Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 30)— This year’s class valedictorian of Ateneo de Manila University sparked conversation online Thursday as she shared her inspiring journey to the top.
In an essay posted on Ateneo’s official website, Reycel Hyacenth Bendaña, who will graduate cum laude with a degree in Management Economics, shared stories of both struggle and hope.
“I always worked harder than everyone else to get the same opportunities they had,” wrote Bendaña, who once served as a barker for her jeepney driver father.
Bendaña likewise recalled how she used to juggle “odd jobs” in high school—and how her family didn’t always have enough food on their dinner table.
“I may have exceeded expectations, but, let’s face it, people do not expect much from children of poor families. We are condemned by the soft bigotry of low expectations and impeded by the hard barrier of unequal opportunity,” she said.
The valedictorian recounted how she, at a tender age of 7, joined her first protest.
“I stood with my father at the frontline of a jeepney strike that aimed to raise the minimum fare. For some, the rising price of fuel meant less profit. For my family, it meant skipping another meal; it meant more debt and more promissory notes.”
While her feat tugged at the heartstrings of many Filipinos, Bendaña hopes her success story will soon be a “rule”—not just a mere exemption.
“I am extremely lucky to have been given a place here—it is my honor and duty to make things more just, to share whatever light I can, especially to those who have only known darkness,” she added.
“If we, the powerless and powerful, can continue standing together, then there is hope for a better future, not only for this generation, but for this country.”
Bendaña, in her essay, said she plans to pursue further studies focusing on human rights, and peace and conflict.
Read her full essay here.
