“One thing that the college has successfully instilled in me is being an autonomous learner which eventually developed my personal autonomy (now as a professional). All the learning accountabilities and the self-taught learning practiced upon us were cognitively demanding. Apparently, I learned to self-assess and monitor my own learning progress. The freedom to choose, and having the agency over your choice and pace of learning may not as fun as it seems, but it made me more discerning and responsible. I am now living alone overseas with little to no support system but the autonomy I harbored in college got me through the position I was aiming right when I left my country. To my recollection, the outreach program of CTE-FTA in San Mariano, Bantay was not only a heartwarming experience but also an invigorating event where the leadership skills of a student like me were actuated. Such platform goes beyond what a mere classroom lecture and affective activities could impart. By that time (if I am not mistaken), our class was already introduced to 21st century education and the outreach program just explained to me what it meant by soft skill integration in learning. Of course, the last semester was one of the best: trying hard to impress while being economical with our materials was all fun.”