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Ayanna A.
This program was hard then slowly started to get easier.  With each person I talked to,  the easier it was for me to start up a conversation. For instance, I was talking to this one professor and after introducing myself I started to converse with them about their job here on campus. We also started to talk about the major I am pursuing and  if I am pursuing nursing because of my parents or for me. This made me think about why I am pursuing nursing.

My inner dialogue I had during the activity was “ who should I talk to?” or “ what should I talk about?”. These two ideas constantly went through my head because I tend to not know how to continue a conversation. I was also scared to walk up to a person and to talk to them.

One memorable moment was when we were all in the circle and the professor next to me asked about my major. He then also asked me as a nursing major, do I prefer to handle vomit or blood.

Something else that struck me was when  an SWC professional challenged me about my choice of majors. He asked if I chose this major or because my family wants me to be a nurse. This stayed with me because I had to look into myself to see why I am a nursing major.

I re-learned I tend to wait for the other person to speak first, then I will join in.. I also learned that I do not like that silence between conversation because it feels very awkward
These kinds of activities are important because we need to learn how to network with people and learn how to converse with strangers. In life, we need to talk to strangers and be able to hold a conversation with them.

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John A.

There were different values that made me become confident for the mixer. Talking to other people made me confident and made my value such as the Lakas ng loob .

The activity helped me become a better person because talking to professor could help to ease my anxiety and to practice my communication skills.These kinds of activities can be a stepping stone for me to be out of my comfort zone and to help me become successful and have more confidence in myself.

It may be scary to talk to professors, but I realized that the SWC professional also want students to approach them to ask questions.

There are different types on how to talk to professors due to their personalities as well. Their values which has Kapwa in which, it shows how people have a sense of belongingness within them. also made the Bayan students improve drastically. It made them become approachable towards one another and know everybody better.

The bayanihan (how people help one another to achieve a goal together)  of students by helping one another on how to be proper and talk to professors was awesome and it inspired me to be confident of myself and be attached with them that makes me comfortable without any issues.

Talking to the SWC professionals changed my perspective towards them because I thought it would be difficult to approach them. But now, I am more confident to be with then and to practice talking with other about  being a better person.

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Von C.
The first value that helped me engage in networking is lakas ng loob (inner toughness) because it taught me to harness my inner confidence and use it to talk to someone that I had never had a conversation with. Lakas ng loob (inner toughness) also provided confidence because it helped to be more comfortable with the things I had to say to another person. For example, if I was in the process of thinking of an answer and I totally scratch off my idea because it was “stupid”.

Another value that I witnessed in action was kapwa (togetherness, shared identity), because some groups stayed with the same bayan members and staff members instead of mingling and putting themselves out there with everyone. I think kapwa is used in this activity because it brings everyone much more together considering that we all had to mingle with others, we “dragged” a friend of ours to mingle with somebody else, so, that itself shows that the networking activity can bring togetherness to bayan and staff members.

One value that I could use some help is hiya because I am still kind of conditioned that hiya is like “self-shame” and because of that, I just really don’t know how to apply hiya in a setting. One idea I had mind to improve my hiya is instead of looking at it in a negative way, it should be thought of in a positive way. For example, saying “nahihiya ako” instead of using it as a way of feeling shy, embarrassed, or ashamed of ourselves but use those “negativity” to boost up our confidence and get out of my comfort zone to explore other things such as having a conversation with other people.

One lesson that I heard from campus mentors that really stuck with me is that it doesn’t hurt to ask questions, this is really important because sometimes it’s not that we don’t can’t get the proper help from others but it could also be that we just don’t want to ask for help or questions.

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Steven C.
The networking session was a really good way to communicate with other SWC professionals.  Some values that I saw were the communication skills each student had with the professors. Professors and students can connect by the way they communicate. Every person has a set of communication skills, they just have to find a way to fit it into the person or people they are talking to.

At first, I struggled in the beginning with starting a conversation with other students and teachers. But as we started talking, we brought up some topics, and they turned into stories.

