MMDC and Globe Prepaid Collaborate to Empower Working Students to Step Up in their Careers, Lives, and Finances with the First Ever Step Up Sessions

Mapúa Malayan Digital College (MMDC) and Globe Prepaid partner up for Step Up Sessions, an incredible opportunity for working students and hustlers to learn from top industry leaders through 6 free upskilling talks all hosted on the immersive GoHUSTLE digital interactive platform of the Globe Hangouts portal.

The Step Up Sessions are in line with the mission of the Step Up sa Pangarap movement which was launched by MMDC last year, giving working students enough support to earn a college degree while excelling at work and empowering them to step up in their careers. With these upskilling talks, MMDC and Globe Prepaid aim to equip participants with the right tools to achieve their dream careers and empower them to make it happen at their own time. Top industry leaders from CEOs of startups to digital marketers and content creators share their expertise and experiences on different topics such as leadership, financial literacy, and content creation.

MMDC’s very own Kirbie Lao and April Rose Punay from the Integrated Advising Team are the hosts of the Step Up Sessions.

Working student Shekinah Florentino found the learning sessions to be very empowering for her, and these inspired her to work towards her future. She said, "I found the Step Up Sessions to be very motivating, as it focused on important values and skills that will be essential for my future career. The Step Up sa Pangarap community support is also engaging, with the speakers using their experiences to connect with the audience."

Maja Samaniego, another participant, shared that the sessions have been inspired by the speakers who spoke about their experiences. "So far, Step Up Sa Pangarap has done wonders for my confidence as a young freelancer, knowing that others have also successfully gone through what I'm experiencing now— that we all start somewhere as beginners! The community has also been invaluable in providing not only a sense of camaraderie and support, but also the resources to go forward at your own pace, in your own time."

With more than 800 registrants for the first four sessions, the Step Up Sessions were successful in reaching a diverse audience from around the country who have the opportunity to level up in their careers and are ready to grow personally and professionally.

Get to know more about the first three Step Up Sessions below. All sessions are also accessible to view any time on the Globe Hangouts portal.

Becoming a leader and the value of tech in business

MMDC’s Vice President for Marketing and Admissions Jenny Chua opened the first ever Step Up Session held on June 4 welcoming all participants who made the summit a success on its first day. “At MMDC, we are driven by our commitment to the Step Up sa Pangarap movement. It’s a mission designed to inspire and empower working students across the country and the globe. We firmly believe that reaching your dreams begins with a progressive college education that prepares you for the demands of the modern workplace,” she said.

True to the advocacy of Step Up sa Pangarap, sharpening technical skills is one thing but soft skills will help bring out the leader in one’s self. Jannette Toral, founder of DigitalFilipino.com and co-founder of i-Metrics Asia Pacific Corporation, gave a talk on leadership for working students. She shared the importance of having three core values: encouraging others and empowering them to succeed, embracing change by staying ahead of trends in the fast-evolving digital landscape, and strategic thinking or seeing the bigger picture while planning for the future.

Toral emphasized how much leadership is rooted in confidence since the first person that we have to lead is ourselves. “You have to know yourself to grow yourself,” she said. If we know our strengths and weaknesses, and are humble enough to acknowledge where we need to improve and ask for help from others, we’re already taking the first step to become a better leader. Toral shared a simple framework on how one can prepare and plan ahead, so that they can become more confident in their own abilities and in turn lead others effectively.

“Remember that you have to see value in yourself first before you add value to others,” she said. “Set small, achievable goals, so you can build momentum and confidence in yourself. Also, don’t forget when you develop your initiative, you need to be proactive and seek opportunities as well as take responsibility for your actions.”

The second talk of the night was led by Neil Dimapilis, digital marketer and founder of Social Media Marketing Philippines (SMMPH). He discussed the value of using technology in business, especially in today’s tech driven world.

Technology can take care of simple tasks and free up your time to focus on other needs of your business such as fostering relationships, marketing, and cash flow. He shared several benefits of integrating technology in business such as automation in workflows, increased efficiency in work processes, data management, and analytics, which contribute to data-driven decision making and cost savings to name a few. He went into detail on how technology can help set you and your business for success if you are able to choose which tools are right for you and if you use them efficiently. “Knowing which (technology) to use is just the start,” he said. “Training people to use them and learning how to maximize it is the rest of the battle. At the end of the day, if you train your people the right way, you will be able to maximize the tools you choose and at the same time the people who work for you will be happy because their work is simplified.”

