"If life were a series of doors, the choice of pursuing a business course or even entering Ateneo was one that was supposedly shut. I lived a provincial life with no knowledge of the business realm, and we didn’t really have much growing up so nothing then pointed at the eventual path I took. I was supposed to pursue a science course with a scholarship specific to science, ideally get another scholarship to pursue medicine, then slowly pave a way towards a stabler life, and that was that. Candidly placed, it was a dynamic of just “trying to get by” as much as we can to pursue a career we thought could bring a better life. But I felt a strong pull of interest towards math, economics, and business overall. At that time, the decision to shift with all the fear and anxiety attached to it could have been either the worst or the best decision I made — and it turned out to be the latter. I lost one scholarship, but gained another and was honestly a backbone to my decision. FAME’s scholarship gave me the ability to dream and open far more doors of opportunities beyond what was in front of me. Now, I could actually promise my parents a more comfortable life, participate in community relief initiatives with no hesitation, support relatives who needed the safety net, and explore a far greater life than I thought possible."