SU Mass Com Student Named Top Marketing Management Trainee in National MarkProf Bootcamp
Senior Mass Communication student Jan Andrei Y. Elizalde has earned national recognition after completing one of the country’s most competitive marketing leadership programs, emerging as the Top Marketing Management Trainee in the Philippines during the graduation of the MarkProf Marketing Leadership Bootcamp held on February 28, 2026 in Makati City.
A member of MarkProf Batch 22 (Code B4), Elizalde received multiple distinctions during the intensive nine-week national training program, including Top Marketing Management Trainee in the Philippines, Batch President, and Mega Prime Inc. Best Performer (Rank 1). He was also recognized as one of the 11 Best Performers across various sessions of the program.
Organized by the MarkProf Foundation, the Marketing Leadership Bootcamp gathers outstanding college students from across the Philippines through a rigorous nationwide selection process for intensive training in marketing, leadership, and business strategy led by industry practitioners.
The bootcamp ran from November 29, 2025 to February 28, 2026, with sessions hosted by different partner companies across Manila. Each weekend featured talks and mentoring sessions with industry leaders alongside marketing case competitions designed to sharpen participants’ strategic thinking and leadership skills.
The program began with 41 trainees from universities across the country, but only 27 successfully completed the rigorous training and graduated, underscoring the program’s highly selective nature.
The final graduation ceremony was held at the McDonald’s Philippines office in Makati, where participants presented their culminating “Big Idea Case” competition and were formally inducted into the MarkProf Alumni Circle, a national network of marketing professionals.
For Elizalde, the journey began with an emotional moment when he learned he had been accepted into the program. “When I saw the email that said ‘Are You Ready for MarkProf 22?’ I cried. I called my best friend and cried even more,” he recalled, noting that simply making it into the program already felt like a major milestone.
Elizalde first encountered the MarkProf program while serving as a student journalist for The Weekly Sillimanian, where he had pitched a story about Silliman students who had previously participated in the bootcamp. A year later, he found himself applying to the same program he once reported on.
Throughout the nine-week training, participants flew to Manila on weekends for the sessions while balancing academic and professional commitments. Reflecting on the experience, Elizalde said the most meaningful part of the program extended beyond the competitive curriculum.
“The highlight of my journey wasn’t simply getting in,” he said. “It was learning from the best—our mentors and industry leaders—with the people I came to care about the most, my batch.”
He added that the shared experiences—long travel days, case competitions, and late-night discussions—ultimately shaped the program into something deeper than a training course. “Somewhere between these moments, I realized that I no longer competed for a spot in a program,” he said. “I lived for a journey that made space for me and my newfound family.”
Despite the program’s competitive nature, Elizalde said the cohort maintained a strong sense of camaraderie throughout the training. “There were wins and there were losses,” he reflected, “but one thing stayed constant—our love for the field, each other, and the communities we represent.”
Elizalde’s achievement brings distinction to Silliman University and highlights the strong presence of Sillimanians in national leadership and industry development programs.
