“Good day! This is Marivic from
Radyo ng Bayan. You may start your OJT here on Monday, June 24, 2013 at 8 a.m.
Bring your endorsement letter. Thank you.”
That
message completed my day.
My internship at Philippine
Broadcasting Service/ Radyo Pilipinas from June to July was something I will never
forget.
Getting there
Prior
to the internship, AM station was really on top of my list of radio stations I
want to get into. Any station from the office of the PBS was really what I’m
praying to get into.
It’s
second week of June when my friends and I started “OJT Hunting”. Our first stop
was, of course, the Philippine Information Agency building where the office of
the PBS is located.
After
4 days, I received a textmessage from the HR department of PBS that an intern
exam will be conducted at their office. I was really surprised because I did
not expect that they would still consider my application.
A few days later, I found myself seated
at the conference room of PBS together with my fellow interns for the
orientation.
Assigned Station: Radyo Pilipinas-
Overseas
I
chose to be in Radyo Pilipinas on a whim but I don’t regret it a bit. DZRP is
the overseas broadcast of the PBS. I felt lucky to be part of the station and
got to meet the people behind the DZRP- Mr. Rey Sampang, acting station
manager, at the same time acts as our supervisor in the internship, Sir Edwin,
Sir Ric, Ma’am Ven, Ma’am Tess, Sir Soc and Ma’am Myrna. It was
humbling to meet these people who lay out fresh perspectives for the benefit of
everyone’s understanding.
Also, I really enjoyed the company of the staff because they
treated us as if we’re also co- employees there and not just an ordinary
intern. They really helped me to make the most out of my internship.
Every time I was at my
internship, I never said that I’ve had a non- sense day. Each and every day, I
got to learn something new, even it’s just a word that sounds new to me. I
never had a day wherein I don’t have a story to share with my friends or family
that was happened in my internship on that particular day.
“Konektado Ka!”
This
is the slogan of PBS AM stations. It is the phrase or expression that the
anchors say as they introduce the Bayan Patrol reporters before delivering
news. But, for me, it’s more than just the words I would hear every day or I
would even say at the radio booth. These are the words I use to describe the
feeling of being an intern in PBS.
I
felt connected to the people I worked with. The relationship I had with the
people in the station and with my fellow interns evolved into something that
felt like family even in such a short time. I remembered my supervisor who’s
always reminding me and my co-intern that he didn’t want us to be treated as “basta- bastang” trainees but rather he wanted us to be treated as normal employees.
He’d rather call us “staff” and not “trainess” because for him, we were already
part of the station even for a short period of time.
Given the nature of the industry, I
always had to be in-the-know of the latest news. I felt connected with my
environment. Through my internship, I got to see the bigger picture of things
and helped me to view other angles of news stories. Just to cite an example, I
still remembered when Sir Rey on his program, DZRM, was talking about the
issues on Bangsamoro Agreement, and on the side, he actually made me
familiarize with the first military leadership in ARMM until it’s now
recognized as Bangsamoro. From that, I got to know more about the history of
the ARMM government and further understand its current status. Through my internship, I was given fresh lenses with which to view the world of
broadcasting.
Paid with Experience
Being
an intern, I was not given any salary unlike a regular employee. But after the
internship, I would say that I’ve got something that is more valuable than the
money. It’s the experience that I can take with me wherever I go, whatever I do,
even share with whomever I meet.
During the course of a month, I answered phone calls and
queries during radio programs, provided anchors or producers with materials or
information needed for the program, called countless people and offices to
schedule interviews, wrote news materials every day, recorded news articles, abused
my browser by so many tabs that were opened all at the same time just to research
on the latest news and happenings, I also met politicians and personalities during
the course of my internship .
Aside from all of the duties mentioned, one of the things I
loved doing the most during the internship was co- anchoring. It was the right
decision for me to be assigned in Radyo Pilipinas because I also got the chance
to be part of other stations like in Radyo
Magasin and Radyo ng Bayan since
my supervisor also handled programs there. I was lucky that I was given the
opportunity to participate in discussions about issues being tackled on each of
his radio programs.
My stay in PBS has
been more exciting as they launched a program called “Youthalk”. Every day, I
looked forward to that 4- 5pm program. I really enjoyed those times I co-
anchored the program. I got the chance to bond with the other interns and got
to know them more and of course, each of us has his own piece to share. And to
double the fun, there’s Mama Renz who guided us while we’re doing the report.
Learnings…
It was a well- spent 200 hours with PBS. I’ve picked up a lot
of life-long values and lessons along the way that I now carry with me.
I learned to be patient and resourceful. I learned the value
of hard work and sacrifice, learned to get things done. I learned how it felt
to want so much to exceed expectations.
I learned to absorb knowledge like a sponge and to accept
criticisms. I managed to be flexible to meet deadlines.
The
month I spent in PBS is beyond awesome. I will always be grateful for being part of the station in a short span of time.
The experience is something that is irreplaceable.
I
am Marjorie Olfindo from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines- a proud
PBS – DZRP intern.
