YOUR first day on your first job can be scary.
You’re fresh out of college—wide-eyed, eager to learn, ready to take on responsibilities and ace this job and, yet, you’re silently worried about not meeting expectations.
The first few days of your first job mean learning the ropes—understanding processes, meeting new people and bosses, getting a grasp of things, and finding your place in a perfectly set system that has been around way longer than you were.
The first days on your job can be scary—I was lucky mine weren’t.
SunStar Cebu was my first real job.
I was fresh out of college—wide-eyed, eager to immerse myself in the profession, and ready to write news reports. However, underneath my eagerness was still a heavy sense of worrying I’d not meet expectations. What if I missed out on interviews? What if I got something wrong? What if…?
I and many other newbie reporters over the years were lucky we had excellent mentors, senior reporters, and editors in the newsroom who patiently guided us and taught us the ropes. They nurtured and guided us, making us better reporters in the process.
We were lucky to have Ms. Ging as one of our “mothers” in the newsroom. She was nurturing and kind and never failed to offer a gentle smile when you returned to the newsroom a little worse for wear, with frazzled nerves and in a daze.
“Ginhawa sa,” she’d say, offering a soft laugh and bouncing back into her chair.
She offered smiles when times were tense and stress levels were high. She offered soft laughs, gentle pats on the shoulders, and tight hugs when you see each other again after the longest time.
As a newbie reporter, she was one of the editors I eagerly wanted to be. Gentle and kind, stern when she needed to be. I looked up to her, drinking in her passion and dedication to the craft, eager to learn from her, and ready for any gentle reminder she offered us.
Ms. Ging was always happy and made the newsroom for all us newbie reporters a passion-filled place to be.
Find a mentor.
It’s through mentors like Ms. Ging, who help you find your place in this world, that allow you to grow in your craft, and help you discover new things about yourself and your passion. It’s through mentors that we find ways to best contribute to our work and help those around us.
Ms. Ging inspired me, like many other newbie reporters, to be a better writer. She was a mentor in the newsroom, but most importantly, a friend who never failed to be a warm presence in your life.
Ms. Ging has left a mark in all of us and will be missed dearly.
Sending tight hugs to you up there, Ms. Ging.