Despite graduating among the top of her class in high school, Mary Joy Saturno, like many young adults, felt uncertain about the future.
The nurturing environment of the small community where she grew up provided her comfort and convenience that it made her worried about the world that lay beyond her hometown. She was not even sure she would go to college after graduating from Manito National High School.
But a talk hosted by one of the biggest companies in Bicol region inspired her to take a chance at an opportunity to study at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), away from her hometown.
An employee from Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC), a geothermal power company, advised Saturno and other students to take admission testing for a chance to receive scholarship to prestigious state institutions.
“Noong una, sobrang alinlangan pa. Pero nagkaroon kami ng meeting at ipinakita ng EDC ang magandang oportunidad (At first I was hesitant but EDC presented amazing opportunities that they could offer to us),” related Saturno.
While the young Bicolana thought nothing much of it at that time, joining EDC’s SIKAT program (then called CAREERS) turned out to be one of the most defining moments of her life. The program provided academic guidance, financial support, and holistic life management skills that came very useful when she took Chemical Engineering at UPLB.
Admittedly, it was not her first choice of campus as well as course, reason why she was a bit lukewarm about the development. Being away from her family and hometown also gave her mixed feelings.
With the encouragement from her SIKAT mentors and EDC benefactors, she took the challenge head-on and pushed forward.
Being one of the first alumni from her high school to be accepted into the state university was also a motivation.
Eventually, she adjusted and found the whole experience enriching.
“Pagdating ko sa UPLB, kasama ko na ang mga nakasabay ko sa UPCAT review. Kahit na galing sila sa ibang school, sila na ang naging family ko (When I started school, I was with the other students that took the UPCAT review with me. Even though they were from other schools, they became my family],” she shared.
With its social investment programs such as SIKAT, EDC’s communities of operations are elevated through quality education and socially aware mindset. “Tumatak sa akin ang concept na ‘pay it forward’ na natutunan ko sa mga workshops sa EDC (The concept of paying it forward, something I learned from EDC’s workshops, was ingrained in me],” revealed Saturno.
As such, every year since she first joined SIKAT, she has been organizing an annual Christmas activity in her hometown called The Gift of Joy Project. She and volunteers provide hundreds of children and teenagers with meals, gifts, and an opportunity to come together as a community.
Saturno also passes on her learnings about the importance of taking care of the environment. From observing proper hygiene to the three Rs of waste management—reduce, reuse, recycle—she does her small part in instilling regenerative discipline to kids in her province.
Today, Saturno is working as a laboratory analyst for the provincial office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), while managing her taho business. She plans to take post-graduate studies in business administration to fulfill her dream of putting up a taho manufacturing plant.
Ultimately, she hopes to uplift the communities that provide her comfort and convenience and the environment she wants to help preserve. Although she has yet to reach her end goal, she is confident that one way or the other, she will.