JOURNALIST EXCHANGE
In the College of Communication, the JENESYS program has been really well-known. For this year’s 1st batch, the delegates are media practitioners going to Japan as the Philippine’s “Ambassadors of Good Will”. Four COCians have been chosen to represent the country and the school, but what does it takes for them to be part of the team?
ALEJO, AUBREY MADELEINE, 20
“A senior AB Journalism student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Manila. I am currently a Social Media Assistant at The Philippine Star and a contributor for the PhilStar Campus. My advocacy is to engage the Millennials more into becoming more aware and proactive with the social issues of our country.”
MANGULABNAN, JESSIE DIANA, 19
“A graduating student in PUP-Manila who is taking up a degree in Broadcast Communication is currently an intern in iFM Manila and is a senior core member of the official radio station of PUP-Manila. My motive for applying for the Jenesys Program is that I have expectations that I can experience their culture, see their historical sites and museums and how high-tech Japan is. But as a delegate, I expect that there will be collaboration of ideas; how my talents and their talents will synchronize towards to the goals that Jenesys, JICE and NYC ask from us. The society teach me to stand for what is right. To promote and to support advocacies that support the well-being of the people, the society. To awake the consciousness and nationalism of my fellow youth, encouraging them to speak and stand-up.”
ASTOR, CJ CRISALDO, 20
“I am a Broadcast Communication student in Polytechnic University of the Philippines and a member of ASEAN Youth Leaders Association - Philippines, a non-profit organization that empowers youth leaders across Southeast Asia to bridge divides and co-create solutions for sustainable development in ASEAN. I’m really interested about Japan’s culture: their technology, the traditions, the cleanliness of the place and the discipline of the people, the schedules and all that. So why am I interested with Japanese culture? It is because I really wanted to adapt to it. I want to personally experience it and I want to foster their culture to my networks because I think Japanese culture is one of the things that can be used as a benchmark in terms of technological progress. As a communicator, I advocate for critical thinking and responsible social media usage with the hope of bridging the divides that persist in our society.”
PUNAY, NATHANIELLE, 19
“I am a 4th year Journalism Student in the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. I also work as an intern in Manila Standard for the Sports and Tech pages. One of the reasons why I wanted to be a journalist is because I love to engage myself in situations that I have never encountered. I saw the opportunity to test myself in the Jenesys Program and was reminded of why I really wanted to be a journalist. The profession does not only require you to be good at writing, it also requires you to interact with people, to be street-smart, to always be alert and to find quick solutions to a problem... so I see the program as a training ground. As a journalist, I have a really strong advocacy. We are now living in a point of time where people listen to opinions and read fake news so much they begin to label them as ‘facts’. Not only will I write to state facts but I also want to write in a manner that makes my readers think outside the box and to have them engage in healthy exchange of thoughts.”
