Commencement message to the student athlete

THIS month you will march with your classmates in your graduation ceremony. They were the ones in the bleachers who sang the school song as your team hoisted a championship trophy. They were the same guys who felt your pain when you struck out in your last at bat or your desperation jumper missed by inches.

They are the same people you will meet down the road when life really takes over. If you are fortunate and your sport has a league beyond college, your classmates will follow your career and still root for you.

If you land in the PBA, they’ll tease you for free tickets. You’ll smile that sheepish grin PBA regulars have that says you really don’t have any freebies to spare. It doesn’t matter: They’ll still watch you on TV.

And if your pro basketball career does not flourish because there are countless other talented players in the league, your classmates will still root for you that you land a reasonably good job for the long haul.

You will have to face the reality of finding another livelihood when no more teams get you or when an injury hijacks your sports career.

If your sports career ended in college, then the truth of having to earn a living soon has kicked in. There will be no drafting ceremony for you but you will send in applications and do job interviews for employment of all sorts.

Then, you will no longer compete in arenas, fields or track ovals but in corporate meeting rooms where the tests will no longer be heats, elimination-round games or Final Fours.

You will be constantly challenged to deliver reports, presentations or market shares. Many will not care if you were a former athlete.

All they know is that you’re in the corporate rat race and they want to beat you to the finish line.

But fear not. If you took a genuine effort to study while being an athlete in school, then you will be equipped with skills to write decently or speak bravely in front of small or large audiences.

You will be able to dissect or analyze problems clearly and come up with workable solutions. You will also know how to play with a team and understand that the goals of a group are always larger than your own.

Your athletic background will keep you in good stead because you know what it’s like to fail and succeed. Your edge over your classmates who graduated with honors or did better than you in school is that you know what it’s like to bounce back from crushing losses or sustain a winning season.

Life will frown on you frequently and dish out its unfair side. You will know what to do because sports does give generous servings of victory and defeat.

So cherish this final moment with your classmates.

Walk with them as the graduation march plays endlessly in the background. Suffer together through a boring commencement speech. Raise your diploma after you take a bow. Sing your school song once more with fervor. Hug everyone you know and even those in the class that just want to feel that they know you because they do.

Let them enjoy your company one last time as a classmate.

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BROADCAST WORKSHOP. The International Institute for Film and the Arts (IIFA), founded in 2008 by theater professionals Crispo Mojica and Dennis Marasigan, will hold the 4th Broadcasting Performance Workshop from March 29 to 31, 2012.

This workshop is for those keen on becoming courtside reporters, sports anchormen, newscasters and on learning communication skills. I have lectured in these seminars and it’s a joy to meet the next batch of broadcast hopefuls.

Broadcaster Noel Zarate is workshop master. Through the years, Zarate has staged broadcasting seminars mainly with his CSC team.

To register online, log on to https://fs20.formsite.com/iifa/form1/index.html or call 09276063388.