Mr. Randy Tolentino, an alumnus of the BS Information Technology (BSIT) program at CLSU
This week, we are featuring Mr. Randy Tolentino, an alumnus of the BS Information Technology (BSIT) program at CLSU, and he belongs to the Class 2006 BSIT graduate.
Mr. Randy Tolentino got the BS Information Technology degree majoring in Systems Development and is now a Senior Software Engineer at Rolls-Royce Deutschland in Germany.
1. Please describe your current work.
- I’m a Senior Software Engineer at Rolls-Royce Deutschland, playing front-end lead and full-stack roles for the development and maintenance of the company’s various systems.
2. Describe your career path after graduating BSIT.
- I graduated in April 2006, and I started my career 2 months later as a junior programmer in one of the start-up companies in Makati, then joined another start-up after a couple of years, then joined Accenture and spent almost 7 years leading different teams doing systems analysis as my primary role. I jumped into a few more companies (became a consultant and went back to full-time), including St. Luke’s, PCCW, and TrueMoney, before finally getting the opportunity to work in Germany.
It took a while for me to get to where I am today because experience is my highest priority whenever I’m pursuing any career goal; it makes me more equipped in terms of skills and knowledge that were required in positions that I have held.
3. How did your CLSU education, especially in IT, helped you in your career? What do you appreciate most about having studied IT at CLSU?
- CLSU has a very competitive curriculum, which I presume is always up-to-date as part of the university’s mission. As for the BSIT program, they have the best professors and IT faculty who are doing their best to give the students the highest standard of learning.
4. What is the most memorable to you about your experiences in the CLSU-BSIT program?
- Those rehearsals and case study presentations, especially the job interview, facing the faculty and IT Director (Dr. Sayco during our time). Without experiencing these, it might have been difficult and overwhelming when we stepped outside the university.
- Lab/exams: Particularly during one of Dr. Macabale’s lectures, he entered the room and gave us the first assignment in RDBMS without any detailed instructions and eventually graded us accordingly. That particular lesson taught us to be reso0urceful (asking for help as the first step), which is always helpful whenever I’m facing new challenges in a new environment.
- Every programming contest that I hardly win but at least participated, really exciting times.
- The defense (paper) was memorably fun and a lot of learning at this stage, and definitely worth the experience.
- Being part of BITS (Builders of IT Society) is also a good thing; having a closer, personal attachment with brothers and sisters in college adds advantages.
5. What advice would you give to someone who is currently pursuing BSIT?
- Enjoy every moment, understand all the processes, and learn from them. Remember that every bit of the curriculum is important when applying each concept to real-world scenarios.
- Take notes and keep them; it’s always good to have your old lectures as references.
- Don’t be afraid and don’t skip the experience; these practices are part of your first career growth from being a student to stepping outside as a new professional.
- Create and follow your own phase; everyone has their own priorities that are significant to their own career phasing. "There's no need to rush; just be better (if not the best) at what what you’re doing.
Connect with Randy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randy-tolentino-73040355/.
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