Angelo Uy dreamed of being a teacher when he was a child, but the challenges that came with being in a financially struggling family made it seemingly impossible to realize it.
Looking back, Angelo, says that majority of his success and the fulfilment of his dreams can be credited to the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program.
Even now, he still remembers the feeling of relief and joy when his application to be a scholar was accepted, noting the financial struggles of his family at the time.
“My career path has been wonderful. I never imagined that it will be so soon,” muses the 37-year-old Angelo, who is now a public schools district supervisor of the Department of Education-City Schools Division of Dasmariñas City, Cavite.
He shares that as a professional, the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program not only allowed him to finish college, but also impacted his growth, allowing him to develop skills that made him a better person.
“The outreach and community activities have given me a wide and deep perspective of how it is to be of service to others,” he says.
He recalls that when he did gift wrapping and package counter clerk tasks at SM Southmall and SM Fairview, he learned how to become more patient, more customer-focused, more adept to interpersonal relationships, and to appreciate the network and relationships he had formed during the experience.
“These skills are beneficial to what I do as a public schools district supervisor and as a teacher, at the moment,” he says.
A MODEL TO THE YOUTH
Given opportunities to give back, Angelo says he always makes sure to become a good role model to the younger generation.
“I support advocacy foundations and school projects that help learners who struggle financially. This way, I am also able to help children who experience what I had experienced before. I am now trying to create opportunities for them, the same way that opportunities were given to me during my time,” he adds.
Being in the education sector presents multiple avenues to contribute to social good, as he has the power and the responsibility to always be of service to learners and their families, according to Angelo.
“I always make a way to still teach even if I am not a classroom teacher. I get to teach school-age children even outside the confines of the classroom. I also get to teach teachers and school leaders on how they can maximize their potentials in making others grow. I always aspire to become a role model whom they can look up to and be inspired to do better in their own schools and areas of expertise,” he says.
For him, spreading social good is to make an impact on someone’s life and making every effort and initiative for learners to be functionally literate and ready to be in the outside world is every educator’s idea of how it should be done.
“I learned that a helping hand could ripple into someone’s success in life in the future. It only takes a caring and a helping hand to make someone achieve his or her own dreams,” he says.
If not for the caring hand of the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program, Angelo says he will not be able to finish college, land a job, and pursue what he had always wanted to become.
To give back, he aims to become the helping hand that helps other children to achieve their dreams.
“I would like to tell the new batch of SM scholars to finish their studies no matter how difficult it would be in the next few years. Being a scholar is already a strong sign to graduate,” he advises.
The proud SM scholar alumnus also reminds the new batch of SM scholars to maximize opportunities and always be grateful because not all young dreamers get to experience the assistance, care, and support of the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program.
“To all aspiring SM Foundation College Scholarship Program scholars, always traverse that path of success and that path of goodness. Be a role model. Always rise up to the challenges of life. Give back and never forget to be of service to the people. And when you’re all the way there, never forget your family and all those who helped you. Be good, be kind, and be humble,” he says.
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY
For Rica Mae Marbebe of Davao City, the journey she had to take as a student at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was not easy, but her dream of providing a good life for her family outweighed all her struggles.
As the daughter of a motoshop worker and a housewife, Rica Mae says their household income could not even cover their everyday needs and even her education, not to mention the maintenance medications of her brother who has been suffering from epilepsy since 2019.
“We noticed that he cannot talk anymore and then he started having seizures. We cannot bring him to the hospital because we don’t have money and we cant even arrange the transportation,” she remembers that fateful December day when her brother started exhibiting symptoms of the disease.
When her application for the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program was approved, she finally saw an opportunity to not only finish her studies, but also give her family a good life and break the cycle of poverty they are in.
Rica Mae took BS Accountancy at the University of Mindanao, which she says was a challenging course given the struggles of having to study through the pandemic.
“My biggest challenge was the online set up because I did not have a laptop, I only used my cellphone to take classes, exams, and quizzes. I also struggled with the network signal because we live in a low-lying area,” she says.
Rica Mae, however, did not let this difficulty hinder her resolve to finish her studies and attain high grades and not use these as excuses.
She chose to be resourceful through it all. “With every step I take, I realize that if I do not continue with my journey, I will not arrive where I want to go,” she says.
As an SM scholar alumna, Rica Mae says that she has so much gratitude to SM and the Sy family for giving her this rare opportunity.
“I would not be in my position now if not for the SM Foundation College Scholarship Program. I hope you will continue with your program because I know that you will be able to help more with their dreams,” she says.
The Foundation’s SM College Scholarship Program aims to provide underserved youth with the opportunity to pursue quality tertiary education. By empowering them through academic support, the program seeks to transform lives, enabling scholars to uplift their families and communities. On November 20, 2024, the program marked a new milestone, as over 218 scholars graduated, joining the ranks of more than 4,000 alumni whose journeys have been enriched by the scholarship program.
To learn more about our social good programs, visit www.sm-foundation.org.