The School with the Blue Eagle

As we prepare to start another school year, we want to hear from our incoming freshies about what they’re most looking forward to in their Ateneo experience. International Earth Science Olympiad silver medalist, academic scholar, and incoming Management Engineering major Argem Manalo shares how her childhood fascination with eagles helped turn her into a blue eagle.

“Look, Nanay, Tatay! Look Kuya! Blue Eagle! Blue Eagle!”

Three-year-old me pointed eagerly at the soaring blue eagle that I glimpsed as our car passed by the Ateneo de Manila University one day on a trip to the mall from a family get-together. I had always loved birds when I was a kid. Still, I loved eagles the most because I was struck by their intelligence, strength, and beauty—so seeing a large eagle emblazoned on the building that I now know as the Blue Eagle Gym got me jumping up and down my seat, much to the chagrin of my companions in the car except for one. My older cousin was studying at Ateneo de Manila at the time, and I would never forget the way he leaned down and whispered in my ear as I quieted down from my earlier excitement.

“Argem, if you study in Ateneo when you go to college, Kuya will buy you a blue eagle stuffed toy. So study there someday, okay?”

During that car ride, the seeds of my interest in “the school with the blue eagle” were sown. As I grew older and eventually entered high school, I learned more about the different universities in the Philippines as we were being prepared for our college life. Ateneo was one of the schools that I quickly admired because I became enamored with the Jesuit values and heritage that I was exposed to in my Jesuit high school. I wanted to continue my Jesuit education in one of the most prestigious institutions in the country and further build on my Ignatian heritage.

Fast forward to Senior High School, and I began to feel the pressure of preparing myself for college and my future career. In Grade 11, I discovered that I was passionate about Earth Science, specifically Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. After college admissions results had come out, I found out that I had many options to fulfill my dream of helping reduce the vulnerability of my countrymen to natural hazards. I was elated to find out that I was accepted into BS Management Engineering (ME) at Ateneo de Manila. I heard that graduates of this course are very versatile in terms of skills taught to them throughout their college years, which affords them great opportunities in many fields. Since I wanted to become a disaster risk manager someday, I felt BS ME was an excellent way to prepare for my future. I also plan to take the Masters in Disaster Risk and Resilience after completing my undergraduate degree. Furthermore, Ateneo sealed the deal for me by offering me the Fr. Thomas J. Steinbugler, S.J. Academic Scholarship with a 100% grant on tuition and fees.

With all these in mind, I decided to choose Ateneo for my college education. As an incoming freshman for the School Year 2021-2022, I am excited for what this next chapter in my life would bring, with its ups and downs, new people I get to meet, stories to share and to listen to, and most importantly, lessons to learn. Like what St. Ignatius experienced in the Battle of Pamplona 500 years ago, I am looking forward to the many “cannonball moments” God would send me during my stay in Ateneo. I know that my acceptance here was the first of many life-changing experiences to come that I am confident will set me on the right path toward the future.

After fifteen years, I would finally be able to fulfill my promise to my Kuya that I would study in “the school with the blue eagle” for college. It was a long journey to get where I am now, and I know I still have a long way to go to fulfill my dream of becoming a person for others in my chosen field of disaster risk reduction and management. But, as a little eagle that is beginning to spread her wings, I am confident that Ateneo will help me soar high and accomplish whatever God has planned for me in life with a triumphant eagle’s cry.

After this pandemic, I will not only be passing by the Ateneo de Manila University campus, but this time, I will be entering as an Ateneo student. To my amazing cousin: If you are reading this, Kuya, if for one reason or another we see each other in the Loyola Schools, you now owe me a Blue Eagle stuffed toy.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!