14/09/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ | ๐ง๐ฆ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐-๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ง๐ฆ๐จ-๐ข๐๐๐๐ฆ
Have you ever lined up at the registrar or office for hours just to secure a schedule, only to be told to โcome back tomorrowโ? For students at Tarlac State University (TSU), this waiting game is all too familiar.
But what if a system existed that lets you book your slot online, faster and easier, without the hassle of going back-and-forths?
Thatโs exactly what six Computer Science interns from the College of Computer Studies pulled off during their On-the-Job Training (OJT). With laptops, caffeine, and a lot of grit, they built and launched the TSU ID Scheduling System, a web platform now serving the as a one-stop ID scheduling system made for TSU students.
๐๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ: ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐
Developed during their On-the-Job Training (OJT), the system, which is now accessible at https://scheduling.tsu.edu.ph, aims to streamline ID scheduling and appointment processes, easing the workload of staff while providing students with a faster and more convenient experience.
The interns behind the project were not just defined by their technical roles, but also by the personalities they brought into the workroom.
From backend developer Marc Jhasper Petines as he squashed bugs left to right, to frontend lead Harvey Medina balancing code and design with the flair of a general who also proudly claimed his love for 2D waifus, each of them added a unique flavor to the project.
Marc Jersey Castro bridged frontend and backend at ungodly hours, to the point where his teammates joked he might not even be human. Psalm Nathaniel Bartolome endured the emotional rollercoaster of CSS until Tailwind came to his rescue, while Gabriel Garcia transformed Figma drafts into interactive realities that felt alive. Meanwhile, Matthew Andrรฉ Vino ensured the entire system not only looked polished but felt intuitive, keeping the team grounded with his Pancit Canton-fueled design wisdom.
Together, they powered through sleepless nights with โ10 liters of caffeine, 24/7 Discord music bots, and aggressive ChatGPT debugging.โ
๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ผ๐
In hindsight, the journey was anything but smooth sailing. Petines recalls underestimating the OJT, recalling how he only joined because of a friendโs invite in which what was supposed to be a quick one-week task stretched into a grueling six-week marathon.
โWe thought weโd finish in one week. It took six-plus weeks, two tech stacks, countless presentations, and even a typhoon to buy us time. It was pure chaos.โ
The first two weeks seemed promising, the team had gathered data, drafted the system, and felt ready to present. But in the third week, everything turned upside down when they were told to switch tech stacks and rebuild the entire platform to meet industry-level standards. The pressure mounted as they scrambled to learn new languages while continuing to develop a production-ready system on the fly. By the fourth week, the project was barely 40 percent complete, yet they still had to present in another office for deployment. Miscommunication, mounting stress, and frayed tempers tested the teamโs limits, until a literal typhoon gave them the buffer time they desperately needed to fix issues and patch relationships.
โButi nalang po talaga may bagyo, kung wala po siguro, baka singko po kami sa OJT namin. You could say, we applied the โBurnt Toast Theoryโ in this OJT.โ said Castro.
The final weeks turned into a sprint for survival. With every bug squashed and every presentation delivered, the interns clawed their way back into the projectโs good graces. By the sixth week, the system was finally ready. Despite the chaos, sleepless nights, and near-misses, they managed to deliver a working platform. The entire ordeal became a crash course in real-world software development, where theory collided with unpredictable circumstances.
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฒ
Yet amid the struggles, the experience left behind lessons and memories the interns will never forget. Petines reflects on how the OJT humbled them, proving that โlife outside school ainโt rainbows.โ He admits that the groupโs naivety almost cost them the project, but also credits their teamwork and the guidance of the TSU Business Center employees for helping them survive the pressure-cooker environment.
What surprised him most was how much fun they still had despite the sleepless nights and unpaid grind, from countless Discord calls to chaotic debugging marathons. โDonโt overthink, just focus on whatโs in front of you,โ was the advice from teammate Harvey that kept him from giving up entirely.
โWithout this message, Iโd still be stuck overthinking about failing instead of solving the problems in front of us. So, thank you Harvey for keeping me level headed with that phrase,โ said Petines.
In the end, the interns extended their thanks to the TSU-OBAAS staff who welcomed and supported them, the OMIS developers who guided them through deployment,their OJT coordinator and adviser who showed patience, and even their families who stood by them during the toughest stretches. What began as a stressful and chaotic OJT eventually turned into a story of resilience, growth, and camaraderie.
For TSU, the ID Scheduling System is more than just a new website. It is a student-built legacy, proof that with trust and opportunity, students can create meaningful solutions that benefit the university community.
And for the six interns, it is a reminder that sometimes, the best stories come from the hardest struggles, ones that turn caffeine, code, and chaos into something that lasts. The journey and website may not be perfect, but the fact that itโs working despite all the setbacks that happened, is a testament to what student innovation can achieve, one line of code at a time.
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Written by Marc Jhasper Petines
Layout by John Kaede Isip
