AGE, WORK COULDN’T STOP ME
FROM PURSUING A DOCTORATE
By Manny Piñol
My age and the current assignment in government as Secretary of Agriculture have not stopped me from pursuing the dream of earning a doctorate degree in Rural Economic Development.
Yesterday, my professors and classmates in the graduate school of the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), the biggest state university for agriculture in the Southern Philippines gathered to listen to my presentation on Rural Development Communications as an important tool in rural development.
It was one of the requirements I have to submit to the Graduate School of the USM prior to my presentation of my dissertation to earn the dreamed Doctorate Degree in Rural Economic Development.
It was an on-farm activity as I made my presentation in my farm house in Kidapawan City after which my professors and classmates made a tour of my farm to understand that when I talk about agriculture, I was telling people what I was actually doing.
My academic story is an interesting one.
Although I graduated valedictorian both in the elementary grades and high school, I dropped out of college to work full-time as a journalist, having honed my writing skills as an On-Job-Trainee in newswriting under veteran Davao City journalist Antonio Ajero and later as a 17-year-old reporter under Mindanao Times editor Jesus Dureza, yes, the same Secretary Jess Dureza who is now Presidential Peace Adviser.
When I won as Mayor of my hometown, M’lang, and later as Governor of North Cotabato, few people knew that I was a college drop-out.
It was only when my staff in the Governor’s office convinced me to finish my college degree under the Expanded Tertiary Equivalency Accreditation Program (ETEAP) which was introduced by President Fidel V. Ramos, when I decided to really go for it.
The ETEAP was a program designed for drop-outs like me who wanted to finish their college degree. It converted our work experiences into academic credits and asked us to submit requirements to complete the degree.
I completed my academic requirements for the Bachelors Degree in Development Communications in 2006 and inspired by that achievement, I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Rural Economic Development which I completed two years later.
Then, I chased the dream of earning a doctorate degree joking that at least when I die, my tombstone would have the inscription “Emmanuel Piñol, PhD RIP.”
This time the doctorate degree goal took a longer route as I had to work as Secretary of Agriculture thus preventing me from continuing my studies for several semesters.
Yesterday, however, after I listened to the critiques of my classmates and professors and successfully explained the importance of Rural Communications to achieve development in the countryside, especially in the field of agriculture, I felt that I was nearing the realization of my dream of earning the PhD.
Now, I am all set and ready to start working on my dissertation on how a reformatted and responsive agency of government like the Department of Agriculture could contribute to improving productivity and reducing poverty in the countryside.
The only difference between my dissertation and that of others is that I will not be presenting a treatise or a theory but relating actual experiences.
Why do I work for additional academic accomplishments even at my age?
All my life, I have always looked at every new day as a learning day because I believe that Learning is an Everlasting Process of discovery.
The thought of being able to discover new things tomorrow is what keeps me going even at my age.
(Photos by Jonathan Pagaduan. Last frame shows my professors, my classmates and me joined by Congressman Jesus Sacdalan who also visited me in the farm yesterday.)
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