It was really fun talking about things we had in common. I had a conversation with a teacher,  talking about school projects.  I brought up my Bio class freshman year where I had to provide oxygen for a Beta fish with a plant in the water. After two days of the project, I'm on my way to class and my fish is gone. I was so confused. I was thinking someone stole my fish. I asked my teacher, Mr.Dewalt, and he said no one took my fish. It was a bit hard to believe him because he does have short-term-memory loss.

But he was right, no one stole my fish. I had put the bowl near a closed window, for the plant to get sunlight. Under the frame, there are binders and folders of my teachers work. I move them and what do you know. I find my fish. Dried up like a potato chip. The Beta fish jumped out of the bowl and committed suicide!  I told my teacher and this is what he tells me, “oh yea, i forgot to tell the class that betta fish try and commit suicide haha.” He laughs because five other students’ fish jumped out as well. We all failed the assignment.

I told my story and the people I was with sadly had terrible animal experiences. We shared and kept changing topics. It is usually hard for me to start conversations with people I do not know. I'm rather shy and others are more open and can converse more.  All this connects to networking because witg=h the communication skills everyone has, there will be connection somehow between you and the person you are talking to. There might be something that the both of you, or if you are all in a group, might all agree on. There might be a topic that all of you relate to and that becomes a great conversation.

Networking is essentially kapwa, where everyone is in a community and everyone are friends.

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Ana D.
A value that helped me during networking was lakas ng loob or inner strength. With lakas ng loob, I had to reach into myself to gain the confidence and strength to be able to walk up to a person, introduce myself, and carry a conversation for an unmentioned length of time. Inner strength is needed for networking because you need to be confident enough in yourself to be able to approach someone professional and make a good and lasting impression on them for you to be memorable.

I personally think I could use a little more help in developing lakas ng loob. I’m not very confident in myself just yet, even if I try to. I still think I could learn how to be a little more sure of myself.

A value I saw in action was kapwa or fellow being. During networking, I noticed that a lot of conversations were made and continued based on how much we had in common with each other. Sometimes we talked about shared interests and sometimes we talked about shared experiences. Other times, someone had experienced something that we hadn’t but we were interested in knowing what they had to say, like their experience in the Navy or their difficult home life. The value of kapwa was at play because we were all searching for people who were just like us or finding something about a person that reflected us in some way.

The networking experience was both easy and hard. Easy because it was all arranged and everyone was on the same page about that fact; hard because we still had to group up and talk. The room was noisy and also felt a little cramped, which made it a bit difficult to hear what other people were saying. It was also hard to unintentionally eavesdrop on a nearby conversation that sounded just a little more interesting.

A particularly memorable moment was the appearance of the little puppy in the dinosaur costume. Emily, one of the staff members present, said that she had a little puppy in her office to hand over to students who were feeling a little down. She said that wanted to train that puppy to become an emotional-support dog so it could have a job that had something to do with her office as well.

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Joy C.
The day we did the Bayan mixer, I was very nervous at first. I did not know how to approach professors or what to talk to them about. I thought that I would awkwardly just be saying “Hi!”, doing my elevator pitch, and then just having an unbearable silence with a teacher.

Fortunately, my experiences were nothing like that. I had engaging conversations with every single professional that I talked to. I talked to at least four people, and they all had different perspectives and things to say.

As well, I saw that I put my Filipino values to good use. I found myself using Bahala Na, Kapwa, and other values when I was talking to the teachers. Bahala Na is a confrontational value, meaning that Filipinxs should face an issue head on instead of trying to avoid it. My first few teachers, I felt nervous to approach them first, so I would just say “Hi” and quickly state my elevator pitch. Eventually, I would ask questions. That was the Bahala Na part of it. Another way I exemplified Bahala Na was by talking about subjects I did not certainly want to talk about, or doing stuff that I did not want to, but doing it so that it would accommodate the teacher. [Good stuff here! I'd revise slightly to add definitions of the values near to when you first mention them. Do you think you want to introduce the values all at once, or address them one at a time?]

