Featured LPU Davao Employee of the Month: Dr. Raffy P. Yroma

Dr. Raffy P. Yroma was born and raised by his mother Ms. Marlen Yroma together with his 2 younger sisters and younger brother in Makilala, North Cotabato. Growing up, life for Dr. Raffy was hard. But, despite having some personal struggles, his interest in leading other people and becoming an inspiration to them started at a young age when he was elected as the President of the Student Body when he was still a grade six student from Kisante Central Elementary School, Makilala, North Cotabato. During his term, he received the very first award as the President of the year when he graduated from his primary school. It is because of the said opportunity that helped him boost his morale at a very young age. “I was an average student. I am always on the honor’s list, but never did I make it to the top. But that is okay with me. My life while growing up as you know, it’s very poor and very, very sad, but when I graduated elementary and received such an award, I told myself, Aah pwede pala, pwede pala ako maging leader. Naaappreciate pala ang mga ganito”. He further added, “I appreciate the opportunity that was given to me and I can still remember all of my teachers who encouraged me and told me that I can do something and I have a lot of potential within me.”

When he reached high school, he tried to take an examination to avail of a scholarship in Notre Dame of Makilala hoping to study in a private school since their barangay does not have any funds to support students like him and he also does not know anyone studying in a private school because it was expensive. “I just tried even though I know taking an examination for a scholarship will be very hard but there’s no harm in trying right? By God’s grace, I was able to pass the exam and was granted a 100% free tuition fee.” He said. Among all the students in their barangay, he was the only one who went to a private school. According to him, “Studying at a private school is really a privilege so I really did not waste my time and enjoyed everything I have while I’m at school. When my sister entered high school, she also tried to take an examination to avail of the scholarship program and luckily, she also passed. But the school has a policy that if ever there are two of you in the family who are scholars, only one of you will receive 100% free tuition and the other one will only receive 50%. So, I decided since I was already in Notre Dame, I’ll give that opportunity to my sister so she will be able to avail the 100% scholarship program.”

In his high school life, he dedicated himself to joining different competitions and activities may it be local events or in-campus extracurricular events. He joined literary competitions, became the emcee/host in some events and was once a Campus Government Officer. He said, “I always wanted to experience everything. I joined hosting and poetry. I was once a Champion of Poetry Competition and Painting Competition. When I graduated from high school, I am part of the Honor’s List. I was also awarded as the Artist of the Year, Officer of the Year, and Modesty of the Year. I got 13 awards and I think I have a lot of awards than our Valedictorian. *Laughs* Kidding aside.”

Then, he thought of what course will he take in college, “I dreamt of becoming a journalist or newscaster. But in the year 2004-2005, there were a lot of news about journalists being killed so I decided not to pursue it. When I finally decided to enter college, BS Nursing was the most popular course at that time, so I thought of taking up BS Nursing at Davao Doctor’s College. But, Ms. Glenda, who is one of the teachers at Davao Doctor’s College encouraged me to take BS in Hospitality Management, so, I decided to take up BSHM instead. During my college years, I joined different competitions locally and internationally. I won in the said competitions and I even had my name written in the articles of newspapers for those events. I received different awards like Award of Merits, Leadership Award, and others to name a few when I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree. I have a lot of things going on in my life because I wanted to be busy.” He further added, “My goal in life is to help my co-students. My purpose is only to help others. I know that there are a lot of students out there who experienced what I have experienced while I’m growing up. I know that some of them need help and sometimes their family cannot even afford to support them even mentally and psychologically. That was my goal when I became part of the Student Government Body before. I just want everyone to help each other. I want everybody to be united because I always believe that when we are united, there’s prosperity.”

When he graduated college in April 2008, Dr. Raffy worked immediately and he has plans of going abroad but he wanted his sister to finish first her Bachelor’s degree. Dr. Raffy only applied to different institutions and also enrolled for his Master’s Degree in Management. He was then accepted to teach at Holy Cross of Davao College, Inc. as a part-time teacher since they will only hire a full-time teacher with a Master’s degree at that time. In 2008, that was the time that Holy Cross of Davao College opened BS Hospitality Management course and he became the pioneering teacher with a part-time position and full-time load. To cut the story short, Dr. Raffy said, “I enjoyed being in the academe. I can relate to the students and I really see myself in them that they wanted to become successful and that is when I realized that I really need to help these students. I always think of some ideas on what techniques I would tell for them to really use those and help them get the jobs they wanted and for them to help their family”.

In 2011, after he graduated with his Master’s degree, he was chosen and became the Head of BS Hospitality Management among all other faculty members in their department. Their Department Head went abroad and picked him as the next Department Head for BS Hospitality Management because he believes in Dr. Raffy’s potential. “I was 23 years old at that time and some point, I was nervous because I feel like I was very young for that position.” In 2013, Dr. Raffy took up his Doctor of Management Major in Human Resource Management. Life became busier for Dr. Raffy as he attended extensive trainings for being a Chef, had done some inspirational speaking engagements to different schools and also traveled to different places and countries for local and international events/trainings/internships and immersion programs. 

Lastly, Dr. Raffy believes that he became the person he is right now because of the hardships that he had been through for the past years and he is not ashamed of what he has done just so he could survive and help his family uplift their situation, “I once worked as a part-time waiter when I was in college. I also worked in Bankerohan as one of the vendors there. Life is hard but that didn’t stop me to achieve my goals. I always have this personal mantra that THERE’S NOTHING TOO HIGH NOR TOO DIFFICULT TO ACCOMPLISH IF DETERMINATION AND DEDICATION ARE ALWAYS PUT TO WORK. As long as we strive hard and as long as we are doing the best that we can, we are helping others and we never trample anyone. It is very important that whenever we receive our success you may also see that others receive theirs. Maybe that’s the reason why I am in the academe. I always wanted to help others. For me, education is not only about learning or feeding our mind but also feeding our soul. It is always very important to listen to our students because we know that they are sometimes scared to ask. Lastly, our purpose is to help nurture our students to become their best in the future.”