FOR him, learning is never-ending endeavor. As a global educator and visionary leader, he mastered personal connections that make one’s career and life richer.
40-year old Ericson Javillo has already been working abroad for 15 years. Currently, he is the program head/lecturer for EPMA-PCU Graduate School Middle East Extension which he is tasked to strengthen community engagement strategies to boost program outreach across the region.
Described himself as a dynamic visionary leader and a seasoned global educator, Javillo possess a strong commitment and selfless dedication in the continuous development of the whole community by providing a stimulating environment.
The Global Filipino Magazine has recently sat with Javillo to talk about his breakthroughs in life.
Question: What and where was your first job?
Answer: I received my first paying job (honorarium from the government) when I was 15 as a Sanguniang Kabataan Chairman for six years. Then at age 21 as a Barangay captain (the youngest Barangay Captain in the province of Ilocos Sur and even in the entire Philippines in 2001). And in the same year 2001, I graduated as a teacher and luckily land on my first teaching job at the Santa Lucia Academy Ilocos Sur.
Question: Was it easy to achieve your current state?
Answer: It has never been easy as there are no shortcuts in life. Along the journey, challenges entangled with failures are non-comitant. Up- to-the-minute life and work require the complex blend of knowledge, skills, character, and metalearning, i.e. the ways we reflect, adapt and learn – all forcefully interlaced to achieve expertise. Hence, a journey of a thousand miles, always begins with a single step.
Question: What’s your advice to those people who want to follow your footsteps?
Answer: Be true to yourself, to your passions, and your long-standing dreams. Embrace challenges as opportunities and never stop learning. Be humble always and willing to continue to learn because
education is a neverending endeavor. Take time, courage and confidence to get to know, reach out and engage with the people around you.
Question: What is your mantra in life?
Answer: ‘To teach is to learn twice over’ – Joseph Joubert Teaching and learning experiences are valuable. It’s more than just imparting awareness, conveying knowledge and building the dexterity to apply and practice them. It’s about understanding as a teacher how learning engages and changes people. As a teacher, if you truly appreciate and value those wonderful moments and remain present in their hearts, learning will happen for both teacher and student over and over again, forever. Never stop learning.