Why meaningful content is essential

Rita de Jesus, MMDC Director for Student Affairs, opened the second Step Up Session held on June 20 and reiterated the mission and vision of the Step Up sa Pangarap community. She said, “Step Up is more than just a slogan, it’s a commitment. We recognize the challenges students face and we are here to support you every step of the way. This highlights our dedication to providing opportunities for growth and success.”

The first speaker of the night was Alec Cuenca - podcaster, motivational speaker, and content creator. Cuenca talked about building a successful personal brand and emphasized two topics for his talk - the future of personal branding and how to start your personal brand. He said that in order for you to be successful, you need to have a growth mindset, and that upskilling is certainly one of the best ways one can step up and find an edge regardless of what industry one is in. Cuenca noted that building one’s personal brand is maximizing what technology is able to do and expanding one’s influence in social media platforms.

He shared the 7-hour Content System providing the participants with seven steps on how to create and build their personal brand. He encouraged the participants to create and use the knowledge that they have to practice and keep creating. He also shared about his viral content structure, which participants can follow the next time they create content. “The Hook is the first few seconds of the video and grabs the attention of viewers. Retain is having a system in place and viewers will know what to expect. The reward is where you provide education, inspiration, or entertainment.” He continued on to encourage everyone to make time to create in order to make things happen for himself/herself. “I also want you to apply what you have learned from this talk, and focus on creating. Schedule even just two hours of your time, because if you don’t put it on your schedule, it might not even happen.”

Digital Marketer Jessica Madrazo followed through Cuenca’s learning session by sharing how one can maximize his/her content skills and effectively build a brand by knowing what other options are available aside from content creation. “It doesn’t just take a lot of creativity and talent. It also takes a lot of discipline and consistency,” Madrazo said. A couple of options she mentioned are photo and video selling, perfect for those who love to take photos and videos, as well as selling designs on different platforms like fonts, shirt designs, and design templates. She also shared a few platforms such as upwork and onlinejobs.ph for creative jobs.

Though selling one’s work may have its challenges, Madrazo said that with the abundance of opportunities today, one just needs to find the courage to start. “When you’re in the creative industry, you need to study your work and find out what works and what doesn’t,” she said. “You can start working with your side hustles. That’s already one point in your experience. It’s a great time to be a creative person and share your work with the world because there’s so many more opportunities.”

Stepping up your finances

For the third Step Up Session on July 4, Chester Catilago, MMDC Shared Services Director, shared how financial literacy is very essential. He stated, “In today’s world, to know how to manage your finances is essential. Whether it’s budgeting, investing, saving, or planning for the future, these skills are vital for personal and professional success. For those of you juggling work and school, financial literacy can help you navigate your responsibilities and secure a brighter future.”

In this learning session, founder of Simply Finance and Director of Business Development and Partnerships of Paywatch Mariel Bitanga-Kintanar talked about the importance of taking responsibility for one's personal financial journey as it will always be a work in progress. “It’s never too late or too early to work on our money just like your studies,” she said. “Start where you can now, but work on it.” She shared a simple winning money formula, which is having a healthy mindset and a good relationship with money, and having a financial action plan for one’s self. These two were the main points of her two-part session.

Kintanar mentioned that when it comes to money, it boils down to one’s attitude and beliefs around it. Having an abundance mindset is key in order to manage one’s finances. “If you want your money to bloom, then you have to have a good relationship with it.” She continued by giving tips on how participants can do just that, such as practicing gratitude daily, changing one’s limiting beliefs about money, surrounding oneself with people with good energy and good money habits, and giving back to others. “Small steps done consistently will really add up to the improvement of your financial life. If you save small amounts now but do it consistently, it will definitely add up. Find a routine that works for you and continue doing it.”

In the second part of her talk, she discussed how to be more proactive in one's financial journey and how to take action by creating a financial game plan. She shared even more practical steps on managing your finances, creating a budget, and investing in one’s self - one’s most important and valuable asset. “Before you can take care of your family or your work commitments, you need to take care of yourself. How can you show up for them if you’re not okay? And a part of that is setting aside for your future self,” Bitanga said.

She also shared some information on different ways one can invest in such as high interest savings account, time deposit, bonds, and Pag-IBIG MP2 following her tips on investing for beginners. “It’s important to work on your foundations first before you invest, because this is your base and this will protect you. Once you have these, you can go to your investments. High-risk is not necessary. You can keep adding to your conservative and moderate investments,” she stressed. “I think it’s very important to just enjoy the process, too. Just keep learning and growing yourself.”

Create an account on the Globe Hangouts portal and watch all the Step Up Sessions here.

Ready to take the next step for a better future? Applications for the MMDC’s school year 2024 to 2025 are ongoing. Apply now.