For example, when I was talking to one of the professors, she pointed out that she liked the TV show Steven Universe. I do not like Steven Universe, but I have watched it (unfortunately). So I remained on topic with her because I knew that she would enjoy talking about her interest in it. Another example of Bahala Na was when I did not want to show my art Instagram to a teacher but I did it anyway. Both of these actions led to a good outcome, in the end. Teacher 1 eventually stopped talking about Steven Universe and teacher 2 complimented my art skills. [How did that feel?]

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Jessica C.
Some values that helped me engage in networking was realizing how welcoming others are when meeting new people. Giving strong eye contact when talking to people is crucial because it shows that you are attentively listening to what the other person is saying. Also, acknowledging what they had previously said is important because it shows that you value their input. [Good stuff! These sound less like values than skills, no?]

Nodding your head too shows you understood what they said and if you did not quite get what they said, asking for them to repeat the question is important.

What was hard about this activity was the start of how to approach the professionals of SWC. It took me a while to start getting comfortable with introducing myself to people I did not know but slowly when we kept rotating between different people, I got comfortable with my speech and kapwa. Kapwa is a presentation of yourself and sharing your self identity to others.

What was easy was listening to what the professionals had to say about themselves. They are more experienced compared to us which made me engaged and found it interesting to listen to their story.

My inner dialogue during this activity was very honest and raw because I am presenting myself and I want people to know my identity but speaking and acting in a respectfully way.

I felt a strong connection when I met the the African American professional, Gary, the one wearing the white lab coat.  He and I had a lot of common interests which made me very comfortable to talk to him. I introduced myself and told him that my major was fashion design and business. I asked him what made him what to work at  Southwestern College,  but he told me that his original pathway for his career was to be a fashion design major and move to San Francisco.

This is exactly the pathway that I want to follow in the future because I plan to move back from San Francisco since I was not raised from there. It made me realize how important networking is to see what common ground you can have with people and how well you can connect.

A message that really stuck with me that I heard from the Bayan alumni's was not to be scared to meet new people. A lot of them have said that when they started Bayan they were not comfortable with talking to people they do not know but after a little bit of practice and figuring out their self identity helped they develop a confidence level to showcase to the public.

When I was talking to one of professors who is also a lawyer (she's  the one who brought the little puppy!) I realized that even though I cannot project my voice as loud as others, it is an insecurity that I can work on  overcoming. My voice should not make me any different than other people. It is very important for me because I do get in my own head and think about my voice and how difficult it is for people to hear me,  which is why I doubt myself when meeting new people.

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Mia Mae D.
Two values that really helped me during the Networking Mixer was "bahala na" which means determination and "lakas ng loob" which means inner strength.  Having the determination to seek out conversations with the professionals and having conversations to topics related to their career or personal life really drew me closer to the workers here. Also, finding the strength to hold a conversation with them allowed me to open up about myself and what we learn here in Bayan.

Another value that I saw in play was "bayanihan" which means community. The Networking Mixer was a way for us Bayan Scholars to open up our community with others outside this organization, and welcome and teach them our values with open arms.

The hardest thing about networking, and something that I always struggle with, is eye contact. When I was conversing with some of the professionals I would be looking at their faces when they were looking elsewhere, but in the moment where we caught each others eyes, I instantly looked away.

The easiest part was when I was teaching the professionals about our values. I was talking with Andrew, the professional from the 420 building;  he was very enthusiastic, trying to  understand what each of the values meant.

A memorable moment was when I was talking with Andrew with Mari and Madeline, and we all had majors similar majors related to the medical field. He then asked us whether we prefer puke or blood. And we all unanimously said blood, and he thought that was very interesting and was very shocked that we picked the latter.

A message that stuck with me was what Gary, from First Year Experiences,  told me and other Bayan Scholars was to advocate for yourself and voice out your concerns and any issues you have. Gary was also very informative of his barriers and how he overcame it and told us that roadblocks are always a part of the journey.

