Family and Work Life Harmony

“Tomorrow’s Technology for Todays Security” is Astrophysics, Inc.’s company tag line. We are now one
of the leading manufacturer of X-ray Inspection Systems both in the Philippines and in Asia. I believed in
the growth and sustainability of our industry, which is why I decided to stay in the company. Having an
undergrad on Accountancy and being in the company for a long time I believe I am most qualified to
apply for the Office Manager Position. Staying with the company for five years now, I could say I have
mastered the ins and outs of the business. I have also developed my loyalty to the company. While my
other classmates back in college has been jumping from one company to another or from one country to
the other, I remained loyal and stayed. Also, another reason for staying was my fear of rejection. I just
went on with work everyday without knowing if I was even paid fairly. Then one day, I just got tired and
so I sent an email to my boss. I requested for a promotion. I told him I am doing this and doing that so I
deserve it. Luckily for me, I got a positive reply on the Annual Evaluation -I was promoted to the
Assistant Office Manager position. But I wanted more, so I relayed my plan about taking up Master in
Business Administration in De La Salle.

One of the pressures in my profession is knowing that my colleagues are mostly MBA graduates.
Though my colleagues trust me in accounting and taxation matters, I also want them to have confidence
in me as the Asia Office Manager. I want to be known for my integrity and excellence. I will seek all the
opportunities that would contribute to my development as a professional. I believe De La Salle
University will hone me to the person I want to become. I am looking forward to graduating and apply
my knowledge developed from the program to my company and to our society.

Aside from being a professional who seeks career advancement, I am also a daughter to both older
parents. I belong to a huge family with ten members. At the age of my parents today, I feel more
inclined to give them the comforts of life. Right now, I am financing our house renovation as it is my
parents dream to finally see the fruits of their hard work after they have supported our education. My
mom who did not even graduated elementary school was our pillar of success. I can still recall the times
when we used to sell seafoods to “batchoy” to “halo-halo” and all kinds of stuff my mother could think
about. I could say that I had a meaningful childhood. If I think about it, I wonder how my mom and my
dad were able to raise eight children and successfully send them to college. They did not inherit
anything from their poor parents so they really had to start from scratch. Raising a single child now is
expensive and involves a lot of work so what they did is something to be proud of.

I am also an auntie to a sixteen year old teen who drop-out from school. I used not to care about her,
besides, she is her parents’ responsibility. But my niece is a product of a broken family. Her parents after
five years of marriage decided to separate ways, leaving my niece to my parents, her grandparents. My
mom, being the authoritarian that she was, cannot control my niece, the more she discipline her the
more she rebels. Last week, I decided to talk to my niece in the most emphatic way I could. As you know
being raised by an authoritarian mom gave me issues with being soft and emphatic. I did my best
anyway. And I was thankful I did, I understood my niece better and I gained her trust. After our talk, she
promised to finish college and study hard. I learned that despite her outside rebellion she has dreams of
becoming a nurse someday. What is more heartwarming is learning that she idolize me for my
achievements from school.

What I realized from these experiences is that sometimes in life you just have to step up and take charge
on much greater responsibility. We may think that we have a lot on our plate -having to face the stress
from work, studies and thinking about our own self development -it is easy to neglect the issues of our
society, “We are paying taxes anyway”. But I encourage my fellow MBA students to be more
accountable towards our fellow human beings. My experience could have been with my niece, but the
lesson here is that I took charge of her well being. Stepping up and taking charge for me is the start to a
more united society.