INSPIRED by the late Henry "Tatang" Sy Sr.'s belief in the power of education and driven by its com-mitment to sustainability, leading integrated property developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SM Prime) launched a scholarship program in partnership with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).
Aptly called the SM Sustainability Scholarship, the initiative reflected SM Prime's commitment to both educational access and sustainability stewardship.
The program would fully support 10 deserving students through their undergraduate studies at UPLB, providing them with the opportunity to pursue degrees in either Bachelor of Science in Human Ecology or Bachelor of Science in Forestry. These fields aligned with SM Prime's focus on building resilient communities and fostering a sustainable future.
Meticulously chosen for their academic excellence and dedication to sustainability, the scholarship re-cipients were formally recognized during a meet-and-greet gathering at UPLB, marking the start of their journey as SM Sustainability Scholars.
Each scholar would receive a full scholarship, covering tuition fees, a monthly living allowance and a book allowance while ensuring each could focus on studies without financial worries.
During the gathering, College of Human Ecology (CHE) Dean Jennifer Amparo expressed that the pur-suit of sustainability was most effectively undertaken collaboratively.
"CHE is one of the colleges that puts a premium on interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity because we believe that in sustainability, you don't work in silos. We need to work together and build each other's skills, know-how and also our programs together to ensure sustainability," Amparo said.
"I would also like to thank SM Prime for putting emphasis on this scholarship. SM Prime did not just provide the finances or scholarship, [but it] invested the time to really meet our scholars and provided other support mechanisms to ensure that our scholars thrive in their academic lives. This is also a mani-festation of SM's commitment to sustainability by really developing our future sustainability leaders," Amparo added.
College of Forestry and Natural Resources professor Marilyn Combalicer also extended the college's support to the scholars on behalf of the college's dean, Marlo Mendoza.
"We hope to continue nurturing such meaningful collaboration and initiatives that enhance our educa-tional experience and initiatives for our students. Rest assured that we will continue providing support to our students in ensuring their growth and success in both academia and beyond," Combalicer said.
Meanwhile, Rida Reyes-Castillo — SM Prime assistant vice president, and Marketing, Public Relations and Corporate Communications head — echoed that the fundamental values of the company were intricately interwoven with both education and sustainability.
"[The] SM Group's founder, Mr. Henry 'Tatang' Sy Sr., believed that education is a great equalizer, and he envisioned that sending one child to college would create ripples of social good not just for families, but for an entire community," she said. "The improvement of the well-being of the youth and the partner communities is something that we at SM invest in," Reyes-Castillo said.
For decades, the SM group has embraced the responsibility to contribute to nation building through social good programs that were geared toward quality education, sustainable agriculture, health care and disaster response. By helping improve the quality of life of the people in these host communities, social development and investment went hand in hand with business growth to achieve a better fu-ture for all.
Read The Rest at :
