‘Sayang ‘Yung Time,’ Says Student Who Attends Online Classes While Doing Construction Work

A Computer Engineering student attends online classes while doing construction work to avoid wasting time. He also doesn’t want to miss opportunities to earn to make sure that he won’t be forced to stop studying due to lack of money to pay for his tuition and other school fees.

According to Rich dela Cruz, he works from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. His classes are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Since he does not have a laptop of his own, he uses his mobile phone and wireless earphones when attending online classes.

In an interview with The Philippine STAR on April 30, Dela Cruz said he knows that the COVID-19 pandemic poses many challenges especially to students like him. But he does not want the situation to dampen his hope and determination to finish his studies.

Dela Cruz, who is second among nine siblings, noted that many students were not able to enroll this school year because of the pandemic that seems to have no end. So Dela Cruz goes on as he thinks it will be a waste of time and years if he does not get to continue his studies amid this difficult time.

“Napansin ko po na itong pandemic na ito po maraming ‘di nag-enroll kasi ‘di po natin masabi kung may katapusan ba ‘to,” Rich said. “So para sa akin, sayang ‘yung time, sayang ‘yung taon, sayang ‘yung matututunan kaya nag-enroll po ako kahit di po ito ‘yung main choice ko,” he added.

Dela Cruz’s story was posted on Facebook by his professor at Bestlink College of the Philippines in Bulacan – Justin Veras – on April 28. Like his name, he is already rich in wisdom and experiences – if not material possessions – even at a young age.

The response from netizens caught of them by surprise. As of May 5, Veras’ post about Dela Cruz has garnered 139,000 reactions and generated more than 2,000 comments. It was shared 51,000 times.

Veras said Dela Cruz captured his attention because the student would participate in class by answering some of his questions about history. While discussing, Dela Cruz apologized all of a sudden and told Veras he was in a construction site.

He didn’t mind what Dela Cruz was saying at first, Veras confessed, because he was in the middle of explaining his topic for the day to all of his students.

Then he noticed that Dela Cruz was indeed in a construction site while participating in the discussion instead of just listening to his lecture.

“…and my heart was really touched. GRABEEE!” Veras wrote.

Veras said he could not image how students were dealing with the new normal and the current education system, more so when they had to work like Dela Cruz.

He admitted that even professors like him are getting tired and having a hard time to cope, but Dela Cruz showed him that people should fight to achieve their dreams, not just for themselves but for their loved ones, whatever comes their way.

“Nahiya ako sa sipag ng estudyanteng ito. Pinaalala mo sa (akin) na gaano man kahirap ang dinadanas natin dapat natin itong labanan para sa mga pangarap natin at para sa mga umaasa sa atin!” Veras posted.

During the time that he accidentally got his instructor’s attention, Dela Cruz explained he was fixing a downspout or a pipe used to carry rainwater from a rain gutter.

Veras said in his post that he saw someone shoveling and a ladder while in the construction site.

Dela Cruz’s boss is his uncle, but he stressed it would be embarrassing to neglect his job just because he has a virtual class. This is the reason why he brings earphones – to be able to attend classes and get to finish his school tasks.

“Siyempre nakakahiya din naman kahit uncle ko pa ‘yung boss ko, nakakahiya naman pong ihinto ko ‘yung trabaho porke’t merong virtual class. Kaya nagdadala po ako earphones para makapag-class at the same time na nakakapag-trabaho pa rin po ako at may natatapos,” he told The STAR.

Dela Cruz also said he does not want to depend on his parents for his school needs.

He bared that he was able to obtain a scholarship from the Competency Assessment and Certification System program after finishing a senior high school degree from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, but there are other expenses that he wants to settle on his own.

Dela Cruz also recalled that before entering college, he served at a popular fast food store and worked at another welding company.

Civil Engineering

Originally, Dela Cruz was set to take up Civil Engineering. But since he lacked the tools and the budget, he opted to take a Computer Engineering program instead.

He believes he made the right choice as technology evolves and the course is in demand. He also thinks there will be a lot of job opportunities for him once he graduates and passed the board examination.

“Kaya pinili ko rin po ‘to kasi ano eh’ yung technology po natin nag-e-evolve, lumalago. Parang isa po siya sa mga in demand na course ngayon eh at saka maraming pwedeng pasukan po eh in case na maka-graduate at makapasa ng board exam,” Dela Cruz stated.

During the interview with The STAR, Dela Cruz said he did not expect people to react overwhelmingly to his professor’s post because what he’s doing is just normal for him.  “‘Di ko rin po ine-expect na ‘yun ‘yung magiging reaction ng iba. Para sa’kin naman po ‘yung ginagawa ko parang normal lang naman po eh.”

In fact, the student disclosed that he’s been doing it since the first semester. However, other professors did not get to notice that he’s working because they would usually assign modules and allow their students to turn off their cameras during classes.

Veras, in a separate interview with The STAR on May 4, described Dela Cruz’s record in class as “quite impressive.”

“Napakabait at masipag mag-aral (He’s a kind and studious student),” he said of Dela Cruz.

“Nung nag-usap nga kami sabi ko buti na lang sagot ka ng sagot nung time na ‘yun kahit nasa work ka. Sabi niya parang nag-re-review po kasi ko sir nababanggit niyo po ‘yung mga napag aralan ko dati (When we talked, I told him that it was good that he answered my question while he was working. He told me that he had already studied what I was talking about in class),” Veras added.

However, Veras revealed that Dela Cruz is having a hard time in some of his major subjects. Still, Dela Cruz would show dedication to his studies as and sometimes skip work just to focus on the difficult lessons, Veras said.

Veras thought of setting up an online bank account for Dela Cruz should people want to help the working student with his school expenses after his  post went viral.

The professor said donations poured in for Dela Cruz, even in just small amounts.

The college instructor told The STAR that the donations amounted to a total of P17,000 so far. Veras said he personally gave all of the cash to Dela Cruz when they met. “Dahil po sa inyong mabuting puso, nakalikom po tayo ng halagang sasapat para sa kanyang bayarin sa school para sa dalawang semester, at ang sosobra ay ibibigay na rin po nya sa kanyang magulang para sa pangangailangan ng kanilang pamilya (Because of your good hearts, we were able to gather an amount that will be enough to pay for his two semesters, while the excess will be given to his parents for their needs), Veras said in another post on May 2.