Published Work

Taho vendor’s son fulfills dream with Ateneo’s help

“When I was much younger, I’d always take things apart to see how they wor­ked, but I couldn’t put them back,” reminisced Archie Dolit, who was president of the Math and Science club at Marikina High School and graduated valedictorian three years ago.

“That’s why I chose to study ECE [Electronics and Communications Engineering]. Astig siya [It's really cool].”

Although he worked hard to maintain his gra­des and to participate actively in school activities, even for­going lunch to work on projects, Archie never imagined that he would be where he is now.

Through the help of Pathways to Higher Education program, Archie is now a full scholar at Ateneo de Manila University.

Pathways to Higher Education is an education development program established at Ateneo de Manila University in 2002 that equips students with the skills and competence they would need to get a good college education. Instead of giving doles and scholarships, Pathways offers underprivileged high-school students with academic enrichment classes, supplementary learning activities, and learning resource centers to enable them to study well and earn scholarships to the schools and courses of their choice.

With Ateneo’s help, Archie is fulfilling his dream. “I’m really thankful that I’m at Ateneo, that I was given free tuition, an allowance from the school, and assistance for other expenses. If you think about it, I’m even more blessed than my well-to-do classmates because I was able to study here when I didn’t think I could.”

Archie is the son of a taho (bean-curd) vendor and a laundrywoman. Months before his high-school graduation, his parents told him that they could no longer support his college education. Crushed but still undefeated, Archie worked hard and found himself part of the Pathways Program. Through sheer hard work and a little help, Archie is now a junior at Ateneo de Manila, where he is studying Electronics and Communications Engineering.

Archie, who was himself part of the first batch of recipients of the Alay ni Ignacio, is now part of the student-initiative itself, helping other people like him realize their dreams.

His experience has opened Archie up to a lot more opportunities than he ever thought possible. Now that he is deeply into information and communications technology, he dreams of someday working for a telecommunications firm and of developing high-tech gadgets that would make information more accessible to more people.

Archie admits that one draw of his course is its high income potential, especially since advances in information and communications technology have been made at such breakneck speed in recent years. Anyone who stays on top of the field is likely to reap huge financial rewards. Archie wishes to use his earnings to support his parents and his younger siblings and to someday establish a foundation to help more young students like him.

His eyes light up and his voice lifts as he describes what he wants to achieve. “My goal is to be able to help other people someday. I’ve received so many blessings. At the end of my life, I want to have been able to help many people because I’ve been the product of so much generosity.

“Once I’m financially stable, I’d want to put up a school. Even if I don’t earn millions, I can use my passion to serve others. Before [being involved in Pathways], I wanted to help, but [I did so] in a limited way. Now the world seems larger, [and] the range of what and where I can give back is much larger than it used to be.”

For someone who has to pay attention to so many details, Archie sure has his sights set on the big picture. And, just like the visionaries of his field who have made it possible for us to connect to the world and to share moments and memories through a small, handheld device, there is no doubt that Archie will make even more exciting discoveries that will power up a whole new generation.