Sunday, August 9, 2015

Sharon Concepcion Masula: The Goal Oriented Lady


Sharon Concepcion Masula: The Goal Oriented Lady
by Melchor F. Cichon
August 9, 2015
“Whatever is bound on earth is bound in heaven.”

This is one of the guidelines that this PhD candidate lady has been following in her life. So when she sets a goal, she really works hard to attain it.

She is Sharon Concepcion Masula or Shawie  as she is fondly called by her colleagues.

She was born on February 10, 1973 in Estancia, Kalibo, Aklan. Her parents are Mr.Eduardo M. Concepcion and Mrs. Derly Restar Sta. Maria. 


Later, her parents went to Manila and settled in Tondo. Because of this, Shawie took her primary education at Arcenio H. Lacson, Balut, Tondo, Manila and her secondary education at Timoteo Paez Integrated School, also of the same place. 


She wanted to be a doctor, but because of financial problem, she had to switch her desired goal. She eventually took a Bachelor of Science in Education, major in Communication Arts (Filipino) at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) and graduated in 1993.

But she said, she still dreams to have a doctorate degree. This time it’s a Doctor in Philosophy (PhD),major in Filipino Literature.

Immediately after her graduation from college, she taught at Sto. Nino Catholic School, in Taguig.  But only for three months because her director advised her to work in a public school after she passed the Professional Board for Teachers (PBET) on May 28, 1995. She was hired as a secondary teacher at Signal Village National High School at Signal Village, Taguig, Metro Manila from July 12, 1996 to May 31, 1999. Then on November 6, 2002 to November 6, 2004, she worked as a part time general education instructor at the Systems Technological Institute (STI), Kalibo, Aklan; at the same time, she taught at Aklan Catholic College, also in Kalibo, Aklan as a Secondary and College Teacher 2. Not satisfied in teaching in private schools, Shawie transferred to Kalibo Pilot Elementary School, Kalibo, Aklan as an Elementary Teacher II. She stayed there from October, 2004 to December 2009.

It was at this time when she decided to go abroad.

She landed in a hotel in South Korea as an employee, but working in a hotel is not her forte. She decided to go to China to teach.  Her first teaching job was at the ABC Training Center, Guangzhou, China, but then she transferred to Depush Training Center-Disney Magic English, Guanzhu, China from November 5, 2008 to February 2010 as a Full Time English Foreign Teacher.

But because of homesickness, she decided to quit teaching in China. Beside, she said, she was being monitored through a CCTV monitor while teaching.

"It's more enjoying working in our own province than working abroad," she said.

Upon her returned, she worked at the Garcia College of Technology, Kalibo, Aklan as a full time Filipino instructor. But again, she stayed there only for two years. And when the opportunity came, she applied as a faculty at Aklan State University-CHARRM, Ibajay Campus and was hired as an Instructor II from June 13, 2012 to the present.

While teaching at ASU-Ibajay Campus, Shawie pursued her dream to get a masteral degree--one step away from her fondest dream--to become a PhD holder.

She enrolled at Capiz State University-Burias Campus, Mambusao, Capiz for the degree of Master of Arts in Filipino. She graduated on March 23, 2013.

Her thesis deals on the social realism aspect of the five Aklanon poems of Mr. Roman Aguirre de la Cruz.

Mr. de la Cruz is a famous and influential writer of Aklan. He wrote several short stories, essays, poems and news in English, being the publisher and editor of The Aklan Reporter, a weekly community newspaper in Kalibo. His family also owns a printing press. But later in the 1980s, he wrote poetry in Aklanon.

And these are the poems that Shawie focused on in her masteral thesis.

Here is one of the Aklanon poems of Mr. De la Cruz which was analyzed by Shawie.

It was translated into Filipino by Ms. Masula.

   

     Ano Gid Man
by Roman A. De la Cruz


Itay, nagburoka si Nanay

Nga hubas eon ro atong taeagbasan.

Ring gin-uli sa pagpamanday

Basi buhinan mo pa para sa  simbahan

Kueang pa katon ro imong kinita.

