“Whatever it is you intend to do, … work hard on your dreams.”

This is the message of Earl Angelo Panganiban, UP ITTC's topnotcher this year, to his co-graduates during the May 9 graduation ceremonies at the NISMED Auditorium.

Panganiban graduated from the Certificate Program on Embedded Systems with a grade point average of 1.122, leading 95 other graduates from the different Certificate Programs on Information Technology, namely Network & Systems, Applications Developments and the Regular Course Track.

A Physics graduate from the University of the Philippines, Panganiban had forgone his dream of being a scientist after discovering that “not everyone grows up to be astronauts.“

About a year ago, he found out that he had a penchant for the Japanese culture and a preference for a Japanese wife, he jokingly said.

“But, for me to go to Japan, I need a stepping stone,” he said. “At that time, I heard the IT industry was booming.” He enrolled for an additional year with UP ITTC primarily to take up Nihonggo and information technology consequently.

Along side its intensive IT training curriculum, UP ITTC also offers Japanese language courses to students of its Full-time Certificate Programs.

Panganiban’s speech was delivered in Nihonggo, with the English translation projected on stage. “I love Japanese so much that learning it was fun for me, even with homework and exams, and despite the fact that I had to get up early.”

Panganiban passed the N4 Level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), along with 17 other students of UP ITTC. He is also one of the 21 passers of the PhilNITS (Philippine National Information Technology Standards) examinations.

Armed with his UP ITTC training, Panganiban aims to pursue a career abroad. “I’d like to work for, and I’m searching for a company that will bring me to Japan.”

However, the lines he sang from a Japanese graduation song at the end of his speech hinted of his interest to go back to the country after his overseas stint.

“Once we've grown … (to become) … extravagant flower(s), let's meet here again””