15/06/2026
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๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. The Story of Rojeal M. Castro, ISUFST Presidential Award Nominee. On June 19, one graduating student will be named the Presidential Awardee of the Iloilo State University of Fisheries Science and Technology.
For many people, that announcement will be the story. The applause. The photographs. The recognition. The title.
For Rojeal M. Castro, however, the story started long before any nomination. Long before leadership positions. Long before certificates. Long before people began introducing her as one of the university's most outstanding students.
Her story began at home. Not with an award. Not with recognition. Not with a moment of applause.
It began inside a family learning how to adapt.
THE THINGS A MOTHER TAUGHT WITHOUT SAYING
As Rojeal was growing up, her father became paralyzed.
The experience changed the course of family life. The days continued. School continued. But something had changed.
The family adapted. Plans changed. Expectations shifted.
And through it all, she watched her mother do what needed to be done. Not perfectly. Not dramatically. Just faithfully. One day at a time.
The future everyone imagined suddenly looked different.
Then came another painful chapter.
In 2018, her father passed away.
Looking back now, Rojeal does not describe those years dramatically. She does not turn them into a speech about hardship. Instead, she remembers what happened afterward.
Her mother kept going. That is the detail that stayed with her.
She kept going. Meals still appeared on the table. Bills were paid. Dreams remained possible.
Life moved forward one day at a time.
The thing about sacrifice is that it rarely announces itself.
Most sacrifices happen quietly. They happen in sacrifices nobody seesโmissed opportunities, tired evenings, and concerns parents keep to themselves.
That was the kind of strength Rojeal grew up seeing. Not the kind people applaud. The kind people depend on.
"Watching my mother raise us despite hardships became my greatest motivation to study hard and keep going," she says.
She says it simply. Without embellishment. Without trying to make it sound profound.
The words came naturally. As though she was simply telling the truth. The kind that needs little explanation.
Every achievement that followed carried a piece of it. Every opportunity rested on foundations built by someone else's determination.
That realization shaped the way Rojeal viewed success from an early age.
She never saw achievement as something entirely her own. She saw it as something shared. Something built by many hands.
WHEN EDUCATION BECAME PERSONAL
Rojeal's path led her from Ermita Elementary School to Dumangas National High School and eventually to ISUFST-Dumangas Campus.
From the outside, educational journeys often look straightforward. One school after another. One achievement after another.
The reality is usually much messier.
There were semesters when everything seemed to fall into place. There were others when she found herself wondering whether she truly belonged.
The doubts were rarely visible to anyone else. Most personal struggles aren't.
Yet those moments became part of her education too. Perhaps just as important as anything she learned inside a classroom. Not in lectures. Not in examinations.
But in learning how to keep going when things became difficult. How to recover from disappointment. How to trust the process even when the outcome remained uncertain.
And perhaps most importantly, how to believe in herself during moments when that belief did not come easily.
There were moments when confidence came easily. There were moments when it did not. There were victories. There were disappointments. There were days when things seemed to be working out and days when they were not.
One academic setback, in particular, forced her to confront questions she had quietly carried for some time.
Did she truly belong among high-performing students? Was she capable enough? Could she keep up?
The experience humbled her. But it also changed her.
Little by little, she stopped worrying about how she compared to everyone else.
She focused on learning. On improving. On becoming a better version of herself.
Looking back now, that may have been one of the most valuable lessons college taught her. Not how to succeed. But how to grow.
It influenced the organizations she joined. The leadership roles she accepted. The communities she served. The relationships she built.
One place where that growth became evident was the Peer Facilitators organization at ISUFST-Dumangas. As a senior member, Rojeal spent time listening to, encouraging, and supporting fellow students. The experience taught her that sometimes helping simply means being there.
That same spirit of service later brought her to Indonesia through the SEAMEO SEA Teacher Program, where she discovered that learning, compassion, culture, and encouragement speak a language that goes beyond borders.
Some students leave college with knowledge. Others leave with a clearer understanding of why that knowledge matters. Rojeal belongs to the latter.
She learned that learning means little if it never reaches beyond yourself.
A LEGACY MEASURED BY PEOPLE
Ask Rojeal about her proudest moment, and she does not immediately think of awards or achievements.
It is not a medal. Not a certificate. Not even this Presidential Award nomination.
Instead, she remembers a younger student. Someone she mentored. Someone she encouraged. Someone she watched slowly come out of her shell. Someone who eventually found the confidence to lead.
That memory has stayed with her. More than the certificates. More than the recognitions.
"Awards eventually gather dust, but knowing that I helped someone believe in their own potential is something I carry with pride," she says.
In many ways, that answer tells you exactly who she is.
Some people associate leadership with visibility. With titles. With influence. With standing in front.
Rojeal's understanding evolved in a different direction.
Community work introduced her to lives very different from her own.
The experience taught her something simple. Not speaking. Listening. Listening to stories. Listening to concerns.
The more she listened, the less leadership felt like leading. And the more it felt like helping. Helping people feel heard. Helping people feel seen. Helping people believe they mattered.
"I realized that leadership is not about being the person in front but about ensuring that everyone else has the opportunity to move forward," she says.
That philosophy appears throughout her story.
Again and again, she returns to people who shaped her journey. Family. Friends. Teachers. Mentors. Classmates. Community members.
She knows she did not get here alone. And she never talks as if she did.
Behind every graduation photo is a larger story. A parent who sacrificed. A teacher who encouraged. A friend who stayed. A mentor who believed. A community that helped shape a young person into who they would become.
Rojeal understands that instinctively.
Perhaps that is why gratitude appears so naturally in the way she speaks.
Not the kind offered because it is expected. The genuine kind. The kind that comes from recognizing how many people helped make a dream possible.
Soon, one nominee will be named ISUFST's Presidential Awardee.
Alongside Rojeal are Rayline Ann Ormas Torremillano of Main Campus-Tiwi, Renz Jan Mondin of Di**le Campus, Eaui G. Aguilar of San Enrique Campus, and Amira Benguan of Main Campus-Poblacion.
One name will be announced. One person will receive the award.
But listening to Rojeal, one gets the sense that she is already thinking beyond that moment.
Years from now, she hopes people will not remember her primarily because of a title. Or a recognition. Or a distinction.
She hopes they remember kindness. Integrity. Dependability. Service. She hopes they remember someone who tried to help others move forward. Someone who understood that success means little if it benefits only one person. Someone who spent her college years helping others find their footing as well.
In the end, that may be the most meaningful part of her story. Not the nomination. Not the award. Not even the achievements.
But the quiet understanding that a meaningful life is measured less by how far we go and more by how many people are better because we were here.
And for Rojeal M. Castro, that lesson may be the most valuable one of all. (Herman Lagon | PAMMCO)
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