Donna Faye Reyes & the University of Southern California

Photo c/o Donna's Facebook account

Around April this year, Donna Faye Reyes, a former Communication Arts student of mine from Miriam College, requested a letter of recommendation since she was applying to the Master's programme of the University of Southern California.  USC is 60th in the World University Rankings for 2017.  I was thrilled that someone whom I personally know would be studying at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, something that I've always wanted to do. This was the school that we've talked about in class because of the quality of its alumni, the caliber of it's professors, and the important researches it had been associated with.

Donna was among the 1st batch of students that I taught radio-TV production and she was my sunshine girl in class.  She was a talk show and music VJ in our class productions.  She was also a student leader and was a volunteer for many cause-oriented groups.  I didn't hesitate and readily agreed to write that letter. My name was submitted to the admissions office and they emailed a form for me to write on.  A couple of weeks later, Donna happily informed me that she was accepted.

I'm elated to report that Donna is doing quite well in her studies, that is on top of all the other things she's doing: a job, running two businesses, hosting events and the two classes she registered in for the 1st semester in the Master of Communication Management programme at USC.  She further explained that, "It has been tough juggling my time.  It really takes a lot of discipline, focus and careful planning to be able to juggle everything and make sure that commitments are met."

She shared that it's her husband who serves as her anchor.  His support helps her the most.  He cooks dinner every night and do all the household chores so that she can concentrate on her studies and rest or sleep when needed to. During the 1st month and a half of the semester, she would sleep at 2 or 3 a.m. But now that she is in the groove, she's gotten much better with managing her time, thus enabling her to sleep more.

"I don't get to go out for leisure during the weekends or watch TV at nights like I used to before classes started, but I don't really miss these as much," she said.  For someone who is almost always on the go, this must be really hard to do.  She's enrolled in an online, distance education programme.  I am aware that such a programme is really very challenging because most of the time you're working on your own pace and time.  There are many ways for you to get distracted: jobs, friends, social media, events, gimmicks, etc. But Donna has found a way to push full on.  It helps tremendously that she does enjoy her classes and she's learning a lot not only from her professors but also from her classmates who come from various backgrounds or professions.

I never really got the chance to visit nor study at USC's Annenberg School. But I'm just happy that someone I know is virtually walking down the halls of the university, absorbing the energy and nuggets of knowledge found all over the campus.  Donna's final words, just shows how in love and committed she is right now: "my husband really is my hero and I am immensely blessed for having a partner in life as loving and supporting as he is."  Carry on and all the best dear friend.  Kia kaha!