For six Benildean alumni, moving north meant more than having a Tim Hortons around the corner; it meant entering unfamiliar workplaces and building new professional networks. And, for some, it also meant starting from scratch.
From the School of New Media and Arts (SNMA), School of Environment and Design (SED), School of Management and Information Technology (SMIT), and School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management (SHRIM), these alumni brought their training from Taft into different parts of Canada. Their education from Benilde gave them a foundation yet establishing themselves abroad often meant learning how to apply that foundation in a new environment.
In a series of interviews with The Benildean, the alumni looked back on the adjustments, setbacks, and opportunities that shaped their lives in Canada. Their experiences go beyond the familiar image of the Great White North, revealing what happens when a Benildean meets a life that does not always go according to plan.
Taking Taft with them
Before he became an art director, Mr. Mark Sison had to build his career in a country that was entirely new to him. An ID106 Multimedia Arts (ABMMA) graduate, Mr. Sison now works as an art director at Visionnaire, an ad agency in Toronto, Canada. But before settling into the role, he had to find his way into Canada’s advertising industry as a freelancer.
The work was familiar but the environment was not. “Here in Canada, the biggest adjustment is in terms of cultural differences,” Mr. Sison told The Benildean. He had to learn a different rhythm of communication and collaboration.
For him, the adjustment made clear the importance of building professional relationships. He encourages ABMMA students to look for mentors who can help them navigate their careers, even outside their immediate field.
“Your mentor is the most crucial part of your journey as an MMA student to your professional career,” he said.
Mr. Sison also believes students should build their skills before pursuing opportunities abroad. “Hone your skills more in the Philippines,” he said, suggesting that students strengthen their foundation before making the move.
Meanwhile, Ms. Viel Pascasio, ID118 of the International Hospitality Management (BS-IHM) program, found a different kind of preparation waiting for her.
In Benilde, discipline was part of her daily routine, especially in a program that emphasized professionalism and strict standards. The uniform checks, strict deadlines, and demanding professors became the small, repeated tests that shaped her. “That discipline has helped me to be more professional at all times,” Ms. Pascasio said.
But a Benilde education could only take her so far. Once she entered the Canadian workforce, she had to prove herself again.
“You have to prove something here, especially [at] work,” she shared with The Benildean. The discipline she learned in Taft became something she could carry with her as she found her footing in Canada.
Learning to begin again
For an ID118 Industrial Design (BS-ID) graduate like Ms. Giuliana Treñas, starting over came with a reality she did not expect. Her Benilde experience had given her a strong sense of community, recalling being surrounded by people with different perspectives who respected each other’s ideas. It was an environment that encouraged her to stay open to perspectives beyond her own.
“Everybody had their unique point of view, and I always feel like that's very helpful. [...] Benilde taught me that there's something to learn from everybody... you meet people of different walks of life,” she said. That environment also taught her to handle criticism and setbacks.
Ms. Treñas described relentlessness as one of the most important values her program gave her. "One of the greatest values that Benilde, that my program, have imparted to me is a sense of relentlessness," she said. "I came from a program where it can feel very easy to be humbled [...] but then you kind of let it roll off your back." Canada would soon put that lesson to the test.
“I graduated [with] a bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, [so] I should at least be able to land a retail job,” she said. “But it took like several months and like rejection after rejection [could] really beat you down.”
Meanwhile, for Ms. Jilian Cu, an ID118 ABMMA graduate and former Ablaze editor of the Benildean Press Corps (BPC), it began with a different kind of uncertainty: Canada was never supposed to be home.
“To be honest, staying in Canada wasn't really a plan,” Ms. Cu said. She initially expected to stay for only a few months, but canceled flights and quarantine restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic eventually changed those plans. A temporary stay slowly became something more permanent.
Her transition into the Canadian workforce came later, when she took on a food-service job while studying. It was far from the career path she had envisioned. Instead, she found herself learning the everyday work of customer service and handling cash.
For Ms. Cu, these experiences reshaped how she viewed progress. “It's not always a bad thing when you're behind, [...] because in that way, that’s your opportunity for you to grow more,” she remarked. What looked like a detour became part of her journey forward.
From starting over to paying it forward
For Mr. JP Bonoan, an ID110 Animation (ABANI) graduate, Benilde was not only where he trained as an animator but also where he first learned to teach. After graduating in 2013, he spent five years working as an animator before returning to the campus as a professor, a shift that gave him a new vantage point on the same lessons he once received as a student.
"Getting to know more of what trusting the process is, and being patient to what you are trying to achieve at a certain point," he said, describing what teaching revealed to him. "When you're on the other side of the spectrum, you get to see what the students are facing, which is learning to trust the process, and I guess that was the one thing that really stood out for me that taught me a lot when I was at Benilde."
That lesson followed him to Canada. "That was the thing that Benilde taught me, to be resilient and just trust your strength, and it'll lead you somewhere for sure," he said to The Benildean.
Looking back, Mr. Bonoan hopes current Benildeans hold on to what the experience offers while they still have it. "You have to enjoy being in school. Inspirations and all, memories, you know, because once you've graduated it's different, it's gonna be a huge difference, I tell you," he shared.
He also expressed hope for the program's future, particularly for how it continues to nurture creativity among its students. "They've been nurturing a lot of students, and I hope it continues to grow, especially on the creative side of things," he said, "being creative doesn't have to be [about] how to paint, in any industry, being creative [is] a lifestyle."
On the other hand, Mr. Dave Vincent Mangilet, an ID100 graduate of the Business Administration Major in Export and Global Business Management (BSBA-EGBM) program and the current Benilde Alumni Association President, found that moving to Canada also changed how he understood the meaning of community. His involvement also extends beyond alumni affairs, as he helps fellow Filipinos in Canada access essential services, including initiatives such as offsite SSS services in Toronto which usually takes place in Himagas, Toronto.
He emphasized that Filipinos arriving in Canada should not expect the professional success they had built in the Philippines to immediately carry over to the same opportunities abroad.
“You're starting from scratch,” Mr. Mangilet said. “You cannot expect that if you are successful in your home country, it will be similar when you enter another country.”
The experience shaped how he viewed the importance of having a support system, particularly for Filipinos adjusting to life in Canada. He hopes to provide the kind of guidance that can help others navigate the transition, whether they need help finding work, understanding the immigration process, or simply meeting people in a new community.
“I want everybody to feel that there's someone who's part of their family who can help them in their journey,” he said.
That commitment to helping others also connects to the values Mr. Mangilet carried with him from Benilde. One lesson, in particular, became a standard he continues to carry.
“In Benilde, I've learned that we do ordinary things, extraordinary,” Mangilet expressed to The Benildean. For him, the phrase is more than a reminder to perform well but also became a way of approaching the unfamiliar.
Across Canada, the six alumni found different ways to make a life far from Taft. Some rebuilt careers, while others found new communities or learned to begin again. What stayed with them was not simply what they learned in the classroom. It was the discipline to keep going and the instinct to do ordinary things extraordinarily well–a lesson that stayed close to home.
Far from Taft and into the Great White North, they carried that spirit with them. Benilde may have been where their stories began, but Canada became another place where they discovered just how far a Benildean education could take them.
