Strange things people study

Gmeleen Faye B. TombocInquirer News Service

Strange things people studyPROBABLY only a few people know that there's a course like Landscape Architecture. Even fewer people would believe that there are jobs waiting for those who actually graduate from those programs. But Bing Villanueva, 23, says Landscape Architecture is not just about gardens but also involves the study of places like parking lots, subdivisions, cities and even how traffic flows. Let's find out what it is she actually studied.[FULL STORY]
Gmeleen Faye B. TombocInquirer News Service

PROBABLY only a few people know that there are courses like Sports Science and Landscape Architecture. Even fewer people would believe that there are jobs waiting for those who actually graduate from those programs.

Peter Dajimne, 24, was the quintessential nerd in high school. He studied all the time and was the type who was picked on by bullies. So what made him enroll in BS Sports Science at the University of the Philippines, Diliman? "I wanted to choose the most unusual course," he laughs. "Back in 1994, the course was so new that people thought I was kidding when I told them about it." He did think of shifting to Interdisciplinary Studies at Ateneo thinking there would be no future for him. But he enjoyed the environment at the College of Human Kinetics so much he stayed. He said, "People here are very jolly, and have a lot of fun."

The course may sound like one big physical education class but Sports Science majors take classes like biology, anatomy, biochemistry, physics, biomechanics and mathematics. After all, the course involves the application of the natural sciences and mathematics to sports. Students learn stuff such as what types of muscles to move for a free throw, what foods improve performance during games, and at what angle should a basketball pass be made to avoid having the ball "stolen" (answer: pass to a teammate ahead of you located at 45 degrees because you have a better view of him rather than to the one beside you). They also have to specialize in three sports-know everything about these sports from playing to being a referee or umpire and coaching.

As in other courses, there are lectures to attend and term papers to write. Dajimne, Daj for short, did a thesis on whether the length of arms and legs of basketball players determine how good they will be (he confirmed that height is might).

After graduation, he worked for the Philippine Sports Commission seeking potential athletes for the national teams. He also taught Physical Ed classes part-time in Ateneo. He is now back at UP as a researcher/instructor in basketball, badminton, table tennis and weight training, among others. At the same time, he is a researcher for the Department of Health and coach of the Miriam High School basketball team. "What I like about my job is that I don't get stuck at a desk," he said.
Aside from research, coaching and teaching, he said other career options for Sports Sci majors were managing fitness clubs, pursuing medicine, organizing tournaments, or being professional referees. In fact, even while studying, he already earned money by organizing a Milo Basketball League event, and helping the MBA team, Cagayan de Oro Nuggets. Only 10 graduated from Dajimne's class in probably the only school offering the course.

BS Geology students are another rare breed, with only about four schools, among them UP Diliman, offering the course. Bambi Romero, a 24-year-old graduate didn't want a job that would tie her to an office. "Geology is actually an excuse to see a lot of the Philippines," she said. She has done field work in Baguio, where they walked along the Kennon Road identifying rock formations, and Ilocos Norte, to see the sand dunes in Laoag, which she said are the country's only desert-like environment. In her last year in school, she and her class spent three harrowing but fun-filled weeks in Zamboanga where they passed MILF checkpoints at the height of the kidnapping scare.

After she got her diploma, she went to Malaysia for a job interview and landed a job at Shell Philippines Explorations. "I study waves or movements of the earth to find oil and natural gas," she said. She went to the Netherlands for training.
Geology was a bit like detective work, she explained. By studying the rocks in a certain area, they played treasure hunters of sorts determining where minerals like gold and copper could be found. Geologists were asked to find out the cause of the Cherry Hills landslides a few years back.

Geologists work in geothermal companies, government agencies, oil service companies, science journals and environmental consulting firms. They can also study further to be volcanologists, paleontologists (those who study dinosaurs), archeologists, or marine geologists.
Bing Villanueva

You may have to thank professional landscape architects for that garden in Tagaytay Highlands or the well-manicured lawns of a golf course that you admire. But Bing Villanueva, 23, clarified that Landscape Architecture was not just about gardens but also involved the study of places like parking lots, subdivisions, cities and even how traffic flowed. Villanueva said, "We are often mistaken for architects, but while architects are concerned with shelter and with buildings, we are concerned with the spaces that surround these structures."

Nor are they to be confused with landscapers. Landscape Architecture is more than just about choosing a good mix of plants and finding a nice spot for a grotto or a fountain. Students of Landscape Architecture memorize the plants' scientific names and learn how these plants grow, so they can design low-maintenance gardens. They take up engineering subjects to learn the rudiments of land surveying and map making.

Villanueva's most memorable experience was climbing Mt. Makiling to identify its different plants while warding off leeches. For her undergraduate thesis, the Tarlakeña made a plan for the improvement of the lahar-covered areas of MacArthur Highway. "Landscape architecture is not just about designing open spaces that are nice to look at. More importantly, it is about uplifting people's spirits," she said.
Very few are enrolled in the course, which is only offered in UP Diliman, and there are only about 130 licensed landscape architects in the country. Graduates can join the Philippines' few landscape firms. Topping the 2000 Board examination, Villanueva landed a job at Ildefonso Santos and Associates, the first firm of its kind in Southeast Asia. Other landscape architects start designing gardens, mainly for relatives and friends, even while studying.

People may think BS Agribusiness Management is all about agriculture. Not so, according to Dennis Miciano, a 2000 graduate. "Our course is essentially a business course, with an emphasis on agriculture," he said. They might do stuff like planting rice, milking cows, dressing chickens and castrating pigs, but they're also well-versed in things like finance, accounting and marketing.
Miciano took up BS Agribusiness Management having grown up in an agricultural area in Nueva Ecija. But while agriculture was close to his heart, he wasn't quite as prepared as he thought. "I realized that it's hard to plant rice with your feet mired in the mud," he chuckled. He realized, however, how practical farmers were and how little he knew of the real world.

Careers for graduates are surprisingly many. Although other state colleges and universities also offer this course, the roughly 100 Agribusiness Management graduates from UP Los Baños every year get job offers even before graduation.

Predictably, many of them go into agricultural companies. Miciano is a marketing analyst for Monsanto Philippines, a producer of herbicides, pesticides and other agricultural products. His office is in Alabang but his work takes him to different places to talk to farmers about their needs. He also helps conceptualize ads for radio and print.

Donny Fajutrao, another Agri-business grad, is also in the agriculture industry, promoting feeds for fighting cocks in the Nueva Ecija and Bulacan area. He is on the road about 70 percent of the time. It is an immensely fulfilling job for someone who would rather be out in the field talking to people rather than sitting behind a desk.

Others graduates join research agencies. Agribusiness grads are also found in banks, stock brokerage houses or running their own businesses. Some are managing their own farms.
"The best part about my course," Fajutrao said, "is that while I can drive a tractor and talk to the lowliest farmers about breeding animals, I am also at home with finance and marketing concepts."
Courses like Sports Science and Geology may sound strange but there are a lot of things going for their graduates, not the least of which is, because they are few, they have less competition to worry about.