How a UP valedictorian's ambition was inspired by her security guard dad and direct seller mom

"I'd question na 'bakit ganito yung life?' Like, sometimes I would get jealous of my friends kasi their parents are accomplished," she added. "Especially in UP, some of my classmates, some of my friends, their parents are doctors, lawyers."

Over the years, Dalan shared she has grown to realize that if not for the challenges they've gone through as a family, she wouldn't have come this far. 

Making ends meet

Since her parents' income was limited, her aunt and uncle on her father's side stepped in to provide financial support.

Determined not to burden her parents, particularly with other siblings to support, Dalan has been relying on scholarship allowances while attending the Philippine Science High School.

In college, even with free tuition, students will still need financial support for other school fees and living expenses. Fortunately, she qualified for financial aid as a scholar of the Commission on Higher Education.

"Since it's really difficult to just survive on my scholarships, and since my parents didn't financially support me...nung nakita ko 'yung opportunity to tutor, I really tutored," she told L!fe. The earnings she gets from her tutoring gig allowed her to buy things she wanted, as well as to cover her thesis expenses.

From her campus in Diliman, Dalan would consistently travel to Pasig, rain or shine, to tutor high school students. Sometimes, her tutoring jobs even took her to Antipolo or Taguig. Ride-hailing apps like Angkas and Moveit became her preferred way to get around, with expenses typically covered by her students' parents.

"I had to reach those places on time. Kasi, of course, they need me at specific times," she shared, adding that there were also instances when she had to cut short her time with her friends whenever she was asked to tutor on short notice.

"Siyempre, I chose tutoring kasi money din po siya. And then sometimes, 'yung tutoring would really reach until midnight or even past midnight kapag nagre-review for her exams and for other things," Dalan said, adding that she wouldn't pass for any tutoring requests, even if she has exams the next day.

More than earning, Dalan said that tutoring ultimately helped her in academics, especially when she needed to present in class.

"I was able to practice communicating properly in a simple way, which was really important when I had to tutor my high school students, since I had to explain concepts to them in a simple way that they would understand," she said, adding that it also helped her develop patience and resilience.

Dalan's parents have been separated since she was eight. She has one sibling from both of her parents, and two more each from her mom's family and her dad's family. But despite having an unusual family setup, Dalan said she used that experience as a motivation to strive for more.

"I just really strived and just really pushed myself. Kasi ever since they were separated, I'm just really glad na hindi po ako nag-rebel or anything na masamang ginawa," she said. "I took that obstacle, that challenge in my life, as an inspiration or as a push for me to do, to excel. Kasi kung hindi okay yung aspect nung family ko, I'll just do my best in my [academics] and focus on it."

Even without providing financial support, Dalan's parents nurtured her academic journey in their own ways. Her mom would buy her clothes and cook her favorite meals, while her dad would send daily "I love you" texts.

Grit, discipline towards the diploma

Dalan shared with L!fe that her parents didn't finish college, so they had limited job opportunities. Seeing them struggle motivated her to work harder to earn her degree.

"I really saw how it was difficult to find a job if you didn't finish college. And both my parents kept telling us, kept telling me and my brother, to finish college," Dalan said.

"They kept saying na, 'Wag niyo kaming gayahin ha.' But despite them not finishing college, I really saw their perseverance and endurance in working their jobs because they still wanted to support us in any way they could," she continued.

"I'm just really glad and just really blessed that I have my parents," Dalan said.

Apart from academics and tutoring, Dalan is also active in extracurricular activities, including joining competitions and leadership activities. However, juggling all of these ultimately took a toll on her.

"It wasn't always balanced, talagang there were times that I felt na overcommit po ako, like super napagod. I really lost sleep," she detailed. 

"May times pa na parang I would hate myself for resting, I would hate myself for slacking off, and like I felt that resting was even, parang kasalanan mag rest," she added.

She was able to navigate all these by surrounding herself with people who had the same goals as hers, and remembering her whys. 

"I would just remember why I'm doing it in the first place," Dalan said. "I just really wanted to excel. I wanted my parents, my family, to be proud of me."

Apart from winning quiz competitions, Dalan was also able to do research during her internship in Taiwan.

After her academic feat, Dalan is now gearing up for her board exam. She is also trying to apply to a Master's program abroad under the Taiwan Exchange Education Program.

Although her parents weren't able to attend her biggest academic milestone yet because they had to take care of her younger siblings and her bedridden lolo, she dedicated that special moment to them. 

Looking back on her journey, one thing that she could tell her younger self was, "Everything happens for a reason."

"Not being financially supported by them really built me resilience, patience, and perseverance, [which] really helped me achieve where I am today," she said.

"Every obstacle happens for a reason, for me to learn and for me to get here," she added. "Be a better version of yourself and no matter what happens, just remember your family, just remember your friends, just remember why you’re doing it, just keep striving and just keep going harder and go and excel."