You cannot quantify legacy; its existence is only evident in the quality of life you help people achieve. Here at Ripple, our greatest aim is to have a positive impact on our community and our ministry, and we are blessed to be able to have enough to help deserving students achieve their dreams and purpose in life.
Jayle Roy G. Canoy
Jayle, one of the Ripple scholars, is from Mindanao and is currently enrolled at Bukidnon State University. He is a freshman in the program Bachelor of Arts Major in Philosophy, and he wants to go to Law School after. He graduated Senior High School at Notre Dame of Midsayap College and was an information editor at The Regina, the official yearbook of their school. He is also the former Documentary Officer at the Supreme Student Government of Notre Dame. He has been one of the top students in their class when he was in high school, and this has helped him to thrive in college and obtain his scholarship from Ripple.
Jayle is the youngest of six siblings, and he lives together with his three sisters and his mother. His three other siblings are already married and working quite far from their town.
"My parents got separated due to unforeseen circumstances way back in 2015. Growing up without a complete family was never easy; it gave me a difficult time to cope with financial struggles because we only have our mother to feed and care for us. Despite that, I have remained resilient, and I was able to carry all of this behind my back," Jayle says,
Adding that he was also a working student during his Junior High School years. He would wake up early in the morning to clean his aunt's house, risking his punctuality in class. Despite this, he still excelled in his academics and his co-curricular activities. He was constantly motivated and inspired.
"My mother is my inspiration. She is my avid fan, my supporter and the person who believes in my abilities. She pushes me to do extraordinary things, and to strive harder for my ambitions in life. She taught me to be good at all costs," Jay expresses, recalling that his proudest moment in life was when he was with his mother on his graduation day, claiming his diploma and awards. His mother also taught him to look at their struggles in a different light, because the struggle is there to call them to strive harder for life's greater challenges.
When asked about the struggles he dealt with so far, Jayle shares some of his most trying moments that happened around two years ago. "I was in the darkest paths; I had no affection for my own existence. I had so many insecurities, and social pressure was high. First, I blamed myself. Then, I blamed my parents. Crying was my only resort to make my frustrated self feel at ease," Jayle says, remembering that this agony lasted for months. He lost all hope for himself and for his future.
Then one day, he decided to take control of his life again and to strive for something meaningful. He took an exam to a far away university in Northern Mindanao. He passed the tests, and he used this as motivation to hone his skills, so he could use them as a weapon to bravely fight the upcoming battles of life.
To cope with stress, he finds it relaxing to climb ridges and mountains in his hometown. It gives him vigor and strength, and it gives him extraordinary happiness to reach the summit and explore God's wonderful creations. He also loves watching Naruto and reading his favorite novel-- The Prophet by Khalil Gibran. These things keep him going, especially when he remembers this line from his favorite book: "Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy."
Jayle lives up to this quote, as he works hard towards his goals with happiness in his heart. He aims to do his best to become a good citizen of this democratic country and planet, and to teach people how to value their worth as rational and sentient living beings created by God. Years from now, he can visualize himself standing in front of a Judge; defending his clients' cases.
We, at Ripple, look forward to achieving this dream with him.
"I just want to thank the whole team of Ripple for choosing me as one of their academic scholars, for this greatly helps in alleviating some financial issues in my tertiary education. As I begin my journey with the team, I feel blessed that I can also harness my amateur skill in writing for them, and to hopefully see this skill flourish in the years to come."
We are glad to be with Jayle on his way to achieving his personal success, and we continue to draw inspiration from how he powers through the struggles in life. He is resilient and remarkable, and our hearts are joyous to work even harder for Jayle, and for the rest of our scholars.
Kimberly Anne A. Bionson
Kim, another one of our new scholars here at Ripple, is a 3rd year college student taking up Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Financial Management at Bukidnon State University (BukSU). She is the Technical Officer of the Student Body Organization in her college, and she is also the Public Relations Officer of the BSBA Dean's Lister Organization.
They are six in the family (plus three, which includes her dogs named Shadow, Labby and Beulah). Her father's name is Danilo, who is currently working at BukSU as a technician and her mother's name is Gina, who works at the Accounting Department of the City Government. She has three sisters, one of which is now working at the Regional Trial Court, and the other two are students. "We all live simply but happily, and we love family gatherings! We often plan and gather, whether or not there's an occasion," Kim says, emphasizing that she values family ties which is characteristic to Filipinos.
Kim and her sister, Kate, share their love for dogs and consider them part of the family. Now, they're both planning to join a non-profit organization called Pawssion Project Foundation that rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes poor and unnurtured animals.
Not only does Kim have the brains for her academics and a heart for caring-- she also has the eyes and hands for art.
"I am an imaginative and artsy person. I like to train and challenge my mind on how to become more creative, since I do a lot of arts and crafts. I sell home-made dreamcatchers, especially to those who want to have them as giveaways for their special occasions," Kim says,
Adding that she is also investing in improving her painting and calligraphy skills. She also loves playing the ukulele to relax, her favorite song being "Yesterday" by The Beatles.
Her love for art and music gets her through the hurdles, especially in choosing the right course in college. "I grew up in a family of nurses and considering what I'm capable of, my family had always imagined me to pursue nursing. However, I felt pressured, and I know it isn't the course I wanted to enroll in," Kim says. "I stood up to my family and told the entire truth. I listened to my heart and accepted the reprimands." Kim is faithful that in the future, her family will understand.
Years from now, she dreams to fully be what God wants her to be-- a great influence to lead people towards their right paths, a comforter when one trembles, and a reminder to everyone that we ought to live for heavenly purposes and not for the earthly things.
"A massive thank you to Ripple VA's since never in my wildest dreams would I be chosen as one of the blessed scholars. It's surprisingly unexpected, but I'm really fortunate and would give back a lot to the people who made Ripple VA's a success," Kim expresses. "The company will aid me to become fully flexible, effective and efficient not only as a student but also as a human. Ripple VA's will aid me in pursuing my long term goals and will help me help other people."
Her goals in life align deeply with the goal of Ripple, too. Our scholars are our inspiration to make our vision of a better community and ministry come true.
