Mark Anthony S. Delos Reyes
Alumni Focus
January 21, 2021
Back in college, Mark Anthony Delos Reyes and his wife had always dreamt of migrating either in the US or in United Kingdom to go see the world, and strongly felt of starting their own family and raise their kids to be able to pursue successful careers outside the Philippines.
True enough in 2016, Mark and his family were granted UK citizenship visas without any restrictions, and that opportunity helped them establish their careers in the UK.
Mark currently works as an Assistant Manager in Metro Bank in the UK. Metro Bank was established by American Bankers in 2010. Notably, Metro Bank is the first high street bank to launch over 150 years in the United Kingdom. He shares, “My career in the banking and finance industry in the UK started as a teller at the world’s biggest building society in the world – Nationwide Building Society. After a year, I was promoted to Personal Banking Manager then progressed to Assistant Manager. Seven years after, I moved away from retail banking in an attempt to build a career in the financial services as a Mortgage Consultant, but only lasted for two years.”
Achieving his ladder to success, Mark could not believe how quick time passed by since he first step at HAU as a first year student. He narrates, “I can still remember fond memories of HAU as if they happened yesterday. Manong guard, oh yes, Manong Guard did not waste time to check my ID – I very much adore them. You would think they were guarding the most important building in the city. As soon as I passed the guards, I found myself slowly walking, looking around, holding my jaw to amazement, and almost hitting one of the brown beams. This was the start of an amazing and fantastic university experience. Adding to this experience was when I failed my first ever major subject – Fundamentals of Accounting. In so many ways, this was the first major failure I have experienced in my life as a young adult. My confidence took a nosedive. Negative thoughts came knocking down my door and to be honest it took me a little bit of time to get back up. Through the help of my family, friends and ultimately the grace of God, I got over it and took it as a challenge to better myself.”
Having been able to experienced all of these, Mark will always be forever grateful to HAU. He added, “On reflection, HAU taught me the fundamental life skills I needed not only in the corporate world but life in general.”
With all of these, Mark’s message to the students of today is “do not see failures as the end, see failures as the beginning. These are your tests that will be your testimonies”.