabela State University Cauayan Campus, Nueva Vizcaya State University, PLT College, University of the Assumption, University of Perpetual Help System Molino, Las Pinas and Calamba Campus, University of Batangas, University of Northeastern Philippines, University of the East, and Adamson University.
The exposure of Tourism and/or Hospitality students in an establishment outside the country would be an awesome experience for them since the professionalism, class and work ethics could help them to be globally competitive. The foreign setting would definitely help them understand the culture of other nationalities too. Being in a neighboring country away from friends and families also prepares them to be more independent and could also help them immerse in an environment where they could tap into their full potential.
When we go beyond or outside our comfort zone, it could trigger an instinct for survival and/or passion to impress. Thus we could develop into a more confident, responsible and reliable working habit since our performance is crucial in identfying our weakness and strengths. Also, with less of the distractions brought about by peer pressure when at a familar surrounding lime home, we tend to lose focus of our main goals or objectives. This is the similar reason why company workshops are held out of town or far from the office premises, so employees can concentratevon the tasks at hand. I believe the Thailand experience would be a very memorable opportunity for them to enhance their skills and knowledge and be more empowered to stand out and daring to exceed expectations.
Good luck to the students joining the CHED SIAP and may they bring home with them not just the learning experience but also the admiration from their hosts hotels and resorts, as well as the friendship with their fellow interns from other countries.
We have photo and video coverage of the event posted on our official Wassup Pilipinas Facebook page at
http://www.facebook.com/wazzuppilipinas
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