New grads hope degrees will be their way out of poverty

Bryan Abanilla comes from a broken family. His parents separated when he was just 2 years old.  He was raised by his mother, a domestic helper in Quezon City who earned about P4,000 a month.

But Abanilla never let his past interfere with the pursuit of his dream to earn a college degree to improve their lot.

“I was an ordinary student who dreamt of finishing my studies and dreams of succeeding in life,” said Abanilla.

With a lot of hard work and  generous financial assistance through a hard-earned scholarship, Abanilla not only received his bachelor’s degree in accountancy but also graduated summa cum laude from Meycauayan College in Bulacan.

Abanilla is part of the SM Foundation’s 16th batch of scholars that graduated this year. Two other scholars also graduated summa cum laude with Bachelor of Science in Accountancy  degrees: Jannen Barona from the University of the East in Caloocan City and Marc Rodolf Arca from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Barona’s father is a driver while her mother is a seamstress. The second of four children, Barona saw how difficult it was for her parents to support the college education of her older brother.

“I knew that I had to find a way to … support my studies so I tried to grab the opportunity that came my way,” Barona said.

Reasonable requirements

She used to be in a class where most students were also scholars, but she believed she was luckier because the maintaining grade set by the SM Foundation for scholars was reasonable. The requirements were also not as difficult to meet as in other programs.

The foundation only asks scholars to submit a copy of their grades after every semester. The scholars have to have a general weighted average of not lower than 2.5.

Arca’s parents had both lost their jobs and the family had to rely on financial aid from his aunt who was working in Japan.

“I decided to apply for the (SM) scholarship program because I knew at the time that my parents would find it hard to send my sister and me to college at the same time,” Arca said.

Aside from educational assistance, SM Foundation scholars receive other benefits like part-time jobs in any member of the SM Group of Companies (SMGC), tours to the Science Discovery Center and free movies at the IMAX movie theater. They also participate in a spiritual recollection and the foundation’s annual Christmas party.

Arca said, “I enjoyed the opportunity to work during summer and Christmas vacations. It gave me the chance to earn extra money for my studies … What I enjoyed the most was the P2,000 monthly allowance.”

In addition to the three summa cum laudes, 14 scholars graduated magna cum laude, 44 cum laude and 14 with academic distinction in accountancy, education, engineering, information technology and other computer-related courses. A total of 164 scholars graduated this year.

To honor the new graduates,  the Sy family, led by patriarch Henry Sy Sr., recently hosted a dinner at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

The event allowed the graduates to meet and personally thank their benefactors, including officers of the SM Foundation and its project partners.

The graduates received certificates of recognition, wrist watches and gift certificates from SM department stores,  Hypermarket and SaveMore.

Future employees

Although  grantees are not required to work at SM companies after graduation, some of the new graduates were interviewed before dinner by SMGC human resource officers for possible job placements.

Several were hired on the  spot but others had to defer their decisions to prepare for board examinations.

There were grantees who applied for jobs with other companies here and abroad.

The scholarship program is the flagship program of the SM Foundation. It gives indigent students the opportunity to pursue four- and five-year college degree programs at  SM partner schools. Grantees, who are rigidly screened by a committee, receive tuition and monthly allowances.

At present, there are 1,200 SM college scholars in 82 partner schools all over the country. Some 103 scholars have been adopted by private companies. The rest are supported by the foundation.

The SM Foundation scholarship program has graduated 1,464 grantees.

The foundation also supports students in vocational schools like Punlaan School in San Juan City and Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City.