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Madeline N.
As I walked into class that morning, I was worried about networking day because I have never had to speak with campus staff in my other years of school. However, I remembered the conversation starters I use at church when I talk to the parents of the kids I teach such as, "How are you doing today?"

Surprisingly, bahala na—which means to accept things as they are— makes networking easier because it puts me at ease and encourages me to ask questions about transferring and other campus resources because I need to ask as many questions as I need to even if I am worried about what the staff member thinks about me. If I use this mentality of bahala na, I will be able to get my questions answered by meeting staff members from different areas on campus and picking their brains on tips and benefits they could pass on to me.

Hiya—which means determination— also made the networking process easier because since it is my first year in college and I am not an expert on transferring, the different classes provided here, the different campus locations, etc.,  I need to ask questions to staff members that are able to help me in order to complete my goal of being successful in school. By not seeking for tips and tricks I am  decreasing my chances of performing well in school and if I do not do well in school, I will bring shame to my family.

When we started networking, I used my structure of introducing myself, asking how they were doing, and going from there. Having a casual question made me more comfortable with asking questions based on the staff member's job on campus because it made it feel more like a conversation (which reminded me of a problem-posing environment where teachers and students discuss a topic with one another) than a student asking a teacher education-related questions, which made me think of a banking mode environment where the student-teacher relationship includes teachers speaking to the listening students.

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Ethan T.
Some Filipino values helped me effectively network with others. The value of Lakas Ng Loob, Hiya, and Kapwa helped me during Networking. I also saw those three values at work as well during networking. I feel I would need to develop Kapwa more since I feel I need to develop a common ground sooner with the people I converse with. Lakas Ng Loob is bravery, Hiya is determination, and Kapwa means shared identity.

I found linking values very easy during Networking. In my previous Digi-Journal, I described how I achieved Lakas Ng Loob. Doing that made the other values work with each other very easily.

Once a conversation gets started and you find common ground, conversing with someone gets easy. Most of the people I conversed with wanted to know my major and how I felt so far in my few months at Southwestern. Though packed, the conversations were very intimate and I enjoyed them.

My inner dialogue mostly was awkward at first though slowly evolved to forming questions I could ask the professionals. [How about moving this idea above the last paragraph, for logical flow?]

The most memorable moment was when Shadow the dog was brought in.  I was with Jess and our professional, Emily,  was discussing pets. She left the room to get Shadow from her room and brought Shadow in. People started to leave their conversations for Shadow kind of losing the whole point of Networking, though it was a good time to end the activity as the class was ending. It made us more human putting our attention to something cute than on the idea of networking.

These professionals are relatable with us and are there for us besides professional purposes.

People are more than just their profession. They have families, a history, and went through events we could be going through right now. This is important since we can go to them as genuine people besides just for what they specialize in.

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Matt E.
The networking activity was a little hard for me. It is usually hard for me to talk to people, especially if it is about myself and my professional goals, so it was a little difficult to open up. I'm good at talking to people when it comes to me listening to what they're saying and learning about them, but when it's the other way around I tend to be awkward and silent.

Hiya, the Filipino cultural value that means 'determination,' was a value that really helped me move through these interactions. After a while,  the mixer began to get easier. I found that when the person I was talking to was open and expressive about what they were talking about, it made it more comfortable speaking to them. Everyone I spoke with gave off that energy so it was a nice ease into "networking" practice. I don't know... I think, at least for me if I can get a good read on someone (which is, when someone is very open with their emotions and thoughts), it's easy for me to feel comfortable in the social situation.

I do know that not everyone I meet will be as open and welcoming as the professionals that came in on Thursday, so I'll have to work on how I open up to people who may not be as receptive.

A memorable moment from the mixer was meeting Professor Park. We both connected with like interests in anime and cartoons that we watched, which made it easy to connect with. When I told her I was interested in going into video game design, Professor told me about another professor on campus who taught art and was also a 2D animator.  She advised me, that if he had classes open, that I should enroll in his art class next semester. I'll be on the lookout for him.