Nahawag gid ako, Itay, basi hitaman ka.
Kanugon kon owa’t kamatuoran
Ro imong ginatuohan.
Pabay-i eang, Toto.
Ro tubi nga nagailig paeawod
Mabalik man gihapon paagi sa uean.
Owa’t pagwasi, owa’t pag-uyang.
Kon buko’t matuod rang ginatuohan,
Ano gid man,
Basta matuman ko ro hutik kang dughan

Ano Pa Man

Translated into Filipino by Sharon C. Masula

Itay, nagrereklamo si Nanay Na ubos na ang laman ng  
  bigasan.
Ang inuwi mong sahod galing  sa pamamanday
Baka bawasan mo pa para sa  simbahan.
Kulang pa sa atin ang iyong  kinita.
Nag-aalala ako, Itay, baka magkamali ka.
Sayang lang kung walang katotohanan
Ang iyong pinaniniwalaan.
Hayaan mo lang, Toto.
Ang tubig na dumadaloy padagat
Babalik din ulit sa pamamagitan ng ulan.
Walang mawawala, walang masasayang
Kung hindi totoo ang aking pinaniniwalaan,
Ano pa man,
Basta bulong ng damdamin ko’y masunod ko lamang
 
When I asked Shawie of her greatest accomplishments, she quickly answered.

“My greatest accomplishment", she said, "is when I was able to bring my husband, Edwin A. Masula,  to my church, the Mormon."


She believes that by bringing her husband and the rest of her family to her church, she would be building a solid family till the end. She does not want to follow the footsteps of her parents. She further said that "What is bound on earth is bound in Heaven."

Her parents are separated, but she is still in close contact with both of them.

When I asked Shawie on how she met her husband, she said that she first met him in a passenger boat while on her way to Kalibo from Manila. Now they have four children, two boys and two girls.


Her second great accomplishment, she said, is when she was able to enroll for her ultimate goal in life--to get a PhD degree. At the moment, she is almost finished with her academic subjects at Manuel L. Quezon University in Quiapo, Manila and hopefully, she will take the comprehensive exam this summer. Once she passes it, she will then write her dissertation. She hopes to study the poems of this writer. She knows that this requires a lot of time,money and efforts but she is determined to finish it.

Her third great accomplishment she said is when she sees their four children being "mababait." Her eldest child, Ayen Don, is about to take a board exam on mechanical engineering, while her second child, Von Paolo, is taking up BSEd major in English.  Her third, Jerusha, is taking up BSEd major in mathematics, while the youngest, Prince Edron,  is still in Grade 8.

The other accomplishment she said is when she was able to befriend with her fellow Aklanon writers particularly Mr. Alex de Juan, Dr.John Barrios and this writer who she said have influenced her literary career.

Part of her great accomplishment is when she was given the chance to work with her fellow faculty members in ASU-Ibajay Campus and with Dr. Emily Miralles Ramos-Arangote, her campus director at ASU-Ibajay Campus. These people are some of the personalities who greatly influenced her life.

When I asked her of her perception on the present status of Aklanon Literature, she said that the Aklanon Literature is alive and kicking, particularly now that DEPEd is implementing the K12 where the mother tongue is being taught in the primary and secondary grades. She knows that some Aklanon poems like luwa are being taken up in the grade schools in Aklan. And at the Aklan State University-Ibajay Campus, the Aklanon poems of some Aklanon poets like John Barrios, Alex de Juan and of this writer are being discussed in their subjects.

However, despite the present works being done by our present Aklanon writers, Ms. Masula believes that the Aklanon literature still needs to be sharpened. She said that the Aklanon Literature needs deeper analysis to find out its strengths and weaknesses. Along this line, Aklanon writers have to produce more stories, poems, and dramas. But there is one thing that the Aklanon Literature needs is an Aklanon novel. So far, there is no novel in Aklanon. And this is what Shawie wishes to do after she has taken up her PhD. She further suggests that the government should extend its financial help and moral support to help develop the Aklanon Literature.

Currently, Ms. Masula is the Research Coordinator  of the Teacher Education Program, and the Coordinator of the Curriculum & Instructional Materials of Aklan State University-Ibajay Campus.

Of course, we know that Shawie was commissioned by the Philippine government to translate the Senior Citizen Act 2010 into Hiligaynon, and the APEC Primer 2015 into Aklanon. And she has been sharing her knowledge and expertise in the implementation of the K12 curriculum. The latest workshop that I knew of was in Tanza, Cavite in July, 2015 where she served as a Language Reviewer for the Grade One Aklanon reading materials.

Just recently, Shawie won the Best Paper Presentor Award in the conduct of University Research Development In-house Review , with the research entitled Employment of Teacher Education Graduates at ASU-Ibajay Campus, July 27-30, 2015 at ASU-Banga Campus.

Before I end this profile, let me open a certain window of her life: She is called Ma'am Smile when she was teaching in China because of her captivating smile even if her blood is boiling.

That’s Shawie, the determined lady of Estancia, Kalibo, Aklan.

Source: Personal interview with Sharon  C. Masula, July, 2015.