It was a gloomy yet sunny morning when brave souls faced the challenge on the battlefield—willing to fight with their sharp minds, compassionate persona, and a valiant pen and paper to answer the call for aspiring student-journalists.
Although heartbeats could not be heard from a long distance, a loud thud was etched on their faces when the cold breeze embraced their presence as they entered the room that was once dull but, with them, was now enveloped with the familiar feeling a pen and paper could bring – contentment.
Even though no one could picture how it would end, the young aspirants of Isabela State University-Cauayan City Campus (ISU-CCC) fueled the flames in their hearts and demonstrated the commitment, dedication, and passion that a responsible student-journalist must have as they fought the battle.
As the annual event of calling started, the room fell into a familiar silence as the microphone quietly echoed in the tight grips of the mastered hand of the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of The Kawayan Communicator (TKC), the official student publication of ISU-CCC. TKC aimed to recruit skilled writers, develop their potential, and promote to them other areas of writing where they could cultivate new craft that would uphold the true essence of campus journalism and embody the significant legacy of the publication.
Bearing interest and hope, the applicants, like a fan to a certain song, lend their ears with enthusiasm to the presentation of by-laws of TKC spearheaded by the EIC, together with her Associate Editors during the orientation. They were also moved by the message of TKC Adviser, Emilia R. Berganio, as she shared the purport of the student publication using “TKC” itself: Teamwork, Knowledge, and Commitment—the keys that embark the desire of the applicants to unveil more of their writing skills and use this chance to give their best and show what they are capable of doing and giving.
For them, the thought of joining TKC would open a door of huge opportunity that would aid their skills. It would intensify their passion in journalism as well as to enliven the forgotten joy in writing.
Accepting this challenge to be one of the voices for the students will lead them to fall in situations one could never anticipate for having this prodigious responsibility. The venture of entering the portals of publication would give them a bittersweet experience in college—a mixture of academic validation and publication duties. Despite knowing these unforeseen possibilities, the applicants had their heads up while their eyes sparked the genuine desire of being a deliverer of truth.
Even though some of them had consciously admitted that they did not have sufficient experience in their chosen category, the aspirants, with strong and mindful beliefs plastered on the way they spoke and moved, boldly responded to a river of straightforward questions thrown by the prim editorial board.
Having hurdled the interview that seems to have no end, the applicants appeared to be knights of their own kingdom while holding their sword, a pen. With a clean piece of a sheet, they chose to design it with words that the mouth could not certainly blurt out.
Others, on the other hand, used their noise in building an effective and efficient way of delivering news through broadcasting and producing an eargasmic sound that people would love to hear and pay attention to.
In the farthest corner of the room, the editors were seated comfortably on their chairs, wearing a smile with a hint of confidence, who effortlessly maneuvered their mouses and phones. They made it appear as though what they were doing was easy work, akin to cutting a piece of cake.
At the end, the applicants survived the test like a soldier who won in a combat zone; inked the papers like a fashion designer who finished putting beads in a gown; created a masterpiece like a painter who just completed his painting; and delivered words just like a guest speaker on a graduation day.
With the faint sound of the chairs signalling a person moving about, and the smooth tap of shoes on the cold floor, a face with mixed emotions surfaced—the relief of an end blended with the fear of what could be the outcome. Nevertheless, the unparalleled feeling of giving their best shot, reliving the art of writing, and delivering news stayed superior to their expressions.
True to their words, they had demonstrated how a pen—which was once just a foundation for producing quality schoolwork—could actually turn into an astonishing instrument that sang the words out of its tip to harmonize their intellectual capacity, feelings’ intensity, and steadfast bravery to create a piece that embody the spirit of a reliable campus journalism.
