10/12/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐ | ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐น๐ถ๐๐
When you thought of giving up in August, which just kicked-off another year in College or in any academy, is the same time you willingly and excitedly wait for Jose Mari Chan to defrost. โWhenever I see girls and boys selling lanterns on the streetโฆโ The unmistakable voice of JMC drifts through the air as early as September, signaling the unofficial start of the Filipino Christmas season.
In Legazpi City, the heart of Bicol, this melodic cue is more than just a background music, itโs a cultural alarm clock. It is almost as normal as it is to celebrate Christmas for four (4) long months after the other eight in the Philippines, season of warmth, generosity, and spiritual reflection, where children do caroling, having โpamaskoโ as a sign of gratitude and sharing, and when the song โChristmas in our Heartsโ echoes, resonating to almost every Filipino.
Civil Engineering has always been a great profession, an area of study, that could be defined to be so special and crucial for a better understanding of how developments and progress work for modern society. While BER Months this year are quite different. Exposing failed flood control projects, ghost infrastructures and programs, and the ever existing issue of corruption. Here comes the pressure for good governance, quality education, and integrity, being labelled as future contractors, meaning being someone corrupt or involved in the future.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ถ๐
-๐๐ฝ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป
In Bicol University, particularly for the Civil Engineering Department of the College of Engineering, a different countdown begins. When the rest of the region and programs lean into merriment, Civil Engineering Students await for what is perceived to be an academic avalanche as it marks the onset midterms, projects and the specter of final exams. Hydraulics equations swirl in their minds while Christmas jingles echo in the background. Structural Analysis deadlines clash with Simbรกng Gabi invitations, making the festive air outside a stark contrast to the pressure cooker environment inside every student.
By the time September rolls in, so do the midterm exams, an unforgiving gauntlet of core subjects that demand precision, endurance, and mental grit. This alone, as experienced by every year level, is enough pressure to soften and humble cores, particularly of first year students, the freshies. They enter the CE world with wide eyes and hopeful hearts, only to be met with the reality of sleepless nights, high-standard quizzes, and the echoing phrase: โSubmit your plate and compilations tomorrow.โ
October brings no relief. Instead, it ushers in a new wave of requirements. Plates and solved problems pile up like Christmas gifts, except theyโre wrapped in stress and sleeplessness. The CE Building becomes a second home, and most of the time, a battlefield. Students struggle and thrive to navigate through a maze of deadlines, consultations, and revisions. The sound of printers becomes the soundtrack of survival. And while other students rehearse for Christmas presentations, CE students rehearse their defense for project proposals and reports.
๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต
November is the tipping point. The BERden reaches its peak. The semesterโs weight presses down hardest, and students begin to question their choices. โWhy CE?โ becomes a recurring internal monologue. But amidst the breakdowns are breakthroughs. A passed plate. A compliment from a professor. A groupmate who finally shows up. These small victories become lifelines.
And then thereโs the camaraderie. CE students may be buried in work, but they are never alone. Thereโs a unique bond forged in shared suffering. Itโs in the silent nod exchanged in the hallway, the group chat filled with memes and formulas, the late-night study sessions fueled by coffee and collective panic. Itโs in the way upperclassmen guide the freshies, passing down not just notes but wisdom: โAlways bring extra tracing paper,โ โNever trust the plotter on a deadline,โ โSleep is optional, but friendship is essential.โ
Even faculty members, like Mr. Kenneth Ryan Llorera and other CE professors, become part of this ecosystem. Their reminders, consultations, and occasional words of encouragement are like stars in a stormy skyโsmall but significant. They know the BER months are brutal, and their presence, even in strictness, is a form of support.
Yet, amidst the chaos, thereโs a strange kind of bliss.
Itโs in the shared silence of a study group at midnights, where no one speaks but everyone tries to understand. Itโs in the laughter that erupts after a failed exercise, because sometimes, humor is the only thing left to hold onto. Itโs in the small victories like passing a quiz, finishing a plate, or simply making it to class on time despite the odds.
And when December finally arrives, and the last exam is submitted, the relief is palpable. The CE Building, once a battlefield, transforms into a sanctuary of celebration. The BERden lifts, and the bliss takes over.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐: ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
To be a Civil Engineering student during the BER months is to live in dualityโbetween celebration and struggle, between tradition and transformation. Itโs a season that tests not just academic prowess, but character, camaraderie, and courage.
The CE spirit is resilient. It survives the harshest deadlines, the toughest exams, and the most draining all-nighters. Every CE student, regardless of year level, knows the feeling of being overwhelmed yet determined. And itโs remarkable. Because despite everything, CE students rise. They build not just structures, but stories; of perseverance, of friendship, of growth.
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐น๐๐ฒ๐
The irony of the BER months is that while the rest of the world decorates homes, CE students are busy designing them. While others plan vacations, CE students plan drainage systems. While others count down to Christmas, CE students count down to submission deadlines. But in doing so, they build more than just academic credentialsโthey build resilience, discipline, and a deep appreciation for the value of hard work.
They learn that progress isnโt just about passing subjects, itโs about pushing boundaries. That development isnโt just about infrastructure, itโs about inner strength. That engineering isnโt just about equations; itโs about empathy, ethics, and endurance.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐
Years from now, when CE graduates look back, they wonโt just remember the formulas or the exams. Theyโll remember the BER months; the sleepless nights, the shared struggles, the bittersweet blend of stress and celebration. Theyโll remember how they survived, how they grew, and how they found joy in the journey.
Because in the end, the BER months are more than just a season. Theyโre a rite of passage. A test of spirit. A celebration of grit. And for every CE student whoโs ever cried over a failed plate, laughed during a group study, or sang carols while solving equations, this season is theirs.
So the next time you hear Jose Mari Chanโs voice floating through the air, remember: for CE students, itโs not just the start of Christmasโitโs the soundtrack of survival, of shared dreams, and of the unwavering spirit that defines the peak of CE life.
written by ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ
Feature Editor
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