Clarence Gamez was among the top-ranked graduating students of Ramon Torres Louisiana National High School in Bago City, Negros Occidental. But instead of pursuing a college degree, she simply wanted to find a job as a kasambahay because it meant earning at least P3,000 monthly for her poor family.
Today, more than four years later, Clarence is a proud graduate of the University of the Philippines-Visayas and looks forward to having a stable, good-paying job in Manila or in her home province, thanks to an innovative college scholarship and mentorship program of the Energy Development Corp. (EDC), a global leader in geothermal energy and the country’s renewable energy production pioneer.
Recently, EDC officials celebrated the accomplishments of CAREERS scholars in a graduation program at the EDC office in Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
Unlike typical scholarship programs, EDC’s College Admission Review and Readiness (CAREERS) program helps prepare underprivileged but high-potential public high school graduates, some of whom have not yet even heard of the University of the Philippines (UP), for its entrance examinations and those of other top state universities and colleges nationwide.
CAREERS helps produce college graduates who can compete with their urban counterparts for gainful employment in companies to help them secure a brighter future, bring their families out of poverty and empower them to become future nation builders.
Every year, the EDC corporate social responsibility team mobilizes partner public high schools in Albay, Sorsogon, Leyte, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and North Cotabato to invite top performing candidates to sign up for the UP College Admission Test (UPCAT) and help them choose the best courses suited to their capabilities.
The next step involves three weeks of intense summer review classes in selected public schools conducted by teachers enlisted by EDC to help prepare the CAREERS candidates for the UPCAT.
Those who pass the entrance test are guided through the enrolment process at different UP campuses nationwide. They are also lodged in dormitories and given stipends for food, books and school supplies.
Throughout their stay at UP, CAREERS scholars are closely monitored by EDC personnel who help them adjust to a life away from their families.
Mentoring activities such as enrichment workshops and solidarity building events are held annually to develop the scholars’ leadership potential and goal-setting attitude. Values formation seminars also impart the seven Lopez values that EDC employees live by.
This school year, one-on-one mentoring sessions allow scholars to consult EDC employee volunteers who share their interests and career paths as agents of change within their communities.
Upon graduation, the scholars are get help in career planning, job interviews and preparing resums, among others.