It was year 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread and affect everyone. Businesses ceased their operations and the country’s economy suddenly was in tatters.

I was one of the fresh graduates of the Nueva Vizcaya State University-Bambang Campus who was affected by this pandemic. I have been very ambitious and eager to look for a stable job and to earn immediately.

The pandemic though totally changed the labor market landscape and I was confronted by the reality that it’s not easy to look for a stable job because establishments left and right have been grappling with mounting losses, leading to temporary or permanent closures as well as retrenchment of workers.

As an Education graduate, I was planning to take the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), but all scheduled Board Examinations were cancelled.

I then tried to apply for a job not aligned with my degree and tried to run small businesses like online selling just to make ends meet.

A month after, I received a call from my friend that there is a 3-month job offer at the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya as an intern under the Government Internship Program ((GIP) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). It was a great opportunity for me to work in the government so I submitted the documents needed for that job offer. A day after, they called us for an orientation to discuss different matters regarding the job. Thereafter, they assigned me in the Mayor’s Office.

I enjoyed the job given to me and really appreciated the dynamics of working in the government. A day before our last day as GIPs, they told us to submit our application letter because they wanted to absorb us as Job Order employees to be assigned in the Mayor’s Office.

Without any hesitation, I immediately grab the opportunity and submitted the needed documents for that job.

I am currently working as an Administrative Aide who processes purchase orders and requests. I also assist people at the front desk.

Until now I am forever grateful to the DOLE through its GIP that I am still part of the Local Government Unit of Aritao. I may not yet be a teacher as I dreamt of becoming, but God put me somewhere else where I could serve the public better.

Truly, we can make a difference and God will put us in a position to succeed despite life’s numerous twists and turns. We just have to continue to believe in our capacity to survive and thrive. (Haydee Mae Flores, former DOLE-GIP Intern)