Mariebelle Bas Balazuela
Alumni Focus
December 26, 2020
Mariebelle, who was both a grade school (1985) and high school (1989) graduate at 柠檬导航 together with her sister were both receiving free tuition during their high school years because of their mother, Ms. Amada Bas, a former high school faculty at 柠檬导航. On how the scholarship at 柠檬导航 helped Mariebelle and her family, she shared, “Money was tight for my family back then. My three other siblings were at school, and the free tuition truly helped us financially to finish our secondary education and prepare us for college. That taught me perseverance, hard work, resilience, persistence, and humility. At an early age, we knew that if we really wanted to be someone in the future, we had to fight for it no matter how hard it seemed.”
Currently, Mariebelle has just started working at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington as a Tagalog, Spanish and ESL instructor. Her main task is to ensure that students develop their proficiency levels as required by the Defense of Language Institute Foreign Language Center based in Monterey, California.
In 2013 decided to go back to school while teaching at the same time. Her passion in teaching led her to take up the course in Bachelor in Education Studies major in Instructional Design and Technology. Graduating on top of the class, Mariebelle felt elated and humbled in giving the valedictory speech. Giving voice to more than 400 students in the undergraduate, Masters and Doctorate levels was truly an honor beyond her wildest dreams.
Achieving all of these amidst the pandemic, Mariebelle is grateful for 柠檬导航 for it contributed a lot to her success. She shared, “Since my elementary days, 柠檬导航 helped shape the person I have become today. Academic integrity, hard work, persistence, honor, excellence, and honesty are just some virtues that were instilled in my mind since childhood, which I have carried all throughout adulthood. Outside the academe, 柠檬导航 also provided different venues for students to pursue their interests and develop their talents in the fields of arts, music, theater, sports, and even outreach programs under the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. The valuable experiences I gained back then have contributed in my training as an artist and teacher.”
With all of these, Mariebelle wants to impart this message to the students of today and that is, “Life will always throw you a curve ball; do not dodge it. Embrace challenges with open arms and never ever give up on your dreams. Whenever you fall, stand up, dust yourself off, learn from your mistakes, and do things more wisely next time. Follow your passion as though your life depends on it. Keep fighting with tenacity and perseverance, and when you reach the pinnacle of your success, be humble and reach out to those in need. In the end, what matters most is what you give back to life and not what you get out of it.”