Have you ever experienced being rejected at work not because you're not good, but simply because of your accent?
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| Photo courtesy: Facebook/Troy Alexander G Miano |
An accent refers to the way a person pronounces words, influenced by their native language, region, or cultural background. It can involve variations in pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm compared to the standard or predominant dialect of a language. Accents can differ significantly from one region or country to another, and they often reflect a person's linguistic heritage or the language environment in which they learned to speak.
Take for example Roslyn Vea Domingo Damasco, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education, Major in Special Education and Minor in Mathematics from the University of the Philippines Diliman in June 2019, magna cum laude.
Despite the honors she achieved, many told her that with her credentials, she would surely land a job quickly. However, the opposite seemed to happen because she was rejected several times due to her accent. Damasco hails from Ilagan City, Isabela, and attempted to apply for jobs in Metro Manila, especially in prominent schools, but she was not accepted due to her regional speech accent.
“I was devastated because I studied for four years to improve my content and pedagogy, but I got rejected for my accent—something that is innate to me, something that I can't just change,” Damasco said during an interview with PEP.
So, she decided to review for the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), in order to fulfill her dream of becoming a topnotcher. She said she knew since high school that she wanted to be a teacher, and she would become a topnotcher in the said teacher's board exam.
In 2019, Damasco's plan to take the LET didn't push through because their family experienced a setback when her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She said she felt depressed at that time and just secluded herself in her room. She expressed gratitude for her support system, such as her family and friends, which helped her regain her spirit. However, when she was ready in 2020, the pandemic happened. This reignited Damasco's insecurities because she felt like she was "jobless" unlike her former classmates who were already teaching. She's thankful that her family didn't pressure her to find work.
By September 2021, she finally took the exam. She said she found the General Education and Professional Education parts easy, but when she encountered the questions in her Majorship, she started to doubt whether her dream of becoming a topnotcher would still push through. She admitted having difficulty with questions related to her Major.
On November 9, 2021, the results were released by the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC), coincidentally on her birthday. She received a huge gift from the Lord when she saw her name at the Top 1 spot, with a rating of 93.40% (tied with Vincent Casona Bayawa from Cebu Normal University).
Her message to those like her is that even the best and most successful individuals experience depression, feelings of being a burden, and failures in achieving their dreams. But she wants them to know that God's timing is perfect. If something is meant to be yours, it will be yours. No pandemic or failure can snatch that away from you. You just have to trust in God.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express
