SM Foundation conducts screening for scholars

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines - Twenty-one high school students from public schools in Tacloban were fortunate recipients of a 4 to 5-year scholarship grant from the SM Foundation Inc after a 6-man team from SMFI Manila flew to Tacloban  March 12 - 15 to open the program in Tacloban for the first time.  The group conducted interviews, examinations and background checks on 80 students who applied for the grant.  According to Linda Atayde, executive director for education and head of the team, a majority of the applicants passed the interviews and examinations but failed when a background check was conducted as they were not really indigents and their parents can afford to enroll them in colleges and universities.

The 21 will enroll in East Visayas University for 5-year engineering courses; in the Leyte Normal University for education courses; University of the Philippines-Tacloban for Communications courses and the St. Paul’s School of Accountancy & Law for accountancy and other business courses.  The scholarship will cover tuition fees including miscellaneous expenses, a monthly allowance and a chance to work with SM during semestral, summer and Christmas breaks to augment their allowance. They will also participate in personality development programs, value-formation programs, individual counseling sessions, sessions geared towards spiritual renewal and emotional/moral support, get-togethers and other activities in the course of the program. They must maintain a minimum weighted average of 80% or its equivalent throughout the program.

Atayde said that many of SM Foundation’s scholars have graduated with Latin honors and are now gainfully employed here & abroad. Scholars are not bound to work with the SM Group but immediately after graduation, Human Resource Officers of the various SM companies conduct job interviews where job offers are given to these scholar-graduates.

The SM Scholarship Program was established in 1982 to provide quality education to bright but underprivileged public high school graduates.  SMFI maintains 1,200 college scholars yearly in 85 partner schools nationwide.  It also maintains tech-voc scholars in Don Bosco & Punlaan School.