First is the title. Then there's Jiggy Aquino-Cruz. He was the first MILE Committee member who caught my attention. Not because he's chubby and cute and all, but because I watch Y-Speak and I'm an avid fan of the Aquinos. ( Admiration that is deeply rooted on the eloquence of Ninoy and the compassion of Cory and of course, the contrast to the Marcoses.) I'm like "Omigad, Jiggy Aquino-Cruz (yes, complete) works with Nestle!" But more than that, he was assigned to look after my group and he, together with the rest of our mentors literally were with us even in the wee hours when we painstakingly finish our business cases.
Of course who could forget the Ate ng Bayan. The one who I first knew via airwaves. The ever "maasikasong" Leslie Kate Tseng. Technically, she's not an Ate. I think were from the same batch. However, she was always there for us to the point of having to sleep uncomfortably just to accompany eight distressed MILEES working hard to finish their business case. That in itself is so "family." And by the way, the headphone she lent me was great. I felt like drowning in the music of the iPod shuffle. I mortified myself because I entertained thoughts of not returning it. That's how "quality" it was.
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| Fellow MILEES Ian Obach Palermo and Giovie Boschi with Ms. Leslie Kate in the center. |
Speaking of family, there's Ms. Steph and of course Madderrr Judy. The two of them were technically the mentors. They set aside their high ranks to mingle with newbies like us. They gave up comfy nights to guide neophytes in the career world to develop themselves. They were so game and eager I never thought they held top positions, considering the existing stereotypes. Ms. Steph is the brand manager of MILO (who is supposed to bring Chris Tiu along the basketball training, but damn, stars have unforeseeable schedules) and Ms. Judy is the head of Nestle's packaging. When I first saw her, I felt an instant connection. Something feels familiar. Then she started talking about terephthalates reacting with ethylene glycol to produce polyethylene. I asked her, "What was your college course, Madderr??" She replied, sharply, "Chemical Engineering." That explains the connection, and I thought, I'm really bound to be successful.
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| Team Lucky. Front row from left: Abel Reyes, Camille Dominique Tacastacas, Lea Karmina del Mundo, Ms. Judy. Back row from left: Carla Sia, Ms. Steph, Crystal Balili and Adrian Manlapig. |
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| Ms. Steph and I. |
Then there's the Bisaya group. First is Ms. Jasmin Estacio, who hails from Cagayan de Oro, Bear Brand's brand manager who was supposed to tag me along to Regine's shooting of her newest Bear Brand commercial. Unfortunately, my return flight was scheduled in conflict. (To my utter disappointment). So she just asked me to send something for Regine to sign her autograph on. Apparently, a piece of paper. The next thing I knew, Regine asked if I could instead have a signed copy of her newest album out sometime this November. I almost fainted. and I'm not exaggerating. Composing the Bisaya group are Ms. Rhea, the one from Iligan City who purposely went to Mandarin Oriental to visit the 4 Iliganons who made it to the top 48. That's just thoughtful. Also, Ms. Anna Lee, Maddeerrr, who is single by the way. She's from Dumaguete and the group just loves her. No fuss and palavers. I have to include here Sir Andrew from Cagayan de Oro, whom I have mistaken for a basketball star and her wife 3na and of course, Ms. Maila who's not really a Bisaya but took the time to introduce us to the Bisaya people.
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| Jesther Ian (MILEE), Ms. Anna Lee, Ms.3na, Ms. Jaz, and JanMell. |
There are still a lot I haven't mentioned but are equally amazing. There's Ms. Grace De Castro, the head of recruitment, the MILE 2010 Course Director, or fondly, MAMA G. That hypocorism defines her role and the amount of compassion she has.
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| Mama G and child. |
These are the kind of people in Nestle. Everyone I met in MILE is amazing. They were not apprehensive of showing that even if they work hard in the number one food and beverage company in the world, they still have the funny and playful side. They were not mindful of the top positions they hold and mingled with students who still have a lot to prove. They had patience for hungry minds who asks questions every now and then and the compassion to help us out of tangled circumstances, often involving themselves in the process that you never thought would come from a person you barely know.
When I first saw the poster for Nestle MILE, the tag line at the bottom reads: See the Nestle difference. I think it should have been, Experience the Nestle difference. The kind of people in the company-- this, for me, is the Nestle difference.
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