From one campus journalist to another: Bam Alegre shares tips to QC delegates in RSPC 

APR 26 2024 5:02 AM PHT

via BINI Jhoanna/Bloom

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Behind almost every successful Filipino journalist is his younger student journalist self who experienced the wins and woes of joining the annual secondary schools press conference. 

For Abraham “Bam” Alegre, more than school press conferences are an avenue for recognizing excellence in various journalistic categories—news writing, cartooning, broadcasting, photojournalism—these are a party, celebration wherein you can meet friends (or foes) who are either way hoping to revolutionize society with their pens, papers, and sheer perseverance. 

The tall trophies and shiny medals are just cherries on top—the sweetest bite of the cake is the friendship you will have made by the time the announcer calls the 1st Place to go onstage, and the memories that would seal this as a bond transcending competitions.

Privileged

“Iba kaya ‘yung saya kapag napili kang representative ng school or city niyo sa competition.” True enough, there is simply that unshakeable grin in a student’s chapped lips every time he would be called by the name of his school. It is not his name, but he carries it as if it is his own—with much pride and persistence. And privilege too, says Bam. 

So, every now and then, a little privilege check could not possibly hurt. Bam echoes a reminder: “You are in a privileged position,” thus, all the more reason to prove that you actually deserved that spot. When you grip that pen or pencil and slide it across the paper you have folded for margin, know that there should be a sense of “genuine responsibility” and “humility,” Bam tells the delegates. 

This is your full circle Catriona Gray moment—you stand here not as one, but as a hundred-thousand kabataang Kyusi.

Once, Privileged Too

But, perhaps, you might not know why someone of Bam Alegre’s stature, an esteemed journalist who will forever go down in history with his iconic resounding voice and naturally fierce reporting style and his viral walk-out scene during a Unang Hirit episode, would keep coming back to the rescue of budding journalists in quaint Quezon City schools. After all, it does not make much sense why a person as busy as him would still find time to fit in his schedule a critiquing session with elementary and high school students with sloppy handwriting and dragging lead paragraphs. 

Here’s the thing: ever heard of the saying that “home is where the heart is?” Bam’s heart is at home with these student journalists, because for once in his life, he was in their shoes, too. He had the same hopeful gleam in his eyes, and he had experienced hearing his own heart beat like drums while waiting for his name to be announced among the roster of winners.

This veteran journalist was once an amateur. As is every other professional in every other field that involves starting out somewhere first before reaching the peak of the pyramid. He started his journey at Lagro High School, where his paper adviser Josephine Bonsol saw his potential to succeed—and so, she did everything in her capacity as a journalism teacher in a public school to hone the skills and talents of her ward to the maximum. 

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Whatever queen Josephine did, it worked. Because Bam made it all the way to the national stage. In Cebu—where this year, all the finest campus journalists from all corners of the Philippines will gather once more to hail the newest set champions of the National Schools Press Conference. 

QC gave Bam a chance at achieving his dreams then. Now, Bam ought to give back the same chance to aspiring campus journalists as a coach and trainer. 

Prevailing

“Kapag ipinasa niyo na ‘yung papel niyo, i-let go niyo na,” is what Bam Alegre told news writers competing in the 2024 QC Division Secondary Schools Press Conference last Feb. 3. But for many campus journalists, this is not the easiest thing to do. Especially when the rest of the school year for a campus journalist would be determined by that single sheet of paper. 

CHECK IT OUT: Bam Alegre's Blog