John Ong entered the Finance & Accounting Department to interview Prof. Sean Uy for Teachers’ Appreciation Week.
John Ong (JO): Why did you choose to be a lecturer?
Sean Uy (SU): I didn’t choose to be a lecturer. It was by chance that the program director was looking for people to teach accounting. Being a fresh graduate looking for a job, I applied and got it. In the end, everything fell into place.
JO: What do you love most about teaching?
SU: I loved having the ability to see the students grow throughout their college life. From the time they become your students until the present when they are in their graduating year, I see how they are coping with the different challenges that they are facing and how they use their untapped potential to do even greater. It’s like having a personal HONY page of my students.
JO: What is the best memory you’ve had in the classroom?
SU: When one of my students was betting with his friend that he’d achieve a higher score than the latter. Take note, this student failed the first exam. When the results came out, he achieved his highest score of 82, 5th highest in the class, and proceeded to slap his friend as consequence of the bet. Motivation spurred greatness, albeit with a comedic twist.
JO: What do you do when you aren’t teaching?
SU: Learning new things. After I started to teach, I enrolled in cooking classes at the Center for Culinary Arts. I enjoyed learning the process of cooking, which takes skill and dedication to achieve. Other than that, I proceeded to return to my roots of martial arts by taking a step to aikido since February of 2014. Lastly, I also started reading more, even reaching to a point of finishing books in days.
JO: What valuable lesson did you learn from a teacher?
SU: Patience is key, and learning is two ways.
JO: Who inspired you to teach?
SU: Other than the different faculty members of JGSOM I encountered throughout my college life, I would like to give a special mention to Doc Sio (Norman Marquez) for being an inspiring educator when I took him as my SCI10 (Science and Society) lecturer and Dr. Gemma Narisma, who taught me environmental modeling as my inspiration for environmental science.
JO: What is the one thing you want all your students to learn?
SU: Never be afraid to learn. Grades and org work are useful, like for applying for jobs or other opportunities, but these are just a means to an end. Difficult tests are not there to fail a student, but to simulate and prepare one for unknown challenges. Working with different sets of people is to prepare one for the inability to choose one’s workmates. Failure can be bad, but being unable to learn can be much worse. I would much rather accept someone who fails and learns rather than someone who learns then disregards it after getting the grade. With that said, we are continuously facing challenges, with the ever-growing issues in globalization, in the environment, and in society. Express what you obtained in the learning laboratory called the Ateneo, face these challenges by becoming more, and never stop learning for the betterment (or the deterioration) of our future.
