A DAY IN THE LIFE STUDENT LEADER OF PANDEMIC AMID THE
At school, the IHTM Student Council initiated the ITHM SHOPPE or the Sellers Hub for Online Products, Promotions and Entrepreneurship. Mariz said that the project was put up to help promote and advertise her fellow students’ and faculty members’ online shops
Her days used to be full of planning and strategizing with her fellow students in one of their offices. As a student leader and athlete, Mariz Domingo is used to being on her toes, always making use of her time. But her time — like everybody else these days — is spent confined to the secure walls of her home.
“Before this pandemic started, I always had full schedules on weekdays and even during weekends,” said Mariz, an Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (IHTM) student at the Far Eastern University. Prior to the lockdown, she was busy with their department’s annual IHTM week planning events and project proposals.
“Most of my days now follows the cycle of wake up-eat-watch Netflix-take a bath-eat-binge watch-eat-sleep-repeat,” she confessed. She related that the once mundane task of doing the grocery and running errands excites her.
But old habits die hard for the active student leader. Like most achievers, she found ways to put her time and influence to good use.
Mariz also took to their kitchen and tried her hand at cooking. “I felt like a chef after making a buffet for Mother’s Day and for birthdays,” she gushed.
And, of course, since the world is facing a health crisis, she made sure that she keeps a healthy and sound body through proper diet and exercise.
Apart from taking care of herself, she also took the initiative to extend a helping hand.
She was able to start a donation drive with the help of her university and its Student Development team when she was able to go back to her home province in Ilocos Norte. Her goal, she said, was to help her kababayan especially the indigent families and front-liners. The donation drive was cut short, but she has no regrets because it was “fulfilling to see appreciative people.”
At school, the IHTM Student Council initiated the ITHM SHOPPE or the Sellers Hub for Online Products, Promotions and Entrepreneurship. Mariz said that the project was put up to help promote and advertise her fellow students’ and faculty members’ online shops. With more exposure and platform to sell their wares, the initiative will help in earning extra income for them. Everything might seem to be working well for now, but, Mariz wishes to underscore an issue which she had noticed affected her classmates.
“I noticed a rise in mental health issues among my classmates, especially those who were not able to go home immediately when the lockdown started in Manila. They were thinking about the current situation and at the same time worrying about how their families were doing,” she noted.
The student leader believes that constant communication is one of the effective ways to help anyone cope with mental health issues. “Whether it be your family, your friends, your loved ones — I am sure that even a simple ‘kumusta’ meant a lot. If you are nearby, you can visit (but remember to observe social distancing) and maybe give them some food you baked, which I did,” she advised.
These days, she is preparing for the latter half of the second semester. She made sure to tick off all the necessary requirements for a conducive online or distance learning as prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education such as her trusty laptop and phone as well as a strong Internet connection. Mariz is aware that not all have access to reliable Internet connection but she still hopes that many students will continue to study and pursue their dreams.
As a final piece of advice, Mariz said, “Give value to everything in your life, from the work you do to the fleeting moments you have with friends and family, because you will never know when you will be able to do these things again.”