TITLE: The challenging but worth it journey

Good morning esteemed guests, fellow graduates, parents and guardians.

Fellow graduates once again, Congratulations!
Sumakses na tayo! Naka-sablay na rin tayo!!!

To the Institute, I’m greatly honored to receive these recognitions.

When Dr. Salmo asked if it’s okay with me to be nominated, we were in Misamis then, of course, doing mangrove research. On that same evening, he asked again – Okay sayo ha? Send ko na to. Then, I just replied, Cge po, Sir –Wala namang gagawin yan, dba?.. Sabi nya: Wala naman.

Then the result came, of course I was happy! Can’t believe it, pero I was afraid kasi may response message, I’m really not into public speaking – But deep down, I also know that I’m not the best for these distinctions, but one thing is for sure – I know I did my very best.

So let me briefly share with you my PhD journey and a few lessons that made me reach here
It was in 2021, the 2nd year of the pandemic, when I entered the program. Everything was felt unsure. I had originally planned to enroll in the PhD with many courses to be taken. However, when the admission result came out, I was also given the opportunity to take Option 3 – or By Research. I was really convinced by Doc Sev to take By Research, not knowing fully what’s ahead. I had doubts, many questions, and so many what ifs… I remembered one of the panels asked during the Final Defense, what was the most challenging in your dissertation study? I answered: I really didn’t know how to start the research, the fieldwork, in particular, was especially challenging due to travel restrictions.

Lesson #1. It’s okay not to know everything. It’s okay to feel anxious and afraid. What matters is that you keep persevering toward your goal.
In 2022, I gave birth to our daughter. I had anticipated that juggling both acads and motherhood would be challenging. But, I didn’t expect that it would be this overwhelming and at times, chaotic. One thing that has helped me is being open as possible with my adviser, about the struggles and challenges I’m facing as a new mother. I’m also incredibly grateful to have good relationships with both past & present RAs of Doc Sev, especially Camila for being so considerate with my requests, and to the whole WetLab family. I can just count on one hand/ two hands?? the number of times I’ve visited the Lab, but everytime I do, it feels like there’s an unspoken rule that we will go for a dine out, kasi andito c Ate El. And for that warmth and kindness, I’m truly grateful.

Lesson #2. A good student-adviser relationship is essential and so is having a sense of belonging and connection to others. And in my case, having a supportive tribe who’s willing to look after our child whenever I’m away for fieldwork has made all the difference.

Doing a PhD is a whole different level of stress. There are no clear deadlines, and progress seems vague. Most of the time, I find myself doing internal monologues, like: Are these data enough already? Are these results publishable ? Is this ‘progress’ worth sharing for our weekly progress meeting? It’s a lot of never-ending questions.
What matters also is learning to accept failures and rejections. That time is not always on your side. Sometimes, your planned fieldwork won’t turn out as what you expected. Or sometimes, the manuscript will be rejected. And that’s okay, just keep on writing and re-writing; keep showing up, learning and pushing forward.

Lesson #3. Sometimes, it takes just enough stress to keep you going — not too much to break you, but enough to keep you moving.

And with that, Damo na salamat o Daghang salamat to the Institute, professors, IB staff, and DOST-ASTHRDP that made this journey challenging but worth it.

Mabuhay po tayong lahat! Patuloy po nating pagsilbihan ang bayan!