Written by Jhuztine de Jesus & Gabrielle Fontanilla

“Ano nang ganap mo ngayon?” That is the common phrase that an alumnus hears when they reconnect with their colleagues. For others, it is hard to answer that question, but the Eto Kami Ngayon talk of the Organizational Communication Society (OrComSoc) becomes the avenue for that. Eto Kami Ngayon allowed current Organizational Communication (OrCom) students to venture into the various paths that their program offers, as guest speakers shared their own journeys as OrCom graduates. The guest speakers shared their experiences in medical school, advocacy work, and public relations, exemplifying the program even further as the “master of all trades.”

The first speaker, Ms. Jeannie Tangente, graduated cum laude of BA OrCom in 2018. In her talk, she shared her journey in medical school as a third-year student at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center, Inc. (UERMMMCI). At first glance, the question we would first ask is: How could a student from a BA course suddenly—and successfully—shift to BS and eventually, medical school? Ms. Tangente mentioned that one of the OrCom Edge that helped her was being able to perform with grace under pressure, a trait that applies to not only OrCom students but also doctors. In her school requirements, she successfully applied the skills she learned in OrCom in doing class presentations, studying for exams, and doing return demonstrations.

Additionally, outside of class responsibilities and real-life applications, pacing and talking to patients is highly appreciated to explain the disease so the patient would understand it. It is a true essential to be able to tell the patient about their existing condition because if not, the patients won’t be able to understand what proper treatments they must take. Staying in the course was a massive benefit to Ms. Tangente, as she always gets praised by the doctors and professors for being a good listener and knowing how to communicate well with patients. 

One of the reasons she highlighted is that staying in the course will be able to teach us things that no other class can lead to. The hard sciences can be learned through thorough studying and listening, even online. Still, it takes a lot more training and mentorship from OrCom to understand how one must communicate well. As a closing, she then mentioned, “The skills learned in OrCom [are] not [skills] that can be taught overnight.” Her having OrCom as an undergraduate degree, though not that common, was able to help her out as a medical student in the end. 

The second speaker for the talk was Ms. Ria Landingin, a marketing and strategic communications professional who is also passionate about her advocacies concerning gender rights, human rights, and digital literacy. As advertising is one of the common avenues in the OrCom course alongside pre-law, she highlighted three points on what the OrCom Edge is in this field. 

First is using theory as a foundation. As OrCom courses heavily focus on readings on the different theories and behaviors of communication, we truly realize the relevance of these readings once put into practice and known by heart. More specifically in advertising, Ms. Landingin mentioned that although it is fun and creative, it is also still crucial to conduct thorough research on the client and brand’s products. Second is the application of strategic and critical thinking. It is common for OrCom students to create pitches that allow students to master the skill of packaging a key idea into a single presentation that all can easily understand. Using these in different types, such as debates or presentations, can be very helpful in knowing more thoroughly about an idea and letting others understand it. Third is having good written and oral communication skills. In creating presentations, it is not enough to only be able to present it well through a good visual deck but also to write what will be presented well. OrCom hones us in both of these skills, which is why it is advantageous to add a mix of research in all things creative being done in OrCom.

Public relations is also one of the wise career paths that an OrCom graduate can take, and the third speaker, Mr. Earl Guico, proved that. He is the co-founder, head of production, and CEO of Elesi Studios, a production house that produces “technology-driven content.” As a company that was established out of scratch and at risk during the peak of the pandemic, Mr. Guico shared the essence of OrCom in general and as a professional in the field of public relations.

Mr. Guico elucidated the flexible skills that can be grasped from Orcom, and he quoted it as a “… program [that] was designed ahead of its time.” But the question now is: In what way? Of course, as an OrCom major who was honed to think critically and advanced, Mr. Guico did not miss to answer that. He enumerated all the beneficial and relevant skills as well as their application that he learned from OrCom.
Firstly, OrCom teaches its students a variety of cultures and their importance to the dynamic world we have. Mr. Guico emphasized that, “Culture is very crucial to all organizations.” When he meant “culture” is not just about race or nationality, OrCom enlightened its students to be observant of people’s behavior in a deeper sense. Knowing how to learn and make use of culture is what drives any organization to be successful.

Secondly, OrCom upskills the students to be effective and literate officers of communication in this “technology-driven” world. The role of OrCom majors, especially today when anything can be done and seen with just a single convenient tap, becomes in-demand and more pertinent. In fact, our program shapes the future vital messengers for the virtual world.

That said, the third point that Mr. Earl mentioned is that OrCom coaches its learners to be creative writers. We all know that in nature, OrCom students’ type of workout is technical with what is written in such place. To Mr. Guico, however, OrCom can also bring someone to the world of creatives, especially in thinking of “contents.” Knowing that content is everywhere, OrCom challenges its students to play with a story that can inspire or entertain people through the so-called “content.”

Moving on to the business world, the succeeding feature of OrCom is that it educates one to be knowledgeable about different communication styles, strategies, and trends. Hence, with these competencies, an OrCom major can be a scientist of their own but in the business world. In other words, OrCom can ground someone to formulate “correct formulas and strategies [that] can lead to better business.” With the right amounts of formulated do’s and don’t’s, an OrCom specialist as an entrepreneur can soar high.

All these things considered, OrCom is not just an unusual communication program that anyone can take. OrCom is not simply another version of MassCom as others may think; rather, OrCom is OrCom. If OrCom is personified, the great representation of it will be an employer, as it easily employs its constituents to get that position or job in such a workplace. Aside from being a person, if OrCom is an animal, the perfect depiction for it is a chameleon, as it is flexible and can blend with anything and anyone regardless of the complexity of the environment. Truly, OrCom can bring you anywhere, especially if you embody the OrComSoc’s mantra: “Unity, Camaraderie, Leadership!”