IA#3 Up Close and Personal

Sir Pepe Manikan

Pepe Manikan is a musician and a professor at De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde. He is known for his band, “Eternal Now”, where two of his bandmates are also a professor at DLS-CSB in music productions department. The kind of music his expert with, are metallic and rock songs but he is also creating music depending on the demands of the clients. He sees to it that all of the songs he’s creating are not just words with rhythm in it, but songs that will captivate the listeners’ ears and hearts. He admitted that if you are just a beginner and has no connection with popular musicians it will be hard to find a lot of clients and to earn money. In spite of that, he still continues making music because he wants to share to the community what he can do and to express himself through music. Even though he’s a professional artist now, he’s still humble and doesn’t want to be considered as an artist because what’s important for him is that he is able to create music freely. He always sees to it that he creates a connection between him and the people his talking with. And what I like about his quality is that, he seems to enjoy what he’s doing and what he have right now- that’s how I saw that he just doesn’t like his work as a musician but he loves it. Having these qualities same as Pepe Manikan is very important, especially for an HR practitioner like me, because HR staffs are required to deal with a lot of people. So acquiring the skills, same as Pepe Manikan, will help me to deal with people, with different personalities, easily. And building a good relationship and connection with people are very important to use in my future career.

Sir Luisito “Luis” Ac-ac

Luisito “Luis” Ac-ac is a wood sculptor from Paete, Laguna. He is well known for his works that he considers as conservative classic. He carves religious relics, native folklore and other famous Filipino people. At the age of 64, he still continues to carve woods and create different sculptures. Even on his old age, his love for art is still with him and does his works with heart. What I like about him is that, he wanted to inspire children in wood carving and to engage in such work. He knew that interests on wood carving are starting to decline due to the rapid evolution of ice carving, but, still he continues to create sculptures out of wood. I can see how much he really love what his doing and he wants to share and pass it on the next generation that’s why even on his old age, he still doesn’t stop wood carving. His quality of being a hardworking person is one thing that I admire from him; his old age doesn’t stop him from doing what he likes. Being industrious is one thing that a person should acquire because that will take you to a lot of places and opportunities. It’s not just enough that a person is wise but he/she should be industrious enough to put their ideas into work.

Ms. Ayna Tan

Ayna Tan is a painter, illustrator, fashion designer, photographer, make-up artist, flight attendant and a professor at De La Salle- College of Saint Benilde. She’s been a professional artist for 23 years and has been doing paintings, portraits, make up and taking photographs. Even though her occupation is a flight attendant, she said she can’t hide her artistic side and she still continues doing artworks. One statement that I liked from all the things she said is, “if you love it so much, you have to do it. If you are an artist, you have to do it“- this statement reflects how much she loves art. Through her passion and love for art, she is able to create artworks and share it with other people. She inspires a lot of people that even though you have a different profession, one’s like and interests must still be pursued and continued not only for one self’s enjoyment but also for others to appreciate what you can do. Also, as an art department professor, she shares her knowledge to her students about art appreciation and how to create an art. What I like about her is that, given the credentials and occupations she has, she’s still humble and wanted to share what she knows to others. It is very important for a person to stay humble even though he/she has a lot of credentials. This is the quality that is important, especially when working with your co-workers. You should always know where you stand and how you will deal with people without looking boastful.