When support becomes a lifeline: #ProudViscans receive Bounty Cares scholarships

For three VSU students, a scholarship is more than an allowance for everyday expenses. It is a vote of confidence in their potential–and a timely support that allows them to pursue their education with greater focus, dignity, and hope.

This year, Bounty Cares Foundation, Inc. (BCFI) has once again extended its scholarship support to VSU, welcoming three deserving #ProudViscans into its growing community of scholars: Clynne Mary U. Boiser, a fourth-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) student, Ma. Elyza V. Brosas, and Marinel C. Genil, both second-year BS Biology students.

The partnership began making a difference for VSU students in 2024, when three scholars from Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering and Veterinary Medicine were selected for the program. In the succeeding year, BCFI welcomed three more #ProudViscans—Carmelo S. Cimafranca II, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine student; Hazel Ann S. Coringao, a BS Food Technology student; and Rea Mae Malazarte, a BS Biology student—into its scholarship program.

The latest grants mark the third consecutive year of BCFI’s scholarship support for qualified VSU students, strengthening a partnership built around a shared belief that financial circumstances should not prevent talented young people from reaching their academic and professional aspirations.

More than a scholarship

The Bounty Cares scholarship goes beyond providing financial assistance.

Each scholar receives a ₱5,000 monthly allowance that can help cover essential academic and personal expenses, including school supplies, dormitory fees, transportation, food, and uniforms. Each also receives a brand-new laptop, providing an important academic resource in an increasingly digital learning environment.

In return, scholars are expected to maintain a grade point average of 2.50, reflecting the academic discipline and commitment expected of recipients.

For VSU, however, the value of the partnership goes beyond the assistance itself. 

“Thank you, Bounty Cares, for your generous scholarship support for three years in a row. On behalf of the Director for Student Affairs and Services (DSAS), we are very grateful for your dedication in enabling Viscan scholars to eliminate their financial obstacles and providing gifted and deserving students the real chances to fulfill their academic dreams and aspirations,” Dr. Christina A. Gabrillo, Director for Student Affairs and Services, said during the turnover.

“We sincerely appreciate your way of developing the future generations of professionals and leaders not just for our university but also for the country,” she added. 

Carrying a family’s hopes

For Boiser, now in her fourth year of Veterinary Medicine, the scholarship arrived at a particularly demanding stage of her academic journey.

Pursuing a professional degree while depending on her family’s limited income has made her determined to pass every subject on her first attempt. For her, every failed subject would mean additional time and expenses for a family already working within tight financial constraints.

That determination, however, comes with its own weight.

Alongside the rigorous demands of Veterinary Medicine, Boiser also serves as a student leader forcing her to balance academic responsibilities with commitments outside the classroom.

The result can be physically and emotionally exhausting.

Yet when she received an email from VSU scholarship coordinator, Mr. Junito Panonce, about the Bounty scholarship, it reminded her that opportunities still existed to ease her family’s financial responsibilities and support her education. 

That realization became even more meaningful when she encountered another difficult financial stretch. 

This semester, the requirement for her Surgery course became particularly costly, with several items needing to be purchased on consecutive days. At the same time, her parents had not received their salaries for two months. 

Even attending the scholarship contract signing presented another challenge. With her family based in Bohol, traveling to Leyte meant another significant expense.

To help cover both her course requirements and transportation costs, her mother had to borrow from their neighbors.

“It pains me to see my mother having to ask our neighbors for assistance,” she said, teary-eyed.

For a daughter determined to succeed so that her family would not have to shoulder additional financial problems, the situation was difficult to bear.

Thus, when the BCFI scholarship came, it felt very meaningful to her.

“Bounty Cares has extended beyond financial support by providing allowance and tuition assistance,” she said. “More importantly, it has given me hope and the opportunity to pursue my goal of becoming a competent veterinarian.”

When opportunity arrives at the right time

For Brosas, the scholarship came at a time when the financial realities of university life were becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

As the eldest sister in her family, she feels a strong responsibility to do well in school. Yet there were days when she hesitated to ask her mother for money because she knew the family was already drowning with financial problems.

At times, she admitted, she would even sacrifice meals.

The pressure became particularly apparent during midterm and final examination periods, when laboratory requirements brought additional expenses–from printing multiple reports to purchasing mandatory supplies such as tissues, masks, and gloves.

She learned to cope by becoming resourceful. She shared the cost of bond paper and ink with a friend who owned a printer and bought laboratory supplies in bulk to save money.

Then, during finals week, an email from VSU scholarship coordinator, Mr. Panonce, introduced her to the Bounty Cares scholarship.

She immediately saw the opportunity for what it could become.

After submitting her requirements, Brosas told her mother about the application. Her mother’s response stayed with her: whether she was accepted or not, what mattered was that she tried.

