Beth MorrisseyBETH Morrissey, a Princeton-in-Asia fellow, worked with ABS-CBN for a year to help set up BMPM: Ako ang Simula.

Morrissey, a documentary producer, researched available postings and after reading reports of previous fellows, chose to be assigned to ABS-CBN should her application be approved. She was accepted as a fellow and was immediately in the thick of BMPM operations. She found it quite enriching to have had to go out to talk to people as BMPM was rolled out school by school, city by city. “In the US, almost everything is web-based.

But here, we did a lot of offline activities. There were organizations hosting BMPM events and people had to put their thumbprint on a wall to show they’re committed. We also had to find the best stories of the day sent in so they could be incorporated into “TV Patrol” and the other news programs,” narrates Morrissey, 26.

Her best memory is seeing the number of people participating in BMPM grow. “I saw all the comments coming in. For the coverage of Pres. Cory Aquino’s funeral, hundreds of pictures poured in. It was the same thing with typhoon Ondoy,” she says.

Morrissey returns to the US this June and intends to pursue a master’s degree in journalism in Columbia University.