31/07/2023
Kudos Yorme!!!😍😍😍
Citizen Isko shares his Harvard experience!
“When I applied for the Executive Program sa John F. Kennedy School (JFK) of Government in Harvard, it was me and my wife. I was in bed and I said to my wife, ‘Mommy, hmmm, gusto ko tirahin ’tong ino-offer ng JFK School of Government.’ Sabi niya, ‘Huh? E, ’di ba hirap ka mag-English?,’ he said, smiling. “’Yun nga ’yung problema ko. Pero, if I’m going to try, at least nasabi ko sa sarili ko I did try. Sabi ko nga, walang mawawala sa akin. In-open ko ’yung website ng Harvard and nag-apply ako.”
The good news came a week later.
“After a week I was in a lobby of a hotel when I received an email. ‘Uy, from Harvard.’ Siyempre pini-pinta ko pa. ’Pag pinta ko ganiyan, ‘Congratulations, Mr. Domagoso, welcome to JFK School of Government.’ So very excited, I shared [it] to my wife and my kids and to my friends at that time nando-doon kami sa dinner.”
What was life as a student of Harvard like?
“Nung pagpasok ko mero’n table, designated area, so, arriving na kami sa buong mundo on that particular day. So, nasa desk ka, you show your credentials then you'll be given an ID and the key for the dorm. I forgot the name, I don’t know if I’m correct about [the dorm]. It’s across the river, very cold, you walk. But there’s a bus na free, Harvard School bus that goes around the Harvard Square. Sakay ka doon. It’s like a student village, ’tapos dorm ka. Dalawa kayo sa dorm, share kayo. I was with a Middle Eastern guy, ’tapos the following day klase na. Day in and day out in the next 10 days, you have to come in prepared and ’tapos nung nasa classroom na, ’yun na ’yung parang napapanood mo sa pelikula, ’yung setup talaga.”
In hindsight, Harvard was a “surreal experience” for Yorme, a boy who grew up in Tondo but ended up rubbing elbows with global leaders and learning from the best minds at Harvard.
“It's surreal. Parang ’pag iisipin mo, wow, basurero ka lang dati, ang sama mo mag-English. Gusto mo lang matuto sa buhay and you’re there in one of the best, if I may put that in perspective, one of the best schools for government. Nasarapan ako, umulit ako [laughs]. Dumalawa ako, but before ako bumalik in my second Executive Program sa Harvard, I went to Oxford, kasi I wanted to learn also ’yung European perspective. It’s a very good experience and it made me better.”
CTTO
