By Ma. Trisha Nicole B. Valdez
Along with the sight of a damp and almost worn-out traditional cast net and buckets, barefooted men slowly clambered to their decade-old pump boats as they headed towards the open sea and prepared to face its tempestuous currents.
Sandro Silverio, fondly called ‘Dodoy’ by his family and friends sees this almost daily for he has lived his childhood by the sea.
“I am an island boy. I originally came from Sicogon Island in Carles, in Northern Iloilo,” says this young man who graduated summa cum laude last April 5, 2019 with a degree of Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) Major in Mathematics from the West Visayas State University-College of Education (WVSU-COE) with a grade point average of 1.24.
To a young Sandro, it seemed that the deep blue seas of the North and the fates of the people of Sicogon will always be entwined—the sea that feeds their families by giving them a bountiful catch is the same sea that tempts them from trying out other opportunities to make their lives better.
“Ang mga tawo didto, fishing gid ang main livelihood. Kalabanan sa ila, wala gid katapos eskwela kay mangisda nalang gid sila,” Sandro recalls.
Despite being a fisherman’s son, Dodoy, the youngest of six children, already showed signs of being a dreamer who aims to reach his goals. While children of his age have already learned how to fish, he was at school, acing their Math exam. While his age mates hold their cast nets and buckets as they set off to the sea, there he was, proudly holding his pen and paper as he headed to Buaya Elementary School.
“When my father started teaching my older siblings how to fish, I refused to learn the art because I want to put an end to this ripple effect,” says Sandro who was also awarded as WVSU’s Most Outstanding Graduate of 2019.
“When I saw how difficult our life was, I told myself that I want to have a better life. I don’t want a life of poverty. Gusto ko gid nga biskan paano, maka tibaw-as man kami.”
Refusing to spend the rest of his life bound by the shackles of the sea and continuously crushed by the waves of poverty, Sandro graduated as his batch’s Valedictorian in elementary school. The young island boy has finally found the tool that could help him carve the future he’s always been dreaming of—education.
AN UNTIMELY LOSS
Having graduated at the top of his class in elementary, a scholarship was fast approaching as he began his 4-year high school journey. For the young Dodoy, it seemed that everything he had always hoped for was slowly being formed.
That is, until life decided to be unkind to him.
Life’s refusal for a peaceful, undisturbed sail came to him like rogue waves—sudden, extremely rare, and monstrous.
“I was only a first year high school student when my mother lost her life after a long battle with tuberculosis. After suffering from a stroke, my father joined her shortly in heaven.”
Amidst the loss of both parents, Sandro refused to succumb to drowning in the dark depths of the merciless ocean.
SAILING THROUGH THE ROGUE WAVES
Though he survived the first two years in high school at Iloilo King of Glory Christian Academy, Inc. in Estancia, Iloilo with the help of a lady pastor who was working there at that time, and by cleaning classrooms for P50 a week — it wasn’t until he transferred from Estancia to his brother’s house in Iloilo City where he was hit by another humongous wave, yet again. This time, in the hands of someone who was supposed to be a part of his family.
“I remember her endless blabbering and seeing my clothes and books, scattered and thrown outside the house,” he recalls, adding that he had nowhere else to go and thus, endured the ill treatment.
This was made worse because the teacher who helped him through high school could no longer support him in college, given the meager salary of a teacher.
But then, an angel came in the person of Ryan Valenzuela, pastor of The Way Fellowship of Believers International, Inc., who also became a father figure, and a constant guide who brought Sandro closer to God even as he faced college life.
A BETTER TOMORROW
Sandro’s journey at WVSU began in 2015. Having graduated as a valedictorian in high school, Sandro availed himself of the valedictorian scholarship upon entering WVSU. He was also a full merit scholar of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), among others.
“The moment I entered WVSU, I have already thought of the things I wanted to learn, things I wanted to achieve, and fields I wanted to explore.”
Thesame Joy Belarmino, one of Sandro’s classmates in college, revealed his determined side.
“Si Sandro, isa ni siya sa ga remind sa amon to keep going no matter how hard things could get. His story and faith really inspired us—biskan sabad lang siya kon kis-a,” says Belarmino.
During his four-year stint at the university, he was one of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Teacher student exchange in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and has also represented the University in regional and national public speaking competitions. Sandro was also one of The Outstanding Students of Iloilo Awardees (TOSIA) and an AYALA Young Leader.
“Apart from having a strong spiritual life, resilient spirit and eloquence, I think that it’s his willingness and openness to learn new things that led him to his success. He has a teachable heart and a teachable mind. He was firm but never arrogant,” says Dr. Amabel Siason, one of Sandro’s closest mentors and COE’s current Associate Dean.
Aside from being a constant achiever and an active member of their church, Sandro also started his own organization, The Way Grace Community, which aims to not only to help the youth with their studies, but to also develop their values, especially their faith.
“The journey is not always smooth and easy. You can be susceptible to a lot of frustrations that could lead to burn out. And the antidote to all of these is always asking the guidance of Almighty God and the Holy Spirit,” says Sandro.
Dodoy, now called “Sir Sandro” by his students at the Philippine Science High School-Western Visayas Campus in Jaro, Iloilo City where he recently got employed, happily carries his pen and thick Calculus books as he prepares to begin his class — reminiscing on the days when he used to sit by the shore and watch fishermen go about their work. His is now a different world.
