Volleyball-fan-turned-Atenean becomes the first recipient of the Bea de Leon Scholarship

I wasn't awarded with the scholarship I was aiming for — but glad to know that you want me, Ateneo. haay my dream school, in another life 💙

hope u're proud of me 😗 @_beadel @ThirdyRavenaaa

These were the exact words from a tweet of Raphaella Ayen Retuta last April 2022 upon receiving her acceptance letter from Ateneo. Ayen, then an aspiring Atenean, is also an avid fan of the Ateneo Women’s Volleyball team. Little did she know that this tweet would eventually land her a scholarship that would finance her undergraduate education at the Loyola Schools.  

Ayen became a volleyball fan in Bea de Leon’s rookie year of UAAP Season 77 in 2014. She admires Bea because of her ability to excel in academics and volleyball, 'heartstrong' personality, and faith in God. According to Ayen, these traits inspire her to be limitless in achieving her goals, to strive amidst trying times and to treat everyone with an open heart and give back to the community whenever possible.

Ayen was accepted into Ateneo under the BS Management program. She graduated with High Honors from her high school and was active in various extracurricular activities which gave her an opportunity to take leadership positions. However, she was not awarded a scholarship grant in the Loyola Schools due to the limited scholarship slots in the University. When Ayen received a direct message from Bea de Leon herself informing her that her family wants to support her in college, Ayen was ecstatic. 

Bea de Leon, a Filipino professional volleyball player, is currently playing for Choco Mucho Flying Titans in the PVL. She graduated from Ateneo in 2018 with a degree in AB Management Economics and is currently finishing her Masters in Sustainability Management. She played for the Ateneo Lady Eagles in UAAP with a middle blocker position since her freshman year. On her final year, she led the team to a championship and bagged the Finals MVP title. In total, Bea de Leon has 2 championships under her name and was also a finalist for the 2018 Ambrosio Padilla Athlete of The Year award, while being a consistent Dean’s Lister.

Bea was under an Athletic Scholarship while studying in Ateneo, which she said she originally did not want to avail of, but later accepted thinking that she could eventually pay it forward. When she saw Ayen’s tweet, and found out that Ayen was a consistent honor student, highly qualified but in need of a scholarship, she realized that this was the opportunity that she was waiting for. Hence, the inception of the Bea de Leon Scholarship. 

The Bea de Leon Scholarship was officially established in the Loyola Schools through a MOA Signing held last January 27, 2023. Present in the event were Bea de Leon; her mother Det de Leon; their scholar, Ayen Retuta; Ateneo de Manila President, Fr Bobby Yap, SJ; Director of Office of University Development, Fr Kit Bautista, SJ; Director of Office of Admission and Aid, Dr. Jo-Ed Tirol; Assistant to the Director for Scholarships, Tin Magboo; and Scholarship Officer, Jerome Valdez.

Ayen expressed her gratitude to the de Leon family by saying that the overwhelming support of the family to her education “challenges [her] to do well and in the future be able to give back.” She ends her short message by saying, “...gaya nga ng palaging paalala ng OAA, we must pay it forward.” The de Leon family was very proud of Ayen, especially that she was able to obtain a 3.92 QPI in her first semester in Ateneo. 

Bea hopes that her example of generosity will be replicated in the future by other alumni whose successful professional career in sports was attained through an Ateneo education.