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Mari G.
We learned cultural values before we did networking and we discussed the real meaning of each cultural values. Then the day of the networking, we got to talk to all the faculty members and after the networking in English, we connected the networking to cultural values that we learned during English class.

And I noticed that the Filipino values that helped me engage in networking was the “Hiya,” according to Virgilio Enriquez, “Hiya” means a sense of propriety and respectability. This means the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standard of behavior or morals. Because of hiya, it pushed me to be to do good during the network. I wanted to do good during the networking and say the right thing and questions to the faculty members.

The values that I also saw in action was Lakas ng loob because everyone was actually mingling with others and actually meeting new people. Lakas ng Loob means courage and inner self and inner aspect. Seeing everyone having the Lakas ng Loob to come up to the faculty members and introduce themselves and that pushes me to have the courage to introduce myself and not wait for them to come up to me. What was hard about the program is asking questions related to their job because their job is a little confusing and I don’t know exactly what to ask, I did ask what exactly they do,  but I couldn’t come up with questions for them. What’s also hard is that some faculty members seem intimidating and trying  to talk to them was hard because I was trying to get them to engage in the conversation but it was very awkward because they were straight up with their answers and if I try to say more they just shook their heads and agree to what I said. But what was easy was talking to the faculty members who are really open and nice. They’re actually engaged in the conversation and we were actually having a good conversation about our majors.

My inner dialogue that I had in my mind was not to say anything that can look bad and not to talk too much or too fast. This can relate to the cultural value, Hiya because I didn’t wanna look bad infant of the faculty members. A moment that stood out to me was when I told a faculty member my major and I said I’m majoring in Nursing, and she said “oh you’re a stereotype." I didn’t know what she meant, I didn’t know if she meant like “Oh, you’re one of those people who follows the stereotype” or if she didn’t mean anything about it. So I started making up reasons that she could’ve possibly meant. But in the end, I didn’t really take it as personal. This tells me that everyone has different opinions about something during the networking. Networking can be hard because you don’t want to offend someone and you have to think about what you’re going to say to them.

Overall, the networking was an experience and it made me realize that it is not scary to ask for help and that faculty members are nice and that they are there to help you succeed. In the future, I know I can do better in networking, better than the first one and I would come more prepared and asks more questions that can help me.

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Kat A.
Last class in PD, we did a networking activity with the professionals  at Southwestern College. I had the chance to talk to everyone and listen to their advice. Everyone was just so open and extremely kind it allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. I got to be myself around them and have ongoing conversations about my goals in life, my education plan, several universities out of San Diego, my plans after college and etc.

I believe that this activity created stronger connections with our professors that students usually don’t get in other classes. Some of my classmates in my other classes don’t even remember a few of their professors names.

The Filipino values “kapwa” and “bayanihan” was seen in action during the networking activity. I saw our classmates get together in different groups with the professors and switched every 5-10 minutes. Kapwa generally means being around other people and equality. I was able to see it happen within our classroom. Bayanihan is another word for coming together as a community and that definitely was seen when many of our professors on campus came to our networking activity.

One of the reasons I think the basics of the networking activity was so hard because people confuse networking with being social. It requires my classmates to do something that doesn’t come natural to them. Networking is more of connections with people and specific functions of different businesses.

On the other hand, being social is about social interactions and having social conversations. The easy part of the program was being able to talk to everyone. All the SWC professionals made the effort to talk with me and asked me a handful of questions about myself. I am likely to be seen at more networking events because I know there are people that are actually serious about their networking.

I also want to say thank you to all the SWC professionals that came in. It was really fun to see my classmates come out of their comfort zone. I'm definitely looking forward to attend more activities like this!

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Carlo J.
The networking activity was definitely a new experience for me. Having the chance to have a place to practice learning the correct way to build a strong first impression is something I will be able to keep with me for the rest of my life.

