Working overseas has provided many Filipinos the opportunity to improve their lives and that of their families back home. For some who have spent years working in this country, they are now adding value to their presence in Saudi Arabia by enrolling in graduate school programs specifically designed to suit their future needs and working conditions here in the Middle East. The Philippine Christian University (PCU) Middle East Graduate School Extension Program has provided that opportunity for many overseas Filipino workers. The program, launched in 2005 with an initial MBA (Master in Business Administration) program, now offers, in addition to MBA, a doctoral degree in business administration and management. With classes conducted in Bahrain, Al-Khobar in Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, the graduate program was started and pioneered by Dr. Eduardo P. Malagapo, whose deep-rooted concern and support to overseas Filipino workers, through education, will remain imprinted in the history of the Filipino diaspora. The PCU Middle East Graduate Extension Program conducts lectures in real classroom environment. Members of Batch 1V of the MBA program, comprising 11 individuals, graduated recently. All are employed in the Kingdom and occupy executive and responsible positions. All have recognized the values of achieving graduate education in improving their future. “I pursued MBA to gain better insights on how to start an enterprise with my husband who also completed his MBA; we both plan to establish our business upon returning to the Philippines,” said Hazel Tabafunda, who works as a cashier in an international school. Tabafunda, a mother of two girls, has been living in Al-Khobar for three years. “Although we are just starting our journey in trying to achieve our goals, my husband and I are already preparing ourselves in pursuing those entrepreneurial objectives,” she said. Erick Floriza, a licensed electrical engineer who works as a testing laboratory lead man in a multinational pipe company, is determined to establish a franchise business. “I am very much encouraged to go into franchise operation, and I am certain that with a management degree I will succeed,” Floriza said, who has been working in the Kingdom for almost 10 years. “Philippine franchise ventures, such as, running a coffee business, has always fascinated me; this is the kind of business I want to pursue,” Floriza said. Francisco Caballes has been working overseas for the last 13 years, including one year in Korea. He and his wife, who works as an accountant with an IT company, have now decided to set up their business in the Philippines. “My MBA has given me that confidence in pursuing the many opportunities that still await those who are willing, like me, to grab them. Through my MBA, I have upgraded my knowledge in business – in setting up my personal strategies to succeed. I am certain my salary will be increased, and a better job now awaits me,” Caballes said. For Andy Princena, general manager of a company that supplies and installs patented couplings to industrial sectors, such as oil and gas, having an MBA has given him self-confidence in his executive job. “In the past, during board meetings, I felt that there was something lacking in me. Armed with an MBA now, which has provided me with better and clearer understanding during stakeholders' meetings and in dealing with my business associates, I now have that robust confidence of exchanging views and ideas with my co-equals and management,” said Princena. “My knowledge of the corporate world has been enhanced with my MBA,” said the 46-year-old Filipino general manager. He said his wife and three children (two daughters are in college) are his inspiration in pursuing his graduate studies in business administration. Other members of the Batch IV MBA share similar future plans like that of Tabafunda, Floriza, Caballes, and Princena. The other members of the class are: Aaron Franco A. Aves, Francisco A. Caballes, Jr. Fermelito S. Escasinas, Erick A. Floriza, Jaime T. Gonzaga, Ian Rey B. Malagapo, Eugene M. Moises, Andres A. Princena, Randell S. Relles, Hazel K. Tabafunda, and Jeremias L. Tel
