In focus: Binibining Catmon

CEBU, Philippines — Being a Binibining Cebu candidate has opened Trixie’s eyes on how the province has so much more to offer.

“With the help of my co-candidates, I was able to explore other municipalities,” she says. “I also gained confidence and good camaraderie among the other candidates, which I consider priceless.”

But more than Cebu’s wonders and thriving tourism, Trixie hopes the province’s leaders and inhabitants realize that “we don’t need to sacrifice a healthy environment for a strong economy.”

Should she win the crown and had a say in how the prize money for Catmon would be spent, Trixie would like it utilized for public schools that lack basic classroom facilities.

Catmon may be a small town, but Trixie swears by its “natural tourist attractions down to its culture and heritage. Everywhere, it has something interesting. There’s a lot to find. You just have to scratch where you have to scratch.”

Standing at five-foot-seven, Trixie is no pageant greenhorn, with the titles of Bb. Lubi Lubi 2012, Miss Hindang Tourism 2013, Miss Naval Tourism 2014, Miss Earth Southern Leyte-Fire 2013 and Miss Ormoc second runner-up 2015 under her belt.

During her free time, she indulges in watching TV series, reading blogs and poems and listening to music.

As a kid, she dreamt of traveling the world over– flying 15,000 feet above sea level and dancing with the turbulence. So while pursuing a career that offered travel opportunities would have been the natural option, Trixie ended up studying Secondary Education with a major in Filipino because of the influence of her grandmother who is a retired teacher.

“Growing up, I noticed that the Philippines was in need of teachers. So before I stepped into college, I realized that I wanted to be of use and do something relevant to society,” she recalls. “Along the process, I fell in love with teaching more. I can still fly and travel around the world, but choosing education as my career is one of the best decisions I ever made.”

As a future educator, Trixie put in her cents’ worth on the treatment of teachers in the country. “The teacher is the heart of the educational system. Our function is to teach students to think intensively and critically. I believe most of our teachers are skillful enough, but given unjust salaries. So it is indeed time to emphasize on the plight of teachers.” (FREEMAN)