Angel Macaraig: August 2019

The End of My MBA Journey

By Angel Macaraig - Thursday, August 01, 2019

I am so happy to share that last June 8, 2019, I finally graduated at UST and officially received my MBA degree. I made it after 3.5 years, woot!

I suddenly remember my 20-year old self - an IT fresh graduate, working at a start-up company as Jr. Mobile Software Developer. Since I was starting my professional career in the IT industry, MSIT was my obvious first choice. But for some reason, I wasn't able to push through with my plan. Realized God had a different plan for me...

With my sister, Chinee. Photo op before the start of the solemn investiture.

Had an opportunity to shift to another role as Business Analyst, which is also an IT role btw. This role exposed me to both worlds of business & technology. Three years later, I decided again to pursue further studies. Since my role in the company was no longer hardcore technical, MSIT was out of the picture anymore (and also, ghad, I hate programming lol). My next dillema was, "if not MSIT, what should I take up?". One day, I found myself applying to UST for the MBA program. And that, my friends, was the start of my colorful MBA journey.

So why did I choose MBA? That time, I wasn't also sure. Maybe, it was a safe choice for me? Applicable when you're aiming to climb up the corporate ladder (e.g., management position), when you're planning to put up your own business or when you're planning to start a career in the academe. I didn't have a clear direction. All I wanted was to take up master's...

My Thesis Defense!

Those 3.5 years were probably the busiest years of my life! It was also the most colorful - I made good friends, widened my network, learned a lot of new things outside my profession, received new opportunities alongside, etcetera. Of course, those 3.5 years were not purely fun. I had my own down moments - the pressure of juggling my work, studies and social life altogether, those missed family events, THESIS (Oo, heto talaga yung pinaka-mahirap), mental, emotional & financial (mahal kasi ng tuition haha) pressure, bla bla... I'd always questioned myself, "Bakit ko ba 'to ginagawa? Ginusto mo yan, balakajan self". All those mixed emotions!!! But you know, if I can turn back time, I would readily face & experience this journey again. Life is boring without the pressure you know haha! Kidding aside, I'm really happy I did it!

June 8, 2019 - the most awaited day of my fellow graduate students in UST has come... Still can't believe my MBA journey ends here! Thank you, UST! Thank you to everyone who supported me in this journey! Hindi siya naging madali, pero kinaya ko woot!