FOR A WHILE I WAS BLUE(D)

Epistaxis. That was the only proper response to my two-day workshop that ate half of my two weekends in March. The topic was Financial Risk Management in Practice.

It was a ruthless14-hour discourse, which despite the difficulty of the topics, was very informative. Hence, it was worthwhile.

 

It was ran by Ateneo Center for Continuing Education (CCE) of Ateneo de Manila University’s Graduate School of Business. Yes, for a brief period I turned from maroon to blue. No, it’s not disloyalty at all. Locally, the course was only offered in Ateneo, thus it was the only choice. And besides, the speakers were awesome. They shared so much knowledge about the subject matter that just being there in the room made me feel like a parasite (the speakers are the hosts -uy pun!), hoarding all information that I can.

But in all honesty, I wished the workshop was more introductory, rather than a review-type. That way, I would be able to appreciate it 100%, and relate it better to my current work. Can’t blame them though. At the start of the discourse, they said that the program was initially targeted to those who are reviewing for the FRM exams. FRM or Financial Risk Manager, is a globally-recognized certification awarded by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). I have been eyeing this for a while now. I just don’t have the budget, and the review materials yet.

So anyway, the discourse opened a lot of doors for me. I wish I could get my hands soon on the reading materials (The speaker offered to lend his to those who are interested to take the path. *maniacal grin* ). That way, I can better gauge the manner in which I should proceed with this interesting career plan. =)

Yay! Another new learning for me. WTG! =)

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P.S.1 – It was so good to be in a classroom again. I was having goosebumps during the first five minutes of the discourse. “Learning” is indeed a big deal for me. I can’t wait to start my Masters. I hope I’ll get in the MS Finance program in Diliman (Read: Tedious tedious admission process). Pray for me.

P.S.2 – It was so good to be in a room full of Risk Management practitioners. I wish this discipline will grow in Philippines. The Finance industry (in any country) badly needs Risk Management. Especially as concerns of sovereign defaults are rising recently. WOW! I can't believe how distracted I got after a couple of sentences. Anyway, my point is, it felt nice to be around people who also specializes in the same field as you. Especially as they come from different ends of the same industry. Hearing about their stories of their jobs was just joy.

P.S.3 – One of the speakers, Kuya Aldwin Christian, turned out to be a high school schoolmate of mine. We might have not stayed in the campus at the same time (he graduated right before I entered as freshman), but I knew his two brothers. Kuya Aldrich Christopher was 1 year ahead of me, and Aldbrian Christon was my batchmate. Heck he was my seatmate in 4th year. By the way, you noticed the pattern in their names, didn't you?