Proud mom VP Leni tears up with daughter's departure for US study
Published Aug 24, 2018 12:35 pm
By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
Just like most parents, Vice President Leni Robredo is still having a hard time letting go of her youngest daughter who sets off abroad to pursue her college degree.
Jillian Robredo (Photo posted by Vice President Leni Robredo on Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
In her post on her personal Facebook page, Robredo cannot hide her concern for Jillian – the youngest of her three daughters – who will be pursuing a biomolecular science degree under a full scholarship at New York University (NYU) in the United States (US).
“It's never easy when one leaves the nest, especially when she's the baby in the family,” said Robredo. Jillian recently graduated from Philippine Science High School (PSHS). She got accepted in the Biomolecular Science Program under the Tandon School of Engineering in NYU and was also accepted into the country’s top universities including Ateneo De Manila, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle University.
Robredo recounted that Jillian was only 12 years old “when she lost her Papa” – former Naga Mayor and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash in August 2012.
In that same year, Robredo joined politics and transferred to Manila. “She entered Pisay, left her childhood friends and swimming in Naga and had to undergo so many other life-changing journeys…but she managed to pull through” she said.
Proud mom
Robredo also expressed her admiration for her youngest daughter, who – after six years – “has become very independent, responsible and disciplined.”
As always, Robredo beams with pride whenever she mentions her three daughters - Aika, Tricia, and Jillian. Recently, her eldest daughter Aika made headlines after graduating at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tricia, on the other hand, continues to study medicine at the Ateneo School of Medicine.
Robredo is especially proud of her youngest daughter noting her growth over the years. “When her Ate Aika left for her postgrad studies and her Ate Trish started hospital duties, she assumed the roles they left behind - paying the household bills, doing the groceries, going to the bank, etc,” she said. “She took her SATs and applied for universities all her own with almost no help from me,” she added.
Initially, Jillian was accepted in NYU under partial scholarship. “The day she received her NYU acceptance, she was happy but knew I would not be able to afford sending her there,” Robredo said. “When she was initially offered just a partial scholarship, she made relentless appeals and applied for more from other sources all by herself... she even applied for part-time work and was accepted,” the proud mom added.
“As a mother, and a single parent at that, I worry that she will be by herself in that concrete jungle,” Robredo said. “But knowing that she worked so hard for this and deserves everything that she's achieved, I am comforted in the knowledge that she will always be in God's loving and protective embrace,” she ended.
Aika and Tricia sent off Jillian on her early morning flight to New York on August 23, Thursday. The day before her flight, August 22, Robredo also posted a photo with her three daughters captioned: “We are yet again embarking on a new chapter and my girls dropped by the office today. Trish had to work yesterday, a holiday, to be able to get off today.”
Jillian Robredo (Photo posted by Vice President Leni Robredo on Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
In her post on her personal Facebook page, Robredo cannot hide her concern for Jillian – the youngest of her three daughters – who will be pursuing a biomolecular science degree under a full scholarship at New York University (NYU) in the United States (US).
“It's never easy when one leaves the nest, especially when she's the baby in the family,” said Robredo. Jillian recently graduated from Philippine Science High School (PSHS). She got accepted in the Biomolecular Science Program under the Tandon School of Engineering in NYU and was also accepted into the country’s top universities including Ateneo De Manila, University of the Philippines, and De La Salle University.
Robredo recounted that Jillian was only 12 years old “when she lost her Papa” – former Naga Mayor and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash in August 2012.
In that same year, Robredo joined politics and transferred to Manila. “She entered Pisay, left her childhood friends and swimming in Naga and had to undergo so many other life-changing journeys…but she managed to pull through” she said.
Proud mom
Robredo also expressed her admiration for her youngest daughter, who – after six years – “has become very independent, responsible and disciplined.”
As always, Robredo beams with pride whenever she mentions her three daughters - Aika, Tricia, and Jillian. Recently, her eldest daughter Aika made headlines after graduating at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tricia, on the other hand, continues to study medicine at the Ateneo School of Medicine.
Robredo is especially proud of her youngest daughter noting her growth over the years. “When her Ate Aika left for her postgrad studies and her Ate Trish started hospital duties, she assumed the roles they left behind - paying the household bills, doing the groceries, going to the bank, etc,” she said. “She took her SATs and applied for universities all her own with almost no help from me,” she added.
Initially, Jillian was accepted in NYU under partial scholarship. “The day she received her NYU acceptance, she was happy but knew I would not be able to afford sending her there,” Robredo said. “When she was initially offered just a partial scholarship, she made relentless appeals and applied for more from other sources all by herself... she even applied for part-time work and was accepted,” the proud mom added.
“As a mother, and a single parent at that, I worry that she will be by herself in that concrete jungle,” Robredo said. “But knowing that she worked so hard for this and deserves everything that she's achieved, I am comforted in the knowledge that she will always be in God's loving and protective embrace,” she ended.
Aika and Tricia sent off Jillian on her early morning flight to New York on August 23, Thursday. The day before her flight, August 22, Robredo also posted a photo with her three daughters captioned: “We are yet again embarking on a new chapter and my girls dropped by the office today. Trish had to work yesterday, a holiday, to be able to get off today.”