UST CASA's Transcend 2023 Highlights

Photo by UST CASA

From March 30 to April 1, 2023, the University of Santo Tomas Communication Arts Students’ Association (UST-CASA) held TRANSCEND: Shifting Gears, Shaping Careers—an annual seminar that focuses on helping and guiding third-year CASAns for their upcoming internships in alignment with their career preferences. 

The event bridges CASAn juniors to a vast array of industries within the scope of media and communication through notable individuals—media professionals and students at UST—who provided talks on different topics relating to the professional world.

Here are the highlights of the three-day event:

Day 1 (March 30): On Workplace Ethics and Expectations

The first day kicked off with Opening Remarks from the event’s Project Head Dean Manuel Pinza, highlighting how this event is aimed at being a 'transformative, turning point' for juniors—helping them build their careers and platforms from the ground up.

Touching on the first topic of "Dealing with Diverse People in the Workplace" is Ms. Ma. Bernadette Reyes, a news producer and anchor for GMA Network Inc., who shared personal experiences as a reporter and relating them to different strategies in connecting with various people at work. She also noted the importance of empathy and respect as the foundation for one’s success in any industry. 

Photo from UST-CASA's Official Twitter Account

The next speaker was UST-CASA’s President Ms. Jenina Bea Jazul, discussing the subject of "Dealing with Negative Feedback." She cited and discussed some studies on how to effectively view negative feedback, not as an attack but as a valuable gift and unique insight, urging the CASAn audience to stay with the 'constructive' side of criticism and feedback alike when imparting such. Moreover, taking the time to process one's emotions and learning to let go of negative feelings are important.

Photo from UST-CASA's Official Twitter Account

Wrapping up the pilot day of Transcend was the Internship Adviser from the Faculty of Arts and Letters, Assistant Professor Anna Cielo-Perez who gave a detailed orientation on the upcoming internship program for the juniors, which included a discussion on documents involved for submission, formats thereof, pre-deployment and deployment details, and the like.

Photo from UST CASA

Day 2 (March 31): On Recognizing Essential Figures in Internship Journeys

Commencing Transcend’s second day was a talk from Mr. Daniel "Leo" Cubangay, a current anchor for MPL Philippines who is also a University alumnus. On the focal topic of "Skills Employers look for in Job Applicants," he embarked on four key points which were securing one’s mindset, manners, mind, and goods. He also encouraged the CASAn crowd to carve a personal mantra entailing authenticity. 

Photo from UST CASA

Ending day 2 with a discussion on "Finding a Mentor or Life Coach" was Mr. Kyle Matthew Giron, a 4th-year Communications Student who is currently an Executive Associate to the Public Relations Officer of UST Central Student Council (UST-CSC). With his journey involving various job opportunities, Mr. Giron told CASAn juniors to put things into perspective, whereas life coaches can come from oneself, professors, co-students, and job colleagues. Moreover, he mentions the importance of taking action and working hard to prepare in achieving one's goals.

Photo from UST CASA

Day 3 (April 1): On Collaborations, Career Paths, and Work Experiences

Kicking off the last leg of Transcend was Mr. Jose Emmanuel Lirios, a director, producer, and the Chief Executive Officer of Pixelens Creative Solutions. He imparted perspectives on the topic "Increasing Collaboration in the Workplace," highlighting the importance of acknowledging everyone’s contribution to the work’s success. On top of that, the University alumnus also encouraged everyone to be the follower before fully immersing themselves in being the leader. 

Photo from UST CASA's Official Twitter Account

Delivering the second talk on "Planning Your Long-term Career: Choosing the Right Profession and Which Path to Take" was Ms. Lauren Cabading, another Thomasian alumna who works as a PR Account Manager for Mullenlowe Treyna and the founder of Patrichor Scents. She discussed the pool of job opportunities for CASAns out there—which led to her advice of being honest and transparent to oneself in every decision to make. Moreover, Ms. Cabading noted the importance of exploring one's passion and challenging oneself to continuously grow and learn in their career.

Photo from UST CASA's Official Twitter Account

Ending the series of talks was Thomasian alumnus Mr. Jeth Torres who is now a Creative Director of the Digital Marketing Agency, TransBiz who gave enlightenment on the topic "An Average Day as a Creative Director" which gave juniors a clear overview on what to expect in working for a certain job. 

Photo from UST-CASA's Official Twitter Account

All talks were concluded with an open forum where juniors maximized the opportunity to relay pertinent questions to the roster of speakers as well as the awarding of the Certificates of Appreciation alongside the event's Project Heads Dean Manuel Pinza and Marcella Grace Ferrer and Officers-in-Charge Joshua Isaac Galvez and Zyl Grei Dela Peña.

The 3-day session was hosted by talents from UST-CASA Retorika, namely George Matthew Medallon and Azylea Wynette Evangelista for Day 1; Mylferd Joshua Supnet and Erah Laurice Alcaraz for Day 2; and Whella Maureen Gimena and Danielle Anne Bautista for Day 3.

This year also featured intermission numbers from MusiCASA members Mitziel Alfaro and Glen Vasquez Jr. for the first two days and CASA Footworks on the third day.