STAR Dream Girl: Ma. Isabel Jalbuena
On weekdays, she’s serious with her studies especially now that she’s already a senior Management student in Ateneo de Manila University. On weekends, however, she enjoys great food with the great company of her friends. Judging from her sweet look, 20-year-old Ma. Isabel Jalbuena is the friendliest girl-next-door. Her friends can prove that her beauty is more than skin-deep. And mind you, Isabel’s got a long list of friends. “I have a great set of friends,” she exclaims. Isabel furthers she’s more of a follower than a leader because she fully trusts her friends when it comes to having fun. “My friends and I have an archive of great times that goes back to about 10 years ago,” she adds.
Her having a good relationship with people outside of her family circle must be a trait she’s learned from her dad, businessman Louie Paul Jalbuena. “I’ve seen how the values of kindness, humility, perseverance and a real concern for people work in my father’s life,” shares Isabel. Meanwhile, her mom has taught Isabel to keep her feet on the ground especially when her priorities are getting jumbled up. “She sets a good example of living a life for her family and keeping God at the center of her life,” says the 5’4” looker of her mom, the former Sandra Recto. Her parents’ good business sense is what also drives the young entrepreneur to start on a few small businesses and learn the ins and outs of enterprising.
Isabel finds pleasure in the simplest of things — chatting over a cup of coffee, solving soduko puzzles and reading gossip sites. “I dream of only a simple life — a loving husband, beautiful kids and a home with a picket fence,” beams Isabel, who considered being a nun when she was a kid. — Jerni May H. Camposano
