SM scholar draws strength from education

Pandemic years 2020 and 2021 have left an indelible mark on SM scholar Irish Tañada, who recently passed the Mechanical Engineering Board Examination.

Irish belonged to a humble family. Despite the financial struggles, her parents did everything to give their family a comfortable life. For their part, Irish and her siblings studied hard and became consistent honor students.

Irish graduated at the top of her class in elementary and was admitted to a special science class in high school.

“I was able to finish my senior year with honors and was motivated to get a college scholarship so I could help lighten my parents’ load,” Irish shared.

She applied for various college scholarships, but it was the SM College Scholarship Program that opened doors to her.

“My parents couldn’t afford to send me to college because my dad had just retired,” shared Irish. “His monthly pension were mostly spent on his medical needs.”

With some of her siblings still in elementary and high school, my parents couldn’t afford to send met to college.

“Thank goodness SM Foundation was looking for new scholars since there were no incoming freshmen due to the newly implemented K12 program,” said Irish. “The foundation has opened doors for me.”

Pillar of strength

Through the support of her family and SM Foundation, Irish finished her degree in mechanical engineering and graduated cum laude at Cebu Institute of Technology.

“The SM College Scholarship made it possible for me to become who I am today. SMFI made studying more tolerable and lighter since instead of stressing about paying my student debt, I was able to focus more on my education,” she said.

She then landed a job while reviewing for the board examination. At the time, it seemed Irish was starting to live the life she dreamt for her family. But COVID-19 happened and took the life of her brother and soon after, her parents’.

“My brother, who was a seminarian, had dengue during the pandemic. We weren’t able to bring him to the hospital due to very strict health protocols. On July 28, 2021, he passed away,” recalled Irish. “A few days later, my father also joined our Creator due to diabetes and kidney complications. Losing them both was so hard for my mother. She died the day after my dad succumbed to the disease.”

She had to postpone taking her board exam to be a source of strength for her younger siblings.

“I almost gave up,” she shared. “What kept me going were the memories of my parents so I took the leap. I know that my parents and brother are celebrating in heaven when I passed the board.”

Irish remains passionate about learning. She plans to get additional engineering certifications and explore engineering practices across the world.

Through the SM College Scholarship Program, deserving students with financial difficulties are able to pursue their chosen academic endeavors. The 18 SM College scholars, who recently passed the Mechanical Engineering Board Examination are a testament to this.

The SM group, through SM Foundation’s scholarship program, has been providing deserving and qualified students access to college education and technical-vocational studies since 1993. To date, SMFI has produced more than 8,000 college and tech-voc scholar-graduates nationwide.

To learn more about SMFI’s education initiatives, visit www.sm-foundation.org or follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by SM Foundation, Inc..