In 2017 when Jonathan Supsupin of La Trinidad, Benguet, had to get on track for senior high school, he chose Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL). It was the first year of K-to-12 implementation and the middle child whose father is a vegetable picker at the trading post and whose mother works at a local hospital’s linen department was unsure how things would go.
¨We live a simple life,” Supsupin said. “My parents have always supported me no matter what dreams or goals I choose to pursue. They do their best to encourage and stand by me.”
At Benguet National High School (BeNHS) where the student population reaches the thousands, Supsupin joined other home economics (HE) students in a new organization called The Pink Plate and eventually served as its president.
The Pink Plate is the brainchild of Froilan Shyr Aroco, now coordinator of HE and Industrial Arts at BeNHS. He set it up in 2017 “to hone the skills of senior high school students,” he said. “They take what they learned in the classroom and apply these at actual events.”
Supsupin said he gained “valuable knowledge and first-hand exposure to real-world scenarios” from the opportunities brought by The Pink Plate. “Being in those situations helped me grow personally and professionally and prepared me for competitions and future work,” he added.

In 2018, Supsupin emerged as cookery champion at the National Festival of Talents Technolympics held in Dumaguete City. In 2022, he won a medallion of excellence in the cooking category of the WorldSkills Competition Special Edition held in Switzerland.
High ratings
Dressed in their signature bright pink uniform, The Pink Plate members accomplish tasks ranging from planning to set-up to food preparation at various occasions. They started with school functions attended by government officials but have since branched out to catering weddings and other events in Benguet. For the latter, they collaborate with members of the Salt and Pepper Club, composed of students in food and beverage services. Aside from basic skills, they have learned the importance of teamwork, communication, resilience, and diskarte (innovation)—all valuable in the professional world.
Since 2017, The Pink Plate has consistently earned ratings of 98% and above from the Department of Education (DepEd).
The reality of limited classrooms and teaching staff in public schools means that TVL-HE students learn through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous lessons–a practice carried over from the pandemic. Because there are 236 students in Grade 11 and 258 in Grade 12, students attend classes in two batches: one on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They switch in-person class days weekly.
But hands-on experience and practice are vital to their field, and purchasing raw ingredients for cooking and baking entails huge expenses. Upon the students’ enrolment, Aroco (who teaches bread and pastry production) and Novlyn Suerte (who teaches cookery) orient the parents on the costs that the training (which involves trial and error) will incur.
Most of the time, the parents’ contributions do not suffice. So Aroco and Suerte solicit funds from their co-teachers and DepEd staff members. Some alumni—who have been in the same boat—also send contributions. Countless times, Aroco and Suerte have had to dip into their resources to fill in the difference.
According to Suerte, they are both members of the LGBTQIA community and do not have families of their own to spend money on, so their financial help is “wholehearted.”
“The biggest contributor to our funds was Chef Aroco,” Supsupin confided.
Doing extra
Aroco and Suerte get to know their students well because of the time spent decorating, kneading, stirring mixtures, and waiting for timers to go off. Interaction is how they build rapport with the students, and the students with each other.
“Our lessons take up two hours each day, so we get to know them on a more personal level. Those times are when we discover their family situations and we can account for different behaviors that otherwise would be missed,” Suerte said.
For example, Aroco and Suerte realize that a student is often late for classes because he does not have parents around to make sure he gets to school on time. In many cases, students learn to trust them enough to confide apprehensions and fears. More than just teach, they also counsel and listen to students who feel the need for someone to talk to about troubled home lives.
The students’ active participation in The Pink Plate also gives them access to opportunities like scholarships for college courses and side gigs. Some restaurants have called on the members to help during peak tourist seasons, and have been sufficiently remunerated.
Aroco regrets that, sometimes, due to large class sizes, some students’ talents are discovered only in the last few months before they graduate. Still, he said, it helps that each block retains the same adviser throughout senior high because advisers like himself are better able to monitor the students’ development.
Real-world rigor
Suerte clarified that they do not coddle but call out students to correct mistakes—all in preparation for the workplace. They manage expectations at the outset, telling the students that when they point out mistakes, they expect to be listened to. The students are then given the chance to reason out. Correcting the students shows the teachers’ concern and desire to help them improve, both professionally and personally.
“I learned from Sir Aroco not to take anything personally,” Suerte said, adding that those who have not been scolded hardly ever make it in life: “Sino ba ang ‘di pinagalitan na naging successful sa buhay?”
But not all graduates have entered the food and beverage industry. Aroco cited one former student who started selling succulents online during the pandemic, and who continues to grow the business today.
Aroco said that after guiding several batches of The Pink Plate members, the bonds they have formed with the alumni stay strong over time. The alumni come back to visit and, at some events, don their pink uniforms again to augment their income, or even just to satisfy their nostalgia.
“They move up, you move on” is a lesson Aroco has learned after 15 years at BeNHS. “I just hope the knowledge and confidence that they gained will remain with them,” he said.
Supsupin is now 25 and a restaurant manager at a resort in the Ilocos. ‘Working in the food and beverage and hospitality industries has been life-changing!” he said. “It has not only improved our financial situation but also given me a sense of purpose and pride. It taught me resilience and creativity. It feels rewarding to be part of an industry that brings joy to people.”
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