Mariano Marcos
State University

From side hustle to tassel: ‘Raketero’ graduates with Latin honors

𝘽𝙮 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝘾𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚 𝙄𝙡𝙖𝙧

How does someone juggling multiple side hustles still manage to excel in school and graduate with Latin honors?

For Ryand Angelo Ugalde, a graduating Bachelor of Arts in Communication student, the answer lies in hard work and passion. Wearing many hats—voice-over artist, makeup artist, student journalist, host, leader, and filmmaker—he has become a familiar voice and presence across MMSU and provincial events and campus press since 2021.

Now, he’s set to close this chapter as a magna cum laude, proving that even those who carry extra weight outside the classroom can still rise to the top. While most graduates will still compete for opportunities in the job market, a job awaits Ryand in a national government agency in Manila. 

𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀

Coming from a humble background, Ryand remembers his family’s struggles since his elementary years. His mom is a housewife, while his father is a land surveyor based in their hometown, Cagayan. He is the middle child of three siblings.

There was a time when he could not bring lunch to school because of financial reasons. He narrates that his mom walked from home to his school, and asked Ryand to charge a keypad phone with a universal charger in their classroom. 

Ryand said he tried his best not to show it to his teacher, as charging and bringing phones is discouraged.

Little did he know that charging his mother’s phone would allow her to make a call and borrow money from a family friend. That noon, they were able to share a budget meal lunch for fifty pesos.

Fast forward to 2019, Ryand enrolled in Saint Louis University (SLU) in Baguio City for his senior high school. Enrolled in a private school, he struggled in his 11th grade with their financial status.

“Saan a baro kaniak talaga’t rigat (I’m no stranger to hardship)… Really the struggle of trying to survive every day wasn’t foreign to me,” Ugalde shared.

Come 2020, all sectors, including education, had to transition to a remote setup due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While he performed at first in his academics, due to the distance learning setup, he was unmotivated to accomplish his asynchronous activities when he was already in Ilocos Norte.

“I graduated senior high school, second to the last in my class because I wasn’t doing anything. I really didn’t care about my education even though tuition was so expensive back then,” Ryand shared.

𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲

Just as he stepped into MMSU, he felt the need for a change. He saw the importance of education and the quality that the university offers.

The need for redemption grew in him. “When I was in college, I needed to really prove to myself that sending me to school was worth it for my mom,” Ryand shared. 

“I really strived. Even when I was doing various raket, I wasn’t compromising my studies,” Ryand added.

For the next four years, he had his north star, his moral compass, and would ask himself, “Is my mother going to be proud of what I am going to do?”

He thought about how he was never recognized in elementary and high school with honors, never at the top of the class, nor recognized as a bright one. So upon entering college, redemption and validation pushed him to his best.

Ryand did not miss the opportunity to make his parents proud one more time. 

He made sure that his four years in college would count and immediately laid down his ace–he was one of the founders of The Vantage Point, the broadcast arm of the university’s student publication SIRMATA.

When the first episode of their digital broadcast program was published on their social media page, doors opened for him, with his voice and talent introduced. His voice was heard. His voice became familiar to many. His talent for storytelling was recognized.

Since then, they have hired him as a voice talent for various events in MMSU and Ilocos Norte, as a hair and makeup artist, and have made different writing commissions. He may be focused on his studies, but Ryand said, “I never said no to a raket.” 

This, along with his love and nonstop projects in creating films and documentaries, also supported him, thanks to the cash prizes.

‘𝗥𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘁’ 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲

Understanding his family’s current financial situation, Ryand avoided asking his mom for an allowance throughout college. Earning money through gigs and participating in various competitions helped him survive. 
However, these gigs were often uncertain and unpredictable. There were days with no bookings or commissions, which made him worry about his future survival. Just as there were times of abundance, there were also seasons of scarcity.

Fortunately, he is also a scholar under the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte’s Sirib Young Leader Program, receiving a P15,000 stipend each semester.

“But of course, people see me [as a] singular. It’s either Mr. SIRMATA or the guy who does voice-overs. It’s like the branding didn’t fit if I was trying to be that vulnerable,” he explained.

Ryand acknowledges that not everyone faces the same challenges or rides the same waves. He never dared to share his struggles because no one asked. He lacked outlets to show his vulnerabilities except through others and their experiences.

“It’s something that my mom is going to be very happy about. Because the whole trajectory of college was really what’s going to make my mom proud,” he said.

Because of his hard work, the days felt lighter, sleepless nights became rewarding, and even the struggles seemed meaningful. His redemption was complete. For Ryand, it was a deep relief to finally say, ‘I made my mama proud.’

𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

Among his accolades in filmmaking is winning the award for Best Short Film with his most recent project, The Adventures of Insay and Inggo, during the recently concluded 3rd Tourisinema De Cagayan.

Ryand also helmed and bagged the Best Documentary Film award in the Interschool category during the 17th Sinepiyu of Far Eastern University with his winning entry, Shutdown.

His film Tawid also won Best Documentary, Best Story, and Most Child-Friendly Film at the DokyuBata 2024, a film festival in partnership with GMA Public Affairs and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

In journalism, Ryand’s team from SIRMATA garnered the championship for the Documentary Vlog-Making competition during the 3rd National Campus Journalism Convention organized by Transforming Advocates and Champions in the Philippines last March this year.

He was also recognized as the Best Anchor during the Regional Higher Education Press Conference in 2023, and back in 2022, Ryand won first place in the flash report competition during the National University Camilo Osias Festival.

When asked how he managed to do it all, he said that it wasn’t because of conscious time management or balancing, but it was because it was innate for him to survive.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗱?

Looking back on his struggles, he only feels gratitude. Even at a young age, he knew they faced financial challenges, but now, life has become kinder for Ryand, thanks to those who believed in him in his side hustles.

With a general weighted average of 1.4084, Ryand will graduate magna cum laude, leading the BA Communication program and ranking 23rd out of 3,243 graduates from the entire university.

Moving forward, Ryand is set to work as a project technical staff member at the Commission on Higher Education right after earning his degree. He hopes that he will no longer need a raket but instead secure a permanent job that can support his family in the following days and beyond.