The main value that helped me engage in networking was lakas ng loob. Lakas ng loob is being strong-minded, it carries traits such as confidence and independence. Having lakas ng loob gave me the courage to approach the different people I met.

The value bayanihan helped as well because knowing that everyone was apart of the community allowed me to see everyone as a friend instead of a stranger. Knowing we all shared the community of southwestern college gave me some comfort. Bayanihan is the Filipino term for a shared community.

The most difficult thing for me was towards the beginning part of the conversation. After the introduction, I kept trying to find something we both could build a conversation over. Once I was able to click on something with them; the conversation went smoother. I remember vividly how my mind went blank after introducing to myself to one of the faculty members.

The easiest part of this experience was when whomever I was speaking too posed questions. A lot of the time they asked me about my nursing goals which is something I am very passionate about so I was able to keep the conversation going long.

The most important thing I learned from this activity was that I have to enter every conversation with an open-mind. When meeting a complete stranger I am entering a world of their joys, sorrows, likes, dislikes, and stories. I need to be able to get used to talking or listening about things that I may have no familiarity over. By being open, I allow them to share something new.

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Miguel M.
lakas ng loob makes networking easier because there is that sense of determination on having to stand up to the task at hand. Lakas ng loob means to have courage .While I was networking I used lakas ng loob to allow myself to talk to the faculty of Southwestern College.

I kept telling myself is to stay determine and try not to become overwhelm of talking to someone about a subject your not really sure of. The technique that really helped was trying to stay determine and telling myself that where is the shame of talking about a subject your not familiar with or asking questions that could make your life easier.

This networking event opened up new opportunities that weren't possible on my own. There was a man named Andre who helped me with student parking at the San Ysidro campus which wouldn't have been possible on my own since he is helping me get free student parking.

I was talking about career choices with one of the faculty members and she was just telling about all the career choices I can make . These choices were about the medical field and how I can be a lab technician. I don't remember her name or occupation but she really was trying to help me get an understanding of what I want to do in my career. She also stressed on me trying to get a Bachelor's because I'm still young to her eyes and it will be a lot harder to get if I'm older.

The other faculty members were trying to figure out a career path I can follow since I'm undecided but leaning towards Math or Science. They also wanted me to take advantage of being young so I can get on track for my future career. lakas ng loob  really did help me get through the experience of meeting with the faculty of Southwestern College.

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Robert O.
During the activity in my Personal Development class it was really fun and really informative when we were talking to SWC Staffs.

I noticed that the values in action was bayanihan and kapwa (Sense of having a community).Since that we are all part of this small community on campus and that they are just helping/mentoring us students to reach our goals.

During the activity I really did not notice that we were using the values that we learned in English. But after that I realized that all these values connected in someway to this activity. Just like for bayanihan, everyone that participated in that activity was all part of this Bayan ( community) of Southwestern Community College.

In the beginning of the “Networking” activity I was kinda nervous since growing up the only time I would to talk to school officials is when I get in trouble in school. But as time passed, I noticed that the staff in Southwestern just wanted to interact with us to get to know and get along with students. It was also hard to start the conversation with them but they made it kinda easy by asking us basic questions like: “What your major?” “What school are you gonna transfer to?” After 2 or 3 rounds of talking to the staffs ,it kinda became easy talking to them. One moment that I wont forget was, when I was talking to a staff from Southwestern at San Ysidro, Andre, who was a retired navy who served for 10 years.  He noticed that I was wearing an army jacket and asked me if I was gonna join. I said no but I told him I was gonna join the navy. Since he was a former navy he gave me some tips and some insight on the navy life.

Something that Andre told me really stuck in my head. He said “Know what you wanna do before the joining the navy” because in the navy, every  sailor has to their own specific job, like Culinary Specialist, Maintenance Technician, and etc. Every sailor has to there job so everything in the ship runs smoothly. By knowing what you want to do in the ship it allows me to know what I have to do to prepare myself in that field.

