Congratulations Gerson!

A few of days ago, my brother posted a Facebook status saying that he’s now a “regularized” IT officer in their company. I immediately congratulated him because I know that he’s considering it as one of the most significant milestones in his corporate life.

Right after he graduated in college, he worked in a business process outsourcing company just for him to gain professional experience. I heard he did quite well there in terms of quality and attendance metrics. When the company started to show some management pitfalls, he took it as a timely reminder that testing the waters should be over and he should already shift to the battlefield where he truly belongs – the world of IT professionals.

I’m one proud big sister here; and my mother must be prouder!

Little brother used to get the worst performance in school among the four of us. In kindergarten, his teacher would tell my mother that he’s inattentive in class and that he’s always caught playing with his eraser like a toy airplane. In grade school, my mother was also invited by the guidance counsellor because he allegedly unhinged a door in one of the restroom cubicles. In high school, I saw my mother cry in desperation because he consistently brought barely passing grades on his report cards. But despite all these, I know in my heart he can’t be that bad.

He was never an honor student but he was once awarded, “Pinakamahusay sa Pagbabaybay” or best in spelling in Filipino. I was also told by one of his classmates in grade school that he was not one of the exceptional students in their class, but there was one time when their teacher asked a question, it was only him who knew the answer.

And how can I forget the story of his stupid teacher who’s unfamiliar with an orca whale?

His third grade teacher asked for example of animals which are water dwellers. He raised his hand and proudly answered, “orca whale!” The teacher ridiculed him, “Anong okra (gumbo pods)? Ang okra gulay ‘yun hindi hayop!” (What okra? Okra is a vegetable not an animal!) My brother, only eight years old then, was misty-eyed when he shared me this story. And I was like, “What?! You know better than your teacher? How can that be?”  

But the best success story I heard from him about his schooling was when their group in college was hailed the best thesis group in their class, meaning they surpassed the performance of those groups composed of the most serious and studious ones. He said the program they created is a budget and computer specs matcher that would suggest the type of computer a potential buyer can purchase based on his available funds. I’m a technology migrant and I don’t understand computer language that much but this output he mentioned is quite impressive.

I think little bro is enjoying his ride now -- simple, not too ambitious, uncomplicated, and realistic. I may not be always vocal and expressive of my support towards him but as his big sister, he’s always got my back.

Congratulations again, our dear IT officer! We love you.