Written by Kate Baron

Advertising, content creation, business, sports, environmental conservation…

You name it, and Ms. Jel Directo, Eto Kami Ngayon 2021’s first speaker, has likely already ventured into these vast worlds.

In the past 11 years since she graduated BA Organizational Communication at UP Manila, Ms. Jel has not stopped exploring and achieving. Her experience includes being Account Manager at Nuffnang PH in 2011, Account Director at McCann Worldgroup Philippines in 2016, Director of Digital Marketing at Asia League in 2018, and Director of Sponsorship & Partnership at ASEAN Basketball League in 2020. She also founded her own passion projects, the Christian clothing brand, Verses, and the paper bag recycling project, The Second Bag, in 2020. At present, she is the Country Manager of PGAG and Hepmil Creators’ Network Philippines, some of the fastest-growing networks empowering young content creators in Asia, such as up-and-coming Filipino TikTok personalities, Esnyr Ranollo and Nana Silayro.

What paved the way for her now colorful career? Without a doubt, she owes it mostly to her experiences in the Organizational Communication program.

“After years of following paths, I was able to create and design my own—one that truly expresses who I am: passionate, driven, adventurous.”

Not like other girls? Not quite! In fact, Ms. Jel said that she was just like all of us—especially BS Org students, we see you—during her college days. A self-proclaimed “org girl,” she enjoyed doing the “real world work” of contacting companies, applying for internships, and more in her university organizations, including the Organizational Communication Society. In true embodiment of “Eto Kami Ngayon,” she told the inspiring story of how she found her place in the program with the help of those who walked the same path—may they be an upperclassman or fittingly, an EKN speaker—and she also shared where some of her batchmates are now, in hopes of inspiring us to explore for ourselves as well.

“OrCom prepared us and equipped us to take on this continuously evolving industry.”

Ms. Jel deemed the program as “the jack of all trades in the communication field,” as it provided her with a diverse array of skills that she still carries until today. A solid foundation of both verbal and written communication built by courses such as OrCom 110 (Business Writing) helped set their batch apart from others when it came to job hunting. Courses such as OrCom 143 (Debate & Argumentation) also honed her critical thinking skills and helped her address discussions and meetings in her future jobs. To top it all off, doing pitches all throughout the program equipped her with the confidence to master the art of “packaging yourself in the real world.”

“Find a way to pursue it if that’s what you want. Kaya siya. Masaya siya.”

The Question and Answer portion at the end of Ms. Jel’s talk further revealed the go-getter mindset that has shaped her until now. She encouraged us to challenge our creativity, never stop learning, and to stay authentic to what we truly want. When asked if she had ever had second thoughts about the program, her answer was a resounding “no.” The struggles she had gone through back then, such as taking her desired elective in UP Diliman and having to immediately brave the MRT (at lunch hour, at that!) back to UP Manila for her next class, only served as springboards for her to bounce back. Everything tied back to her purpose—her Day 1—which she always felt was Organizational Communication.

Ms. Jel said it herself—her Organizational Communication journey is truly one of passion, drive, and adventure. Indeed, she is proof that the Organizational Communication program can take us to greater heights.