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Jalen B.
In our networking activity, I was able to meet professionals that worked at Southwestern College and was able to obtain advice about how to cope with stress and challenge authority when we feel that their can be a more effective way of approaching different tasks.

Surprisingly, bahala na  (sense of determination) makes networking a lot easier. The reason for this is because having determination can help us discover relevant information from our fellow colleagues and professionals in which we can apply throughout our daily lives.

Moreover, networking is essentially  kapwa (togetherness). Being able to get to know one another is essential to help make long lasting connections that can benefit us in the future. We were able to introduce ourselves to people that we haven't met before and find a common ground and interests.

It was very enlightening to talk to different people that came in for the networking activity because they were really nice and guided us with questions that lead us to explain more about our answer rather than just a yes or no response. They would ask us to explain why we thought of a particular idea in a certain way. Then, they would explain their point of view, which I find very fascinating because many people have different outlooks on particular topics.

One lesson that I learned from campus mentors that really stuck with me was to ask questions and to not be afraid to approach them. I felt encouraged after they said that phrase because sometimes I can get really stubborn by not asking for help because I try to do things on my own. Sometimes I take things to far or get really stressed out and I have to learn that asking for help is OK.

The networking activity not only allowed us to practice our values discussed in class, but realize that there are professionals that are willing to help us. Yet, it’s on us to go up to them instead of the other way around. We have to be able to stand up and get out of our comfort zone in order to discover new ideas and techniques that can ultimately benefit us in the long run.

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Joubert T.
Making small talk or socializing, in general, is not my strong suit but I am willing to learn these skills in order to improve for myself. I also have a hard time trying to give a good first impression to people I want to talk with but I felt more comfortable when someone else starts the conversation rather than myself. Definitely, Lakas ng loob is one of the aspects I need to develop or improve to be able to effectively network.

Lakas ng loob was a value that helped me engage in networking because being able to talk with others especially one on one is hard for me. Lakas ng loob means strength from inside, in this case, it means the courage I needed in order to network with others.

The program was surprisingly easy because the professionals were very nice, respectful, patient and open-minded regardless of having no knowledge of what we discuss in class. They were open to discussion that they can talk about anything and be able to express what they think about the topic. Additionally, they were caring because they would ask our day, physical and mental health. I was able to build up the courage to talk with them in order to be respectful in continuing on the conversation or dialogue.

There are always people who will help you to progress throughout your goals. There are always services that people can use whenever they need it especially the ones who are facing difficulties or struggles that prevent them from reaching their goals. I also learned that I need to improve my social skills in order to effectively network with others and help others that struggle to communicate.

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Rhob V.

I was a little bit nervous when the mentors got inside the room. At first, I was trying to calm myself to not feel hiya, to be ashamed. Of course I was nervous because I don't know what to say to them. There is a lot of thoughts going on inside my head: Should I shake their hands?, Do I look at their eyes while talking? But when the activity started, it was very interesting because these people are one of my mentors even though I don't really know them.

They seem very excited to talk and I noticed that some of them are prepared because they have a lot of questions.

During the activity, I was being pushed by my professor to go mingle and meet other people. It was a big help for me because he pushes me to do what I need to do. He boosted me up, improving my inner strength or what we call lakas ng loob.

One of the mentors I talked to was very cheerful. When I met him, he was cool, ready, and looks like he is into the military, which was right. He was in the navy.  He talked to me and we were getting to know each other in just small amount of time. He told us about his family. He even showed us  family pictures which was very heart warming to see.

Another mentor I had talked to is a English professor. She asked a lot of questions of  me and my partner. Questions like, What do you get or learn about my organization Bayan, What is your major, stuff like that. I think she is a very interesting professor because she really cares about our story that she would give an advice if we go see her to her office room.

I learned that networking is a big boost to people who really is not into talking to other people. It boosted up my inner strength, lakas ng loob, because I finally got to experience talking to a professionals. It was hard at first because I am a shy person. But as time goes by, there is something building up inside me, I think it was my confidence and courage to be heard.

