Written by Bryan Tristan Mallari

To many, BA Organizational Communication (BA OrCom) is basically viewed as “business communication”, leading graduates towards the corporate world after their stay in the program. However, there are brave souls who ventured outside the ordinary and became pioneers of change to the tradition.

Ms. Nikki De Guzman is one of those few who explored a different path after college – the path of news media. Being one of the speakers for this year’s Eto Kami Ngayon, Ms. Nikki shared how venturing into the unexpected allows those who wish to follow, have expectations of what is to come.

Unexpected Detour

Before entering college, Ms. De Guzman had her mind set on becoming a doctor and took entrance exams for pre-medicine courses only. She was able to pass the other exams, but oddly enough, she did not pass her preferred course in UP Manila and got into her second choice, BA OrCom.

When she got into the course, the usual dilemma of shifting out of the course or staying struck her. Despite her goals, she believed that this was God’s way of telling her that she is meant to be somewhere else; with this in mind and the fact that the process of shifting out is hard, she decided to stay in the course and see where it will take her.

Skipping to her internship days, she applied to two media networks, GMA and ABS-CBN, and got accepted into the latter. In her stay in ABS-CBN, she was exposed to TV plug production, wherein she developed ideas for the promotion of the network’s shows. The main challenge she faced during her internship was learning about the network, as she revealed that she was personally a solid Kapuso, not a Kapamilya.

Unexpected Destination

Right after graduation, she took an advice saying that one should consider the place where he or she interned as to where he or she would apply. At first, she was only aiming to get an entry-level job of being an anchor’s personal assistant, but she was unexpectedly given the opportunity to audition as a full-time anchor and landed on the job.

As a starter, she was instated as a graveyard anchor, appearing on air during the wee hours of the night. During this time, she learned how to read as an anchor and edit scripts according to her preferences. After a few months, she was given heavier responsibilities, such as reporting hourly updates from the Philippine Stock Exchange and appearing on different news shows. At the same time, she was able to improve her media-related skills through ABS-CBN University where she studied Philippine government, media ethics, and anchor stringing.

Aside from her learnings in the network’s university, Ms. De Guzman’s unexpected detour also played a great part in her unexpected destination. According to her, the technical writing class she took in BA OrCom prepared her for all the writings she did in her work. She also attributed her confidence in presenting herself and her ability to fact-check to the course.

Currently, she is one of the few remaining personnel of ABS-CBN after the government’s cease and desist order against the network. Despite the setback, she still wants to pursue and grow in the field she unexpectedly stumbled upon to.

In her final words, she gave out a powerful reminder for those who also want to navigate into the unknown, specifically in the field of news: “You are there to learn and to perform to the best of your abilities.” What wisdom it truly is from this brave soul!