Jofie D.

Saligan

C-PHA-7 Pi-Bond

Time flies so fast. Its almost been two semesters since our National
Service Training Program (NSTP) course started and I learned a lot of things that I
can treasure within my life as a student and a person. NSTP served as an eye
opener to us students, as we become aware of the real life in this tragic country of
ours. It showed us the imperfections of our society and taught us how we can be in
service to others. And I can say that this is the kind of program that we all need in
order to awake this poor country in its deep slumber to rise and shine above others.
Because I believe that to be in service is not an obligation, but rather a gift, because
when we are able to serve others, we also help ourselves and become a better
person that our creator God wants us to be.
NSTP helped me become a better member of my family in a lot of ways. It
taught me that as a grown person I should not just be responsible within myself but
also to the ones around me, my family. It trained me to become more active in our
house and be prudent. It also encouraged me to become more polite and
understanding to my parents and love them more. Being in NSTP gave me the
notion that before I can be useful to our society I should also prove it in our home
and family which is the most basic unit of the community.
Having given the chance to participate in the NSTP course, it also improved
me as a Thomasian in a way that I became a more responsible student in our
university, being aware of the things that I should do and I should not do within the
campus. And also to use all my efforts to serve and uphold the name of University
of Santo Tomas and the whole Thomasian community. NSTP is such a good course
because it enabled me to show the core values of a Thomasian to the society which
later on will contribute to uplift our reputation within the masses.
Our country is known for its poverty and social issues but with the help of
NSTP I am proud to say that I contributed to the improvement of our country and
will continue to do so. Every time we go out for a community service I feel more
useful to our fellow countrymen. Having given the chance to give essentials like
food to children, the elderly and the needy, seeing their smiles and gratitude while
handling the food is something that I will treasure in my heart. The feeling of being

of service to others and being thanked gave me the inspiration to help our country
more and be a better citizen.