Still Here, Still Growing: My Career Realization After 7 Years at City College of Angeles
Still Here, Still Growing: My Career Realization After 7 Years at City College of Angeles
I graduated from City College of Angeles in 2016, never really thinking I’d be back here—not like this. Back then, I was just like every other fresh graduate: full of dreams, uncertain about the future, and quietly praying life would be kind.
Two years later, in 2018, I found myself walking through the same gates—not as a student anymore, but as a staff member. I thought it would be temporary. Just something to get me started. I never imagined that this would be the place where I’d plant my roots.
Fast forward to today—seven years, three promotions, and countless lessons later—I'm still here.
And that realization? It hits differently now.
In those seven years, I’ve experienced both the joy of recognition and the sting of rejection. I was honored to receive the Model Employee Award in 2021, and had the privilege to represent our college as a scholar at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (2021) and again at the University of the Philippines Open University (2025).
But I’ve also applied three times for a plantilla position—and I didn’t get it. Each time, I smiled in public and kept going, but deep down, it hurt. Because it wasn’t just about the title. It was about feeling seen, secured, and finally settled.
Still—I stayed.
I stayed because I owe so much of who I am to this place.
I stayed because every corner of this campus feels like home.
And every time I stand beside the professors who once mentored me—now my colleagues—I am reminded that my journey has come full circle.
Over time, I’ve come to realize that success isn’t always loud.
Sometimes, it’s quiet.
It’s the quiet consistency of showing up even when you’re tired.
It’s the quiet strength of continuing the work even when no one is watching.
It’s the quiet hope of believing that your presence, your service, still matters.
City College of Angeles taught me that.
This place shaped me through its values—
Resiliency, for every time I had to start over and try again.
Stewardship is for learning to serve with heart, not ego.
Excellence, for giving my best even when it’s hard.
And Patrimony, for realizing that being here isn’t just work—it’s legacy.
Yes, I still hope for that plantilla role. Yes, I still dream of security. But I’ve come to understand that I am building something deeper than a job—I am living out a mission.
I’ve seen lives change here.
I’ve seen students rise from nothing and find their way.
I’ve witnessed what hope looks like, and I’ve had the privilege of being part of it.
So yes, I’m still here.
Not because I settled.
But because I believed.
Because this is a place where hope resides and lives are transformed—including mine.
And if my story can remind even just one person to hold on, to keep going, to stay rooted in purpose—then every part of this journey has been worth it.
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