Talk Shop Asia USA Edition
by Joseph Obsenada
The month of March celebrates Women’s History Month which was established by the US Congress to recognize the accolades by women of each era around the world. It is to remind the new generation, especially young women around the world that they are able to achieve such feats. This was the theme of Talk Shop Asia USA Edition featuring two students from APC.
On their March 10, 2021 episode, they featured two of RAMpage’s feature & literary writers. Danielle Aranda has been a member of RAMpage since 2019 and has written several pieces for the literary side. One of our newest members, Abby Tiongson, is a former member and Prime Minister of APC Speaks.
Both expressed their future ambitions and their opinions on the pandemic and their methods of coping with the ongoing “work-from-home” situation for classes. I spoke with them after the talk shop and they both expressed the extreme nervousness they felt before going live. But they both felt the mood lighten and their fears disappear when the conversation moved to their personal views on the new normal and other such topics.
During the talk, Danielle expressed, “I’m only vocal and straight-forward if the situation calls for it. I don’t like loud people who speak only for the attention and I don’t like being silently apathetic.” Her words truly come to life through her poetry and literary pieces, and she was given the opportunity to read out one of her works titled “Puhon” in front of an international crowd.
She would later give her opinions on the online learning environment and pointed out, “The biggest lag in online classes is the exchange of energy. An educator’s passion in teaching is what keeps learners engaged.” She then expounded on another aspect she didn’t mention during the talk about how it is difficult to find the line to separate work and home.
Abby on the other hand was very direct with her dreams and ambitions in life about opening an orphanage so she could give back to the less fortunate in our community. After the talk, I asked her about her thoughts on being a consistent honor student. She mentioned, “The challenge I am facing right now is of course maintaining my grades in my major subjects. My course in BS Accountancy is extremely difficult in the online setting that we have.”
She would later add, “I don’t really mind if for example, this academic year I slipped out of the honor students list because, honestly, I am more determined to learn something from my course even if it means failing the subject or seeing that bloody ‘R’ in my report card. It would hurt of course, but you know you can always try again.” This truly shows Abby’s perseverance to learn even from her mistakes.
After the interview I conducted, I realized the ambitions and insight they have which made them worthy candidates for the talk itself. They both carried themselves well during the talk if you asked me and represented the school’s ideals very well. The episode featuring our two APC writers aired live both on the V81 Radio Facebook Page and YouTube Channel. The recordings are still available for late viewing.
