New Scholarship for MaryJoy

I was so inspired by Leah’s undergraduate success, I created a nonprofit, Isis Initiative, Inc., in 2008. (In 2018, we changed our name to Women’s Education Initiative.) 

We asked Leah if she would serve as our volunteer liaison in the Philippines and find potential candidates for a scholarship as a nonprofit. In 2015, Leah found three potential candidates.

After reviewing three women’s applications, we selected Maryjoy Supang, an 18-year-old woman from the Zamboaga Peninsula and a member of the indigenous Subanon. She wrote in her thank-you note that most of her people do not finish their education because of their limited financial resources. I’ve included her letter from May 2015 here.

Maryjoy has chosen to pursue a Bachelor of Science in office administration, a four-year course of study, at Governor Alponso D. Tan College in Tangub City. 

We are offering Maryjoy sufficient funds to cover her tuition and additional expenses, including housing, uniforms, books and supplies. We are proud to support Maryjoy. Her classes begin June 1, and her tuition is approximately $450 per year.

From Leah: 
"MaryJoy wants to study in GADTC than in LA Salle which I think is better. She prefers to take up Office Administration because according to her she can apply in offices both private and public, pawnshops, lending companies, banks and many others. I have two neighbors who just graduated last March. One of them works in Philamlife Company ( insurance company ) where she was having her OJT and the other one works in Department of Social Works and Developement. It's hard to apply now as a teacher because the ranking is Division wide already unlike during my time it's district level only but still I was having a hard time. There are more more than 800 applicants now. Only the top ten can get a teaching job."