August 19, 2024
Tzu Chi scholar applicants face panel interviews
By Joy Rojas
Having passed the preliminary screening of Tzu Chi Philippines’ educational assistance program, 77 scholar hopefuls faced Tzu Chi volunteers in their respective panel interviews on August 12 and 13 at the Harmony Hall of Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus in Sta. Mesa, Manila.
All incoming second year college students from Tzu Chi’s partner public colleges and state universities in the national capital region, the applicants come from financially strapped families, thus the need to find funding for their studies. “Most of the applicants we interviewed are supported by either a solo parent or their grandparent,” says Tzu Chi social worker Lyka Tigas. “They are also part of large families—some as many as 10 members—and only one person is working to support them.”
But these applicants also share the mindset that a good education can lead to a better life—for themselves, their families, and their communities.
When she finishes her BS in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Reanne Evz Hilado would like to focus on disaster prevention, particularly in her flood-prone community of San Mateo, Rizal. “I’d like to create infrastructure in low-lying areas,” says Hilado, who was recognized as her batch’s Best in Mathematics in senior high. “I’ve been to these areas to volunteer and tutor, and I think they could use a headquarters where it will be easy for them to get help and assistance.”
Hilado’s compassion for the less fortunate stems from her own struggles in life. Her house helper mother, who was confined in a community hospital for leptospirosis at the time of this interview, has survived a series of illnesses, from her reproductive health to her thyroid and a mild stroke. Forced to move from relative to relative, Hilado and her siblings have been living with an uncle, a tricycle driver with his own family to support.
News that her application for a Tzu Chi scholarship is being considered gives her hope. “If accepted, I’ll be able to help my siblings and my mother,” says this eldest of three.
Mona Liza Colico may not have been lucky in love “but I am blessed to have smart, good kids,” she says. Her second of five kids Maurryn is a perfect case in point. Serious with her studies, she willingly shares whatever she has with her siblings.
She also proves to be very resourceful. The BS Social Work major from Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila started an online business selling custom handmade bouquets using chocolate, ribbons, and paper bills instead of fresh flowers. The bouquets were such a hit at Valentine’s that she earned back her seed money and then some.
Applying for a Tzu Chi scholarship was her way of “not wanting to be a burden to my family,” she says. Colico, her mother, and her four siblings are staying with an aunt after her mother decided to leave her father, an online gambling addict. “With the scholarship, I can pay for my own transportation, projects, and books, which are so expensive” she says.
Since they were born, twins John Welter and Jean Myca Manayaga have done everything together, including their studies. Now enrolled at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ Quezon City campus, they say the decision to pursue a marketing degree was inspired by their father, a businessman who passed away due to complications from diabetes.
The two also share the sentiment on the possibility that only one of them may be granted with a scholarship. A Tzu Chi scholarship means the lucky twin has the means to avail of sponsored college education; it also means he or she can already contribute to the household. Their mother is a fish vendor who has a cyst at the back of her left leg, a condition that makes walking difficult.
“We would still be so grateful if one or both of us would be accepted,” says John. “A scholarship would be so helpful even if one of us gets it. We would be so happy for each other.”
Besides covering tuition and various allowances, a Tzu Chi scholarship hones scholars’ character through universal values taught in monthly Humanity classes. “When scholars who have graduated come back to see us, it makes us happy to see how they’ve improved,” says Tigas.
Tzu Chi with announce the names of successful scholar applicants in September.
Parents and their children applying for a Tzu Chi scholarship wait outside the rooms of Harmony Hall, where panel interviews are being conducted by volunteers.
Tzu Chi volunteers and social workers spend time getting to know the scholar applicants and their parents in an in-depth interview.
Twins John Welter and Jean Myca Manayaga (in white) are accompanied by their mother during their panel interview with Tzu Chi Education Committee Head Rosa So.
Maurryn May Colico impresses a volunteer with her custom handmade bouquets that use chocolates, ribbons, and paper bills instead of fresh flowers.
Reanne Evz Hilado was in tears because she wanted to stay with her mother, who was confined at a local hospital for leptospirosis on the day of the panel interview. Eventually, her mother prevailed upon her to go to Tzu Chi as she couldn’t pass up the chance to become a scholar.
Tzu Chi social worker Lyka Tigas (in gray) saw many similarities among the scholar hopefuls. “Most of the applicants are supported by either a solo parent or their grandparent,” she says. “They are also part of large families—some as many as 10 members—and only one person is working to support them.”
Whether it’s nerves or remembering the hardships that led them to seek out a scholarship, scholar applicants and their parents always end up in tears.
Whether it’s nerves or remembering the hardships that led them to seek out a scholarship, scholar applicants and their parents always end up in tears.