23/09/2026
๐๐๐ผ๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ก ๐๐, ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ก๐๐จ๐
โBefore a photographer presses the shutter, they look. Then they look again.
โWhat first catches the eye is rarely the whole picture. There is always something beyond the first glanceโa detail easy to miss, an expression that changes in a second, a story that only becomes visible when you take the time to look twice.
โLois Quinocho knows this well.
โBut before they learned to look closely at the people around them, they had to learn how to look at a life that no longer followed the picture they had imagined.
โThey had already spent nearly three years in Psychology. Then, for reasons they describe as deeply personal, Lois stepped away from school for a year. When they returned, another number waited for them: 2.05.
โPsychologyโs retention quota was 2.00. Only 0.05 separated Lois from staying in the program they had already spent almost three years pursuing. Eventually, they had the number tattooed on their skinโa permanent reminder of a chapter that did not end the way they expected.
โโWatch me,โ they thought as they entered the Communication Department. โAbangan niyo yung redemption ko.โ
โAt first, redemption meant proving something: that the detour had not ended them, that one number could not decide what came next, that they could still build something after a path they once knew by heart had changed.
โFor Lois, then an irregular Communication student and eventually president of the TSU Communicatorsโ Guild, the shift became more than a change in degree program. It became a way of finding a different place to serve, lead, work, and try again. Their term would eventually teach them that student leadership was not about appearing capable all the time, but about listening, making room for others, and standing by what they believed was right.
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โThey entered Communication wanting to be watched. They would leave leadership knowing how to watch over others.
โโ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐
โLeadership came naturally to Lois in one sense. As the eldest child, they had already learned to step up at home. But leading a student organization meant working with people who carried different personalities, expectations, and problems. It meant learning that not everything could be solved by simply taking charge. There was also the pressure to look like a leader: capable, composed, and certain. Lois learned that person did not exist. Student leaders get tired, make mistakes, and sometimes do not know what to do either.
โSo they learned to listen. Sometimes, someone else could go first.
โโSila muna,โ Lois said.
โSomeone else could speak. Someone else could take the lead. Someone else could tell them what was actually happening. The more Lois listened, the more people began saying things they might not have said otherwise. Leadership became less about always being on top and more about knowing when to put someone else first.
โโ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ
โThere were plenty of ways people could have seen Lois when they entered Communication: An irregular student. A shifter. A working student. Someone who had started college in another program and was not originally from the department.
โTheir executive committee carried its own unconventional makeup, too. There were irregular students, a transferee, and members still finding their footing in Communication. The expectations were there. So were the questions.
Lois did not answer those questions by trying to make the team look perfect. Instead, they built a term where people could admit when they were strugglingโsomething they became prouder of than any award.
โ"Ang hirap sabihin na nahihirapan ka," they shared.
โSo they made room for it.
โPeople began trusting Lois with more than organizational concerns. Some opened up about things that had little to do with the organization but everything to do with getting through college. That trust mattered more to them than a title.
โโKami-kami rin, walang nag-iiwanan,โ Lois recalled.
During their term, the organization also began its rebranding, another piece of work shaped by the executive committee and other officers rather than one person alone. For Lois, leadership was never about one person becoming the face of an organization. It was about making sure the people behind that face could breathe, speak, and hold each other up.
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๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ
โThere was one part of student leadership, however, that teamwork could not solve.
โMoney.
โLois has been a working student since Grade 12. Outside school, they took event work, photography clients, and small business ventures when they could. Before the organization work, they could take around four or five photography clients in a month. During their term, that became one or two.
โThe organization had more of their time. Their income had less of it. Then came the parol-making. Lois could not show up. They had to work.
โโAng hirap mag-show up nang walang-wala ka,โ they admitted.
โSchool still costs money. There were bills, foodโthe ordinary costs that become much heavier when there is no allowance waiting at home.
โSometimes, showing up for the organization meant choosing the work that would let them keep showing up to school.
โThe same tension followed them into the classroom. Lois often told others that before you become a student leader, be a student first. During their own presidency, they struggled to follow that advice. They had once been very active academically. But during their time in the Comm Guild, they admitted that some projects were delayed. Submissions piled up. Their performance became, in their own words, mediocre.
โThey eventually caught up, with faculty members who understood their situation. Lois does not pretend they balanced everything perfectly. They wanted to serve. They also needed to work. Sometimes, they could not do both perfectly.
โ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐จ๐ฝ
โMaybe that is why ๐๐๐ ๐ผ๐ง๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฅ became more than a personal motto for Lois. Showing up was not always about physically being there. Sometimes, it meant trying again after a setback. It meant admitting they needed help. It meant investigating before making a conclusion and doing what they could before deciding something could not be done.
โUnderneath it was another principle Lois had carried since high school: ๐ง๐ผ ๐ง๐ฟ๐.
โBefore complaining, try. Before making a statement, inquire. Before deciding something cannot be done, figure out what you can do.
โ"Try ako nang try,โ Lois stated.
โThat instinct followed them into Communication. Shifting did not feel like the end of the road.
โโNakawala ako," they reflected.
There was photography, film, organizations, leadership, and a community they eventually learned to love. โBy the end of their presidency, what stayed with them was not the feeling that they had finally proved everyone wrong.
โIt was a relief. They had made it through.
Sir Derich and Maโam Teresa were among them, along with fellow student leaders, friends, and a special someone who showed up when things became too heavy to carry alone. Even the person at the front needed someone behind them.โ
โ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด
โThat is why Lois does not talk about their legacy in terms of awards. What they want to leave the next generation is a principle: Huwag kayong matakot mag-speak up kapag kailangan.
โKnow what you stand for. Hold on to your principles. When something is wrong, do not stay quiet simply because speaking up feels uncomfortable.
โDuring their term, Lois spoke when the rights of fellow student leaders were affected. They asked questions. They pushed back.
โFor them, asking questions is not disrespectful. Speaking up is not automatically creating conflict. Sometimes, it is simply refusing to look away. That is what they want students in Communication to understand.
โ"Embody yung tagline natin na: Alamin. Tanungin. Bantayan," they suggested.
Lois entered Communication with something to prove: Watch me.
They began by wanting to be seen. Somewhere along the way, they learned that leadership meant looking beyond themselves.
Now, they leave the next generation with something to do:
โMakialam kayo lagi. Magtanong kayo lagi. Magbantay kayo. Maging watchdog kayo.โ
Not for recognition. Not for a title. Just to make sure someone is watching.
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โ๐ผ๐ก๐๐ข๐๐ฃ. ๐๐๐ฃ๐ช๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ. ๐ฝ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฃ.
โ๐๐ง๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ฎ: Stephanie Castro
โ๐ฝ๐ค๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ: B-Jay Millo
