Yvette Frances E. Ortega
- With High Honors, HUMSS
- SHS LSSG President
- Flambeau Associate Editor
- Winner in various national and international contests
- Winner in the World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions in Yale University 2019
- Participant in the Harvard Essay Writing Contest 2021
I’ve always found something beautiful about love stories, the magic it brings you, the emotions it makes you feel, and the passion the storyteller has. This is a love story.
In 2017, after eight years in four different schools, I found myself walking the halls of a new institution. Being the transferee was never new to me, but I could never know then just how much my life would change. At first, I saw the beauty of all the tangible and visible aspects of LPU-Batangas: the facilities, the uniforms, the paintings on the corridor walls, and that fifth-floor view of the sunset. Then I got to know LPU for more than the things I could see.
I met friends who shared their dreams with me, teachers who expressed a beautiful passion for not just educating students but learning from them as well, security guards who would ensure a friendly entrance and exit, maintenance and canteen staff who smile at you during random hallway encounters or break times, nurses and counselors who made you feel cared for, and librarians who ensured a wonderful book binging spree for me. There was much in what LPU showed you, yes, but there was so much more in what it made you feel. And so, I fell in love.
Then in 2019, we took things to the next level. LPU literally took me to places I’ve never been before. At the beginning of that year, I found myself standing in a room in Jakarta, Indonesia to tell stories and share my culture with people from all across Asia. In mid-2019 I saw myself in Las Piñas and Manila writing essays, leading scavenger hunts with my multi-national group, and partying with scholar friends from several countries. By the end of that year, I was standing in a room at Yale University getting ready to discuss my points on the most creative debate prompts I’ve heard with people from all over the world.
LPU continued to actively search and provide platforms of all kinds and I truly felt loved. I have always understood the power of my voice and words, and it was an extremely heartwarming thing to have people look for ways to amplify my voice because they believed in my capacity to speak to others.
In my last year of high school, 2021, I felt like I could take on the world. LPU empowered me and I was determined to give back. As we completely shifted to an online mode of learning, I secured my strength and energy to be able to maintain my academic and extracurricular performance while also devoting myself to organizations like Flambeau where I served as Associate Editor and the LSSG where I served as President. Then after four years of joy and growth, I graduated.
It was an experience like no other. A classic girl meets a school story. LPU Batangas High School gave me not just a wonderful tale to tell but an important space to help me tap into myself and my potential. I may leave the walls of this school but it will always have a space in my heart.
