Written by Kate Baron

Ding!

𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝙾𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 (𝙾𝚛𝙲𝚘𝚖) 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 𝟸 𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙼𝚜. 𝚁𝚒𝚊 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝙴𝚝𝚘 𝙺𝚊𝚖𝚒 𝙽𝚐𝚊𝚢𝚘𝚗 𝟸0𝟸𝟸 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙾𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚂𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚎𝚝𝚢 (𝙾𝚛𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚂𝚘𝚌).

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝. 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗? [𝚈𝙴𝚂]

Ms. Ria Landingin first ventured in the media and advertising field for companies including GMA Network – Public Affairs, Bonsey Jaden, Young & Rubicam (Y&R), and Dentsu for 8 years, equipping her with skills in social media management, digital strategy, and analytics. Her inclination for creativity eventually led her to the marketing communications field, where she now works as the Digital Marketing Manager of Micro-D International, Inc. (MDI) Novare, one of the leading information technology (IT) systems integrators and software powerhouses in the Philippines.

Outside her day job, she remains steadfast and passionate about her advocacies concerning gender rights, human rights, and digital literacy as the Communications Director of Lunas Collective, a volunteer-powered care space and online chat helpline serving all people with concerns related to sexuality, gender-based violence (GBV) and discrimination, and reproductive health (RH) since March 2020.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝟸 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙼𝚜. 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗. 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚠? [𝚈𝙴𝚂]

“‘Yung org work, whatever org that is, is really helpful in the real world talaga. Tapos dagdagan mo ng OrCom practice… You’ll realize at one point siguro that things will come full circle.”

Ms. Landingin fondly remembered her OrCom journey as the foundation of her work experiences, starting with her “Org Person” or as we also call it now, “BS Org” era. Of course, she served in the program’s home organization, OrComSoc, as batch representative, Vice President for Finance, and President. Aside from OrComSoc, she was also a member of the remaining so-called “Big 3” organizations of OrCom majors: UPM Junior Marketing Association (JMA) and UP AdHere, whose “Big 3” spot has now been replaced by Public Relations Student Society of the Philippines (PRSSP) UPM. 

In these organizations, Ms. Landingin not only found a place to hone her skills or her “OrCom Edge” for the real world, including a fundamental understanding of communication theories, strategic and critical thinking, and good written and oral communication; she also found a place to call home. She expressed her appreciation for the OrCommunity who made her feel welcomed and loved, as well as how helpful it was to have “Career #Pegs” in a versatile field such as OrCom, wherein we are relatively free and encouraged to explore a diverse array of career options. “Having OrCom people to look up to and consult, both in the university and outside, inspired me to design my own path and actually pursue it,” she wrote. Lucky for us current OrCom students, OrComSoc continues to provide us with these opportunities to connect with each other, such as Eto Kami Ngayon and the rest of the OrCom Week activities.

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝟷 𝚞𝚗𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙼𝚜. 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚒𝚗. 𝚆𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠? [𝚈𝙴𝚂]

“If we know our center, if we know the main objective of what we do… It’s really [a] good foundation.”

The “OrCom Edge” surely helped Ms. Landingin in her endeavors after graduation, but even so, the path she took felt like uncharted territory to her, at least compared to that of her batchmates. If we are ever in the same situation, perhaps some of us would feel tempted to succumb to (sometimes even non-existent) peer pressure or simply feel intimidated by the prospect of the unknown.

If Ms. Landingin ever did, the solution for her was simple. Inspired by one of the program’s beloved professors, Sir Barry, it was to find her center—the message she wants to share to the world and the reason why she does what she does. She was able to expand her horizons outward and toward what she was passionate about, which were her advocacies, and contrary to the belief of some who call our program “capitalist”, her OrCom background helped her in doing so. “I think if we are aware of [the] power [of these] communication skills that OrCom equips us with, and we put that to good use… I think countless naman ‘yung opportunities to make use of it in a good way,” she said.

Thanks to Ms. Landingin, we can all take to heart that by carrying our learnings and experiences in college as a sturdy foundation, the skills keeping our OrCom edge sharpened and ever ready, and a center to keep us grounded—indeed, it will all come full-circle for us at the end of our odyssey.
(𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚖𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝙾𝚛𝙲𝚘𝚖 𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚐: “Kakayanin mo rin! Baka may OrCom Edge ‘yan! 🤗💙”)