Importance of Continuous Learning and Perseverance Career Orientation with Messy Bessy Scholars

PHOTO: Learners from Messy Bessy appreciated the motivational talk with Chevron speakers and volunteers as they miss the feeling of coming to school and meeting their classmates face to face.

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Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of Caltex fuels and lubricants, continues the spirit of volunteerism despite the pandemic with its Your Gift of Time is Priceless motivational talk and career orientation.

A total of 27 scholars of Messy Bessy and its partner enterprise, House Foundation, Caltex Makati Credit Cooperative (CMCC) volunteers and Chevron executives gathered at the Chevron Makati office for the activity. Part of Chevron’s first live Volunteer Week since the pandemic, the seminar aims to promote fair chances of succeeding and even out the playing field for disadvantaged youth by providing motivation and inspiration.  The goal is for them to develop the right mindset and guide them in their chosen career paths.

Some 17 CMCC volunteers served as facilitators and mentors to the students during the seminar. The volunteers shared their personal experiences and entertained personal and career questions from the students.

Messy Bessy is a social enterprise that helps underserved youth finish their college education by giving them employment through its partner enterprise, House Foundation.

Making an impact on Filipinos and the environment

The annual Volunteer Week, the social impact initiative spearheaded by CPI, focuses on impacting the lives of children, the youth and marginalized groups as well as the environment.

“The value of human energy is best expressed through selfless acts of volunteerism. With this seminar and all our upcoming activities, we continue to pursue and reaffirm our commitment to support students and create opportunities to boost their chances of succeeding,” shares Joel Gaviola, corporate affairs advisor at Chevron.

Chevron Global Sales Org Capability Senior Specialist Ces Sobreviñas opened the seminar with a discussion on the basics of how to have ‘career bests.’  She advised the scholars to look for job opportunities that engages their talents, skills and passion, and that it is needed by the Company. She highlighted the importance of staying open to opportunities and sustaining their curiosity to learn.  She added that it is also critical to be good in one’s current job position as this will determine future job opportunities.

Chevron Auditor Luchie Maja complemented the first talk with a discussion of one of the students’ top concerns since the lockdowns — stress management. Maja initiated a mini sharing session between the students and CMCC volunteers, tackling some of the things causing them stress and highlighting the importance of knowing how to manage stress and other strong emotions. 

Continuing the momentum of inspirational stories, Gi Tan, operation coordinator at Chevron, opened up about her life’s recent challenges and shared how she bounced back and recovered from failure. She emphasized the value of perseverance, courage and a positive outlook in life as big factors in her journey, something she hoped the students would find inspiration from.

Former DepEd Undersecretary and Action for Economic Reform Trustee Atty. Nepomuceno A. Malaluan gave the final talk of the day. He discussed opportunities to finish secondary education through alternative systems such as TESDA courses and the value of leadership and communication skills in any career. He shared his nonlinear journey as a student unable to finish his studies on time due to incomplete units as well as anecdotes from his time as a public servant. A heartwarming moment ensued as one scholar shared his story of being the first in his family to ever have a college education through Alternative Learning System.

Each talk was followed by a Q&A session, where students were able to freely express opinions, raise questions and share personal stories relevant to the discussion. Speakers and volunteers joined the conversation and offered additional insights and stories.

“Partnering with multinational companies like Caltex and Chevron will definitely enable us to broaden our market reach at the same time pursue our goals and create a better impact on a greater number of people,” says Oliver Beltran, Messy Bessy youth development officer.

“Events like these are important because most of our learners are feeling down and unmotivated. Many of them are having difficulties landing a job. The talks not only remind them that there are people willing to help but also inspire them to continue moving forward to reach their dreams. I’d like to thank Chevron and CMCC for this initiative because it may be a simple talk to others but I can see that it’s going to have a lasting impact on our learners,” added Roberto Reyes IV, youth development officer at House Foundation.

CPI and CMCC are committed to contributing to the progress of the communities where they operate as reflected in the annual Volunteer Week. Chevron’s spirit of volunteerism is kept alive by the people who continue to believe in the cause and gift their time to volunteer.