Among this year’s batch of SM scholar graduates, three are from Eastern Visayas. All of them graduated with academic distinction awards and are aspiring CPAs.
Clarice M. Lizardo graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree from the Saint Paul School of Professional Studies. She hails from Brgy. Balilit, Carigara, Leyte. Finishing her Senior High School with high honors from the Carigara National High School, being a CPA was not her ultimate dream.
"I chose the Accountancy Program as my course partly because I had the background for it since I took Accountancy, Business and Management in Senior High School. I can't say it was my ultimate dream to be a CPA or that I am passionate about it but I have learned to love and appreciate the beauty and significance of this course. It is the course where professionals with accounting degrees work in a wide array of roles and able to find employment opportunities in virtually any industry since accounting is the language of businesses in the world. Moreover, since I have plans of opening up a business in the future, Accountancy provides me with some, if not all, vital knowledge in starting and running a business. This challenging course had developed a whole host of highly valuable and versatile competencies in me."
Like other students during the pandemic, Lizardo had to adjust with the new learning set-up. The poor internet connection was another challenge. "I sometimes can't even attend my classes or often times I'm suddenly being cut off from it. I needed to look for the right location to get a stable connection."
Another challenge for her during the pandemic was the learning environment. "Home is our comfort zones, but it's not really the most ideal environment for learning. Most of the time, I'm being distracted with all the happenings at home. I don't even have my own secluded space for learning. Not like boarding houses near the school where I could focus solely in my studies."
"Having face-to-face classes meant I have my classmates or study buddies or friends to discuss the topics I didn't understand or together solve certain accounting problems. Being stuck at home, I had to study by myself."
Securing a wi-fi connection, getting self-help books, and rescheduling her study time in the evenings and wee hours in the morning helped addressed the challenges. She also credited self-motivation. "Not really an unusual thing but that keeps me going. I have to motivate and push myself harder because no one's going to do it for me."
"I am honored to be #ProudSMScholar," she said. She is grateful for the SM scholarship that helped her reach her goal. "My family and I can't thank them enough, really. Their generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students or anyone achieve their goals just as SMFI helped me. Thank you again Sy Family, SMFI and to our ever accommodating scholarship coordinators for their financial investment, their valuable time and efforts, and long-lasting impact on my life goals. May God continue to bless the Sy Family and SMFI, and grant them health and success to continue rendering its noble mission."
Zaina Gail S. Cortez is also a graduate of Saint Paul School of Professional Studies with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy with Academic Distinction. She is the eldest among three siblings, and is a recipient of a Loyalty Award having completed her Senior High School at the same school where she took the ABM strand.
"My father is unknown to me while my mother already has her own family. I grew up with my grandmother along with my aunt and uncles who support me," Cortez said. "SM Scholarship was really a blessing not only to me but also to my family."
Before she became an SM scholar, Cortez was a student assistant assigned in the Guidance Office. She had to juggle her studies and tasks as a working student, while making time for her family. As student assistant, there would be weekends when she had to be in school.
Being an SM scholar was one of her answered prayers. She was looking for different scholarships hoping to find one that would help her financially. She was on her second year in college when she learned about the SM scholarship and only incoming freshmen were qualified.
I was quite hopeless because I felt like I only had a little chance but thankfully I was interviewed by Ma'am Lady Alpha Asas Ferman, a former SM scholar who she said was #101 in the list of scholars. She introduced me to her previous sponsor, Sir Oscar Peñaranda, who also became my sponsor during my entire college studies."
She was relieved upon learning that she was granted a scholarship as this would lessen the financial burden of her family in supporting her education.
Cortez, who hails from Tacloban City, is currently working as a freelance singer/band vocalist. She declined a full-time job opportunity offered to her after graduation as she is still reviewing for the CPALE.
Another aspiring CPA is Arian Jade B. De la Pisa from Brgy. San Jose, Ormoc City. Her father is a farm worker who receives 10 percent share of the yield of a rice field he manages. Her mother, a housewife, occasionally vends fruits.
De la Pisa graduated from the Western Leyte College of Ormoc, Inc. with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy degree. She finished her Senior High School with an honors award from the Valencia National High School in Ormoc City.
"I chose Accountancy as it was already in my mindset that it is a high demand profession and that it will not be difficult for me to find a job after graduation." She added it also educated her with money handling and financial management which she now shares with her family.
As one of those graduates who had to spend part of schooling online, De la Pisa shared that poor internet signal proved to be most challenging. "Sometimes at home, I stayed dawn especially when uploading videos to Google classrooms." Staying focused and time management were also among her concerns as she had to share chores at home and helped vending.
She graduated at the Western Leyte College with an academic award. The scholarship paid for her tuition plus a monthly allowance which helped lift the burden from her family.
Aside from the monetary help, she is grateful for the activities and events SM Foundation initiates for their scholars that allowed them to grow holistically. She said her family is an example of what SM Foundation aims to achieve—empowering one member of an underprivileged family to graduate so that she can help raise their standard of living. De la Pisa got job offers after graduation and is now employed.