The activity was a fun experience;  I'm thankful that my professors organized this  activity.

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Danika C.
This morning , I had completely forgotten we were going to practice ‘networking’. The questions my peers and I had created in our Personal Development class our last meet were available and sent to us via Canvas, but I did not take another look at said questions.Surprisingly, bahala na makes networking easier. The idea of perseverance and determination to push yourself to start and finish what you have to do especially when life gets more difficult, is important.

I truly had to just say, “Bahala na.”, and get through the hour and a half of conversing with the professors and/or staff at the event.

I also noticed that networking is essentially kapwa. The idea that we have a communal identity and shared self, i.e. shared values, traditions, history… That we can all find commonality in anything. This also means that individuals have a shared identity, allowing words like ‘we’, and ‘us’. Networking is creating kapwa, with the people that you meet. We looked  for a concept or made a suggestion in order to connect to the people we met during the Elevator Pitch mixer.

The values I could use help developing are lakas ng loob, and kapwa. I am not a big fan of standing up and saying my opinion or what is on my mind which defines the filipino value of Lakas ng Loob. It is still nerve wracking for me. I went to a high school that is in  Paulo Freire would say operates on the banking concept of education,  where there is one clear answer. Now, I'm in a college, a "problem-posing culture" in college, where there can be multiple answers. This shift has me wanting to ask questions in my Art History class, but not the courage to do so - yet!

I must continue to work with the value of kapwa because I need to be able to find a commonality or a shared self with not only my fellow bayan members, but also my professors and in my social circle

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Jessie R.
Values that I saw was lakas ng loob. Lakas ng loob is a Filipino value meaning courage and strength. Lakas na Loob is essential to networking because it requires interaction between people. In order to speak to people and gain connections I need to confident and willing to strike a conversation.

My inner dialogue was trying to find out what I was going to say or ask next. For some reason I was too shy to share. Thankfully, I managed to speak with the campus mentors and speak in front of everyone at the end of the activity.

Something that I need to work on speaking up like that, which is connected to the Filipino value called “Hiya”. “Hiya” sense of propriety and respectability. Hiya is also connected to pride and self-esteem.  I want to improve on not having to worry about what other people think and be more confident. What helped me get through this activity is telling myself to “just do it”.
As class went by, mingling has gradually become easier.

Something that I have learned about myself is that I have become more comfortable sharing my opinions to others. I grow as a person when it comes to interacting with others on a professional level. The significance of this activity is that it can help myself realize that I am capable of mingling and networking. What’s easy about the program was engaging in conversations with my classmates. It was easy because I was talking with someone I knew and it broke the Ice a little bit. What was hard was maintaining the conversation with the people. For example, I had to think of what was I going to ask or say before the activity started.

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Victor P.
I can say that the networking activity was not as bad as I thought it would be. What helped was that I started talking about what I really like to do. That being drawing rubber hose characters and art. Then moving on to talking about a franchise I really love and grew up with, that being the pokemon franchise so the really helped break the ice when it came to trying to say anything.

What also helped relive some tension was that there were other students there and the whole event was more of a social gathering rather than a sort of one on one talk with the networking person.

The networkers were also friendly and while I cannot remember their names I can remember how they looked and can make out their personality. They genuinely looked like they wanted to help or at best give useful advice to help us along our time here at Southwestern College.

What also helps was that they were in costume as were some of us so the whole thing felt like a silly little Halloween gathering and mini party rather on Halloween than us just awkwardly stand their in formal attire and try to make conversation and just not really making much leeway into it.

I can also not stress enough how much the other students also helped break the ice most of the time since some actually had some questions or said something that helped break it and asked really good questions that gave use rather useful tips and tricks to use in our future schooling endeavors and even future endeavors in life in general since college is not going to be forever, unless you make it for forever.

I will say that I am thankful since I felt as if I did get something out of this Hopefully I can make sure to try to apply it to myself and life, in general, to help me improve in any endeavors I may have for myself or want to pursue.