MANILA, Philippines — Binibining Pilipinas International 2024 Myrna Esguerra did not just win a crown but also earned a diploma this year as she finally graduated from college.
"Crown or diploma? I say why should I choose between diploma and a crown when I can have both?" the newly crowned queen said in an Instagram post last Wednesday.
"Ma, Pa! Graduate nako - May graduate na kayo, may Beauty Queen pa kayo!" she added.
Myrna is quite an achiever, as seen in her performance at the recently held pageant.
Like Mexico's Lupita Jones, who was a shoo-in for the 1991 Miss Universe crown, Abra's delegate was already poised for the Binibining Pilipinas top crown when she qualified as one of the 40 official candidates for the Diamond Year pageant edition.
Myrna, together with this year's Binibining Pilipinas queens, visited Philstar.com in its office in Taguig.
"After winning Miss Abra last year, it was a deliberate decision on my part to join Binibining Pilipinas. And my dedication to win the crown was a product of me and my team's efforts from Pampanga. I planned early on to be running as an independent candidate.
"It helped greatly when the Aces & Queens camp embraced me as one of their trainees. They helped me a lot in my journey," said Myrna to Philstar.com.
Myrna recently graduated from the City Colleges of Angeles. She was taking her final exams a few days after being crowned.
She had the bearing, the body, and the brains that was necessary to grab the title.
Coming from a brood of 13, Myrna knew about the hardships in life. So much so that their father left them early after suffering from a bout with cancer. Now, her four other step siblings from her father's other family live with the rest of the brood in Abra.
"I'm sending a child to school from a portion of my prize money. This is in relation to BPCI's advocacy for the children under the care of the World Vision Foundation. The other grownups in our family are living their own independent lives. I still remember celebrating my older brother's birthday on the day of our father's funeral," she reminisced.
Myrna, or Ems as nicknamed by her friends, is committed in whatever endeavor she sets her heart into.
"When I join pageants, I focus on myself most of the time. I learned before that if you watch the move of others, you'll be out of focus and out of the game! Who you were and your purpose before winning is a bigger reason than the prize you'll eventually receive. Honestly, I was not aware that they changed the prize money from P 400,000 to P1 million!" the beauty queen said.
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