An achiever for others

Among my favorite topics are young achievers. They are beacons, and I would like my column to be their lighthouse.

Five years ago, I wrote about an International School Manila (ISM) high school senior named Ashley Gutierrez. She was a Filipino scholar at ISM who got a full scholarship at Yale University. 

My writeup on Ashley (published in The STAR on May 30, 2006 to be exact) so inspired Dr. Jackie Ferreol and her daughter Michelle Denise or “Michi,” who wanted to follow in Ashley’s footsteps. That same year, Michi graduated Grade 7 “valedictorian” (the highest rank, because they do not use the term valedictorian in Poveda) from the Poveda Learning Center. Michi, the eldest of Jackie’s four children, took the exam for Filipino scholars at ISM and was eventually accepted as one of three scholars for Grade 8. 

Now 18, Michi recently graduated salutatorian from ISM and is now on her way to Harvard as a full scholar.

“We read your article about Ashley and Michi got so excited and inspired by what you wrote. Looking back at what happened, I think your article played a big part in Michi’s achievements at ISM. She not only excelled in her academics but also became a ‘student for others’,” Jackie said in an e-mail to me.

Michi, who says she was constantly inspired by the example of Ashley, also received the Global Citizenship award, the Moon Koo Lee Outstanding Senior award, The International Student award and The Student Journalism award. 

The year before Ashley graduated, the ISM valedictorian, another Filipino named Paul Leopando, was offered a scholarship at Harvard.

Michi with her family: (From left) Mom Jackie, sister Cami, youngest sister Kathleen, dad Nolet and brother Nicky.

Like Paul and Ashley, Michi was accepted in several universities as a full scholar and, like Paul, has chosen to go to Harvard this Fall. Michi has been and is still very active in service-oriented programs (particularly PREP or “Promoting Rural Education in the Philippines”) and in sports. 

This early, Michi is showing that she is a good steward of her talents, using these talents in order to make life better not just for her or her family, but for the greater number. She wants to be a doctor like her parents Manolet and Jackie. Her dream is either to join the World Health Organization or volunteer with the much-respected “Doctors Without Borders.”

“One of my most ambitious plans is to organize a medical mission to bring temporary healthcare to the most isolated Filipino provinces; I would be out there myself, travelling to the farthest of villages to do hands-on work,” says Michi, who has already travelled to some remote areas in the Philippines on relief missions sponsored by ISM.

“Being a ‘student for others’ at ISM wasn’t something I actively realized I was doing, because everyone was doing the same. What I love about my school is that it naturally promotes values like selflessness, respect and sincerity. I was able to go beyond the walls of the classroom and get knee-deep in community service.  Every single club activity was always held in honor of a charity  when typhoon Ondoy struck, when the earthquake hit Japan, and even for the employees of our school community. I still remember stacking relief goods into boxes after Ondoy struck the Philippines.  Everyone stood in a line and helped passed the heavy crates to the loading truck at the back. For ICARE, our school’s week-long service trip, I’ve renovated classrooms, taken care of abandoned kittens and played games with 300 kids all at once.  The purpose of these programs was to help others, but I felt like every person I met helped me to strengthen my values instead. I had never done anything so fulfilling in my entire life, and I hope to continue work of this kind.”

With over 3,000 courses and 45 concentrations awaiting her at Harvard, Michi hasn’t fully decided on what she will focus on.  But since she is specifically interested in public health (“It’s been a lifelong calling of mine to go to medical school and become a doctor.”), she would “love to study History of Science with a minor in Global Health and Public Policy.”

After Harvard, what’s next for Michi? Or is that taking too many steps forward before steadying herself on the first step?

“The great thing about going to college is that I have so many new things to learn and so many different possibilities to explore.  The only thing I’m certain of right now is that I want to pursue a profession that is both academically-based, but that can also be heavily engaged in civic action and community service.  Then, I want to somehow reform the public health sector of our country so that care becomes more affordable, available and effective for everyday Filipinos,” she says.

 What keeps her going, her natural “fix,” “is the undying faith of my loved ones. My family is my source of strength when the world knocks me down.”

ISM scholar Natashya ‘Ashley’ Gutierrez in 2006.

It takes a village to raise an achiever-for-others like Michi. Her parents are her role models. “They taught me and are still teaching me everything I know about how life works. My siblings are achievers in their own right.  All of us like staying active and getting involved. But more than just sports or arts, I think my siblings and I are so close because we just like laughing and having fun. The dinner table is often a laugh trip  one joke after another and one funny kwento after the next.  My family is very tight-knit. I’ve always said there’s an abundance and overflow of love in our house.  In the evenings, we like playing board games or charades and watching movies together.  On the weekends, we all sleep in the same room (even if we have to squeeze two extra mattresses on the floor to fit). Sundays are strictly family days. When the going gets tough, we lean on each other for support.  The best feeling in the world for me is knowing that I have five people back home who are always ready with a smile and who I know love me unconditionally.”

And there are her friends, who help her “see past the little upsets and appreciate all that I’ve been given,” and her teachers, who “continue to find new ways to amaze me with their lessons and teachings every day.” 

Not all intelligent students are achievers, and not all achievers have social work in their wish list  which often just includes a new car, a condo unit, a Birkin and maybe Prince Harry (for the girls, of course).

But Michi’s wish list reserves several slots for others. “The possibility for greatness and for goodness inspires me,” she points out. “I work hard, not because I seek self-pleasure or recognition, but because I feel I owe it to the Power Above for giving me such a blessed life. I figure that if I am lucky enough to experience life in this way, then I should make sure that as many other people get to do the same.”

 We cheer for Michi not just because of what she has already achieved, but also because of what she is to achieve still with her brilliance and her big heart  and her knowledge that both make an unbeatable combination.

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