One of the late Mr. Henry “Tatang” Sy, Sr.’s greatest beliefs were the equalizing power of education. For him, education is a lifeline for financially challenged individuals that can help them and their families escape the poverty cycle. This belief gave birth to the SM College Scholarship Program. Ever since its inception in 1993, it has helped thousands of families in improving their lives through education – by providing the youth in grassroot communities the power to dream of a better future and the confidence needed to pursue a full education.
One of the many families that the program assisted was the family of Andre Onido, who is now a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Onido was raised by his mother along with his seven siblings while his father worked as an electrician.
“At an early age, I knew how it was to live and survive with meager resources, but I have been fortunate to have a supportive family who believes that a good education would help us go further and enable us to break the walls of poverty.” he recalled.
Onido first learned of the scholarship in 2004 through the SM Foundation (SMFI) website. He became a scholar in June of that year, initially taking up BS Chemical Engineering in UP Diliman.
“Although Chemical Engineering wasn’t among the courses offered under the program, SMFI allowed me to continue my studies in UP. Then I decided to transfer to UE-Manila to take up BS Accountancy. Throughout the course of this transition, SMFI had been very supportive of me and had given me several options to maintain my scholarship grant,” he said.
Aside from paying the tuition fees and providing allowance to their scholars, SMFI also offers part time job opportunities for their scholars at SM stores during semester and Christmas breaks. Onido took advantage of this and worked part time at SM Sta. Mesa for three years during his time as a scholar.
“At times customers can be impatient or even unreasonable. The need to keep up with the pace of our work during peak hours can also sometimes get into my nerves but all of these didn’t discourage me from continuing. Actually, the experience taught me the importance of patience and hard work. It allowed me to see challenges as an opportunity to improve myself which prepared me for the future,” he shared.
After graduating and passing the CPA licensure exams in 2010, he joined SGV/Ernst & Young Philippines as an Audit Associate. After more than five years with the company, he moved to Ireland and joined EY Ireland in January 2016 where he is currently the company’s Audit Senior Manager. He is hoping to acquire his Irish citizenship this year. He remains eternally grateful to SMFI for giving him a chance to get through college and land a well-paying job.
“SMFI gave me the gift of education, helped me pursue my studies to create a better future for myself and my family,” he stated.
Another scholar the Foundation is currently helping is Maria Isabel T. Souribio, a 19-year-old student taking up BS Accountancy in Xavier University- Ateneo de Cagayan de Oro. She considers the scholarship as one of the biggest blessings in her life, as she had begun her tertiary education just last year in the middle of the pandemic.
“The SM scholarship helped me to see something greater than what I am. The scholarship was a dream, but I never imagined myself ‘being blessed’ this much. It taught me that as long as you’re determined to achieve your dreams even at the peak point of being hopeless, everything would still be possible,” she said.
Growing up, she was mostly raised by her maternal grandparents, who supported her through their small business. But when the business went awry, she was later supported by her uncles and aunts.
According to Souribio, she was initially not part of the initial list of accepted scholars. “But I never lost hope. This motivated me more to attain my goals not only for myself but also for my family. I kept praying and monitored the status of my application,” she said.
Eventually, Souribio was included in the second list of accepted scholars. “I was really happy when I received an email from SMFI stating that I was selected as one of their scholars. I told myself that I will not waste this opportunity to change the life and future of my family,” she added.
With an impressive track record of more than 3,000 college scholar graduates under their belt, SM continues their legacy of uplifting families, one student at a time. And just like Onido and Souribio, you can also have an opportunity to finish tertiary education through the college scholarship program of SM. The online application for SY 2021-2022 is open until March 20, 2021. To apply, visit their website at https://scholarship.sm-foundation.org
You may also follow SM Foundation’s official social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube): @SMFoundationInc for more updates.