Since she was young, Violeta Mendoza, a resident of Poblacion, Muntinlupa, dreamt of going to college to become a teacher.  But poverty got in the way.

“Hindi po ako nag-high school. Tapos lang ako ng elementary. Kasi nung 1965 na nagtapos ako ng elementary hindi ako pinag-aral ng tatay ko kasi wala kaming pera (I didn’t go to high school. I only finished elementary. When I graduated in elementary in 1965, my father didn’t allow me to continue my studies because we didn’t have money),” Mendoza told Manila Bulletin in an interview. 

She graduated at the Bulala Elementary School in Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte and in July 1967 at the age of 16, she married her husband Reynaldo and had 11 children -- nine daughters and two sons. They now have 30 grandchildren. 

But her dream of finishing college still lingered in her mind. And 55 years after finishing elementary, Mendoza finally fulfilled her wish.  

At 69, Mendoza finished her degree in Bachelor of Elementary Education Major in Special Education (SPED) at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa (PLMun), a city-run tertiary institution. 

PLMun announced the list of graduates of Class 2020 and Mendoza was one of them. The graduation ceremony was supposed to be held last month but due to social distancing rules during  the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it didn’t push through. Nevertheless, the class had their graduation pictorial on July 21. 

“Sobra pong saya. Naiyak nga po ako sa sobrang saya (I am so happy. I shed tears of joy because of extreme happiness),” Mendoza said. 

“Talagang pangarap ko iyon bata pa ako na mag-aral ako hanggang college para maging teacher. Di nga po natupad dahil sa kahirapan ng buhay namin. Ang tatay ko walang hanapbuhay kundi magkaingin at magtanim ng palay, niyog. Nanay ko naman nagtatanim ng kamote at saging (It was really my childhood dream to become a teacher. I didn’t fulfill it because we were poor.  Aside from planting rice, coconut and doing slash and burn, my father did not have any other means of livelihood.  My mother planted sweet potato and banana),” she shared.  

Mendoza was born in Paranaque in 1951 and her family moved to Bicol when she was very young. They went back to Metro Manila in 1993 and eventually settled in Muntinlupa. 

She had the chance to get a college education when she enrolled in the Alternative Learning System (ALS) under the Department of Education (DepEd) in 2014 to finish high school and passed it in 2015.

Government established the ALS to provide all Filipinos the chance to have access to and complete basic education in a mode that fits their distinct situations and needs.

Mendoza sought the help of one of her daughters who is an ALS teacher in Muntinlupa.  “At the time, I was no longer busy and all my children were no longer going to school as they all got married.”

Because she had not been to formal school since 1965, Mendoza faced difficulties when she started out at PLMun in August 2016. 

“At first I wasn’t able to keep up with my classmates. They went to high school while I went to college immediately . When we were in first year, I cried when I got low grades. I thought of giving up especially in Math, Algebra. It was so hard,” she said. 

But her classmates helped her out. “They gave me the strength,” Mendoza said.  At PLMun, she was an Iskolar ng Bayan, a scholarship program of Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi. 

Mendoza thanked her husband Reynaldo, her children and grandchildren “for supporting me in this journey.” She also expressed gratitude to her professors at PLMun and Mayor Fresnedi. 

“Nagpasalamat ako sa Iskolar ng Bayan, kay Mayor. Lahat ng tumulong sa akin pinasalamatan ko unang-una kay God sa pagbibigay nya sa akin ng lakas (I thanked the Iskolar ng Bayan, the  Mayor (Fresnedi).   I thanked all those who helped me, first of all God for giving me the strength),” she said.  

For his part, Mayor Fresnedi said, “Hindi n’ya hinayaang maging hadlang ang edad para makamit ang kanyang pangarap. Ma’am Violeta, isa kang inspirasyon sa amin upang pagbutihin pa ang paglilingkod at patuloy na gawing prayoridad ang edukasyon para sa kinabukasan ng mga Muntinlupeño (She did not let her age be a hindrance in fulfilling her dream. Ma’am Violeta, you are an inspiration to us to better our service and continue to make education a priority for the future of Muntinlupeños).”

With her hard-earned college degree, Mendoza now wants to work.  “Plano ko po sanang mag-apply ng trabaho kaso inabot nga tayo ng (COVID-19) pandemic. Hindi ako makapag-apply kasi bawal lumabas ang senior. Malakas pa naman ako (I plan to apply for a job but then this pandemic got in the way. I cannot apply for work because seniors are prohibited from going out. I am still strong)."