That decision eventually opened a new door.

Today, the scholarship has given Brosas not only financial security but also confidence in her studies. She is especially grateful for the possibility of pursuing on-the-job training with BCFI and for the potential career opportunities waiting for her as their scholar when she graduates.

For her, the scholarship has become an assurance that the future she is working toward is within reach.

“I hope my story as a Bounty Cares scholar shows my family and community that all our perseverance was worth it. Beyond making my parents proud and striving to give them a comfortable life, I want to use my education to give back and serve the community,” she said.

A broken burette and an unexpected blessing

Genil’s journey toward becoming a BCFI scholar was likewise shaped by financial challenges and moments that tested her resilience.

During her first year, she was still learning how to navigate university life while carefully budgeting her weekly allowance. Just like Brosas, she knew that her family was dealing with financial obligations of its own, making her hesitant to ask her mother for additional money.

One Chemistry laboratory experience tested that careful budgeting in a way she never expected.

While using a burette, she accidentally broke its tip. The equipment cost approximately ₱6,000–an amount that seemed overwhelming for a student already struggling to make her allowance last.

She wept, unsure of what she should do.

That night, she prayed until she fell asleep.

The next morning, her groupmates offered to share the cost of replacing the broken equipment. With her small savings, she was eventually able to contribute her share.

The experience was difficult, but it left her with an important lesson about both responsibility and the kindness of others.

When the Bounty Cares scholarship opportunity came, she immediately recognized its potential to make a lasting difference. 

She applied despite the demanding schedule of final examinations and carefully worked through the requirements until she completed her application. 

Today, Genil sees BCFI’s support as something much larger than financial relief.

“It gave us many chances to learn, practice, and grow our skills. It builds our confidence and shows us our true potential,” she said in an interview.

“More than money, it gives us direction, hope, and the support to become better people as we prepare for our future careers,” she added.

Three journeys, one purpose

Although Boiser, Brosas, and Genil come from different walks of life and are at different stages of their university education, their stories are rooted on a common desire: turning what they received from BCFI into something meaningful and impactful.

For Boiser, that purpose is already closely tied to the veterinarian she hoped to become.

As a fourth-year DVM student, she remains committed to a dream that has carried her through the difficult days of her education: to become a successful veterinarian who serves her community.

She wants her eventual professional success to be measured not only by the degree she earns but by the people and communities she can serve.

“When I finally become a veterinarian, I want my Bounty Cares story to prove to my family that their sacrifices weren’t wasted and that they’ll never have to borrow from neighbors for my education again,’’ she said.

She also hopes to return to her community in Bohol as a trusted veterinarian who gives back. 

“For another student struggling with costs and pressure like I did, I want to be the reason they don’t quit,” she said.

Turning support into purpose

For Brosas, every day is a reminder of why she continues. 

She studies for her family, for her future, and for the possibility of eventually giving back to the community that helped shape her.

When the journey becomes overwhelming, she finds strength in prayer and in remembering the goals that brought her to VSU in the first place.

Genil draws motivation from her fascination with Biology itself. She wants to understand how living things work and how organisms are interconnected to one another as well as to the environment.

That curiosity has become a source of perseverance.

For her, understanding life is also a way of learning how to care for it–and eventually how to help others.

Both scholars hope their stories will inspire students who may be experiencing similar difficulties.

Brosas encourages students to take chances on opportunities instead of rejecting themselves before anyone else has the chance to evaluate them.

Genil, meanwhile, hopes her journey reminds struggling students that they are not alone, that their dreams are worth pursuing, and that help can come from unexpected people and places.

A partnership that keeps opening doors

BCFI’s scholarship program at VSU shows how meaningful partnerships can transform access to education into opportunities bringing long-term impact.

Now in its third year at the university, the partnership has evolved beyond a simple financial grant. Through allowances, laptops, thesis assistance, and potential pathways toward internship and employment opportunities, BCFI is helping VSU scholars remain focused on their studies while preparing for their professional world beyond the academe.

For the university, such partnerships affirm a basic principle: when deserving students are given the support they need, financial hardship does not have to determine how far their dreams can go.

For Boiser, Brosas, and Genil, the scholarship is therefore not the destination.

It is a bridge.

A bridge from the dark days to bright possibilities, from surviving university to thriving in it, and ultimately from being students with dreams to becoming professionals who are motivated to make meaningful changes in their communities.

And as BCFI continues its commitment to VSU, three more #ProudViscans now carry the torch forward–with gratitude for those who believed in them, determination to make the most of the support they have received, and a shared responsibility to turn that investment into a future that gives back home.

This article aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) No: 4 Quality Education, and SDG No. 17: Partnerships for the Goals.

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