The Tourist Gaze

Remember my unexpected journey to a career as a financial advisor? Here’s an equally (if not more) unexpected 2023 plot twist: I’m now co-running the operations of a school. It’s a looooooong story, one that I’m not sure I want to tell the details of at this particular time. But yeah, my sister and I are now essentially administrators of our family-owned school.

The events happened so suddenly, and we had less than a month to right the ship after the previous “administrator” resigned and took with her all faculty and staff. We encoded the names of students, hired teachers, created sections, worked on schedules, did a teachers’ workshop, and so on.

School started earlier this month, and there were a few hiccups such as overlapping schedules, broken air conditioning units, and some unrealistic promises the previous “administration” made to the students. I, my sister, the teachers, the staff were thrust into the school year with just minimal time (not to mention experience) to prepare.

So on a long weekend, while the rest of the country was fixated on the FIBA World Cup, our school’s faculty and staff went to Tagaytay to do some preliminary planning, mainly to work on the school calendar and how to implement those activities.

The first stop was at Leslie’s, where we had lunch with the Taal Volcano as our backdrop. Then, it was a meeting over coffee and pizza at Napa at Crosswinds. The cool weather and picturesque views were conducive to the session, and in about an hour, we’ve managed to come up with a draft of the school calendar. Plus, it gave us the motivation to dive into the coming weeks.

It’s been a stressful past couple of weeks. I’m still learning and gaining valuable experience in my current role, which involves various responsibilities related to leadership, management, and education. I’m way out of my comfort zone here, especially after having spent the last four years as a freelancer working mostly on my own. I do plan to step down as an administrator and shift to consulting while focusing on my career in finance once the situation has stabilized and we can afford to hire a full-time principal.

For now, I need to embrace this role for the sake of the students, the teachers, the staff, and our family. Besides, continuing to learn and adapt is an important part of professional growth in any field. Education is an ongoing journey, and my commitment to learning and improving is a valuable asset in my role not only as an administrator but as a professional.