A Micaella Ilao Personality Profile
Ever since she was a kid, Ms. Micaella Ilao had always dreamed of being a reporter. In elementary, she really loves speaking in front of people and reporting in class. In her childhood days, she was fond of watching movies on Disney Channel, wherein she would mimic voiceovers and repeat the lines. This also made her realize that she wanted to be a reporter someday. And so, in college, she took Mass Communication.
Ms. Ilao was not the brightest student in her class, per se, as she was not very active in her college. It was clear to her that her only goal in college was to graduate. This means, no organizations, no clubs; however, she joined STELA Repertory for some time, but other than that she did not partake in extracurriculars. In hindsight, she regrets not participating in school activities and not joining clubs for these would have given her more opportunities and experiences. Still, she is thankful to her professors because they equipped her with the knowledge and skills she needed in her profession, despite her not joining any extracurricular activities.
In our journey to our dreams, there will always be challenges and struggles along the way. For her, it was failing 3 of her major subjects in college. It might have been overwhelming, but her failure did not stop her from reaching her dream. In fact, she said that retaking her failed subjects made her understand and appreciate the lessons more. This had also taught her how to manage her time efficiently. Which in turn, helped her a lot when she started working for TV Patrol where they were required to submit 4 stories per day.
Although Ms. Ilao had fulfilled her dream of being a reporter. Her struggles did not stop. She had been bashed by people. “Hindi daw ako marunong, pangit ‘yung delivery ko, utal utal daw ako.” Ms. Ilao shared that the negative comments she was receiving had frustrated her that she once cried over them. But she took these remarks as constructive criticisms and pushed her to do better in her field. She added that the bashers are not her greatest enemy but herself. Overthinking, stressing, and doubting ourselves are what stop us from being the best versions of ourselves. You cannot control others, but what you can control is how you respond to situations.
Aside from learning from her mistakes, Ms. Ilao had learned to care for others. When asked if she had principles that changed when she became a professional, she said that she was somewhat self-centered before. “Nag mass comm kasi gusto ko makita ako sa TV.” But that thinking had changed when she began working for ABS-CBN. “I’m doing this job because I love it…I’m helping people…I’m helping the communities. Naging mas purposeful and meaningful ‘yung life ko.” Being a journalist made her realized that her role was to serve other people and not herself. Now, her personal goal is to give an impact on people’s lives even in her little ways.
Fulfilling our dream is not the end of our journey. Sometimes being someone you had always dreamed to be, isn’t what you want to be all the time. Ms. Ilao said that if she weren’t in the media field, she would have become a teacher because she wanted to impart knowledge to people. And even though she became an anchor at the Regional News Group (RNG), she resigned. She felt she needed time off so she could rest, take care of herself and her family.
Although ABS-CBN had shut down, she is still able to work with them. She became a stringer (part-time reporter) and was not required to submit news stories on a daily basis. Aside from being a stringer for ABS-CBN, Ms. Ilao is currently working as a virtual assistant and continues to learn every day, especially on administrative work.
“Everything happens for a reason”, were the words that Ms. Ilao had repeated several times throughout the interview, which says a lot about her personality. I noticed in our interview that she always finds the right thing to say and sees the good in the bad things that are happening and that had happened to her. Despite all the challenges she had gone through, she remains optimistic and grateful for what life gives her. For Ms. Micaella Ilao, her greatest achievement so far is being who she had always dreamed of, a reporter.
