Besao Part V: Bryan Baldas

I have now been working at St. James high school for one month. It did not take me very long to notice one student that seemed a little bit different. He is a senior that had expressed interest in the soccer team named Bryan Baldas. Turns out the reason for his difference is that he is 21 years old, 5 or 6 years older than most of his classmates. I recently spent some time talking to him and I found his story fascinating. It starts after graduating from elementary school in Besao. He moved from Besao to Baguio (The biggest city north of Manila) where he spent 5 years unable to stick around at the high schools. This was partially due to very large class sizes. It is exceptionally easy for an unmotivated youth to fall through the gaping cracks in a class of 50. In those 5 years he accomplished little as an out of school youth. He went to class for a few days at the beginning of each year, then dropped out. He did what he could to eat, and slowly developed his trade as a car mechanic. Then he went to a weeding. This weeding took place in Agawa, his former home and a barangay of Besao. While in Agawa his grandfather informed him that as an 18 year old he would enroll as a freshman at St. James. Shortly thereafter he began the school year as a freshman for a sixth and final time. Despite many predictions to the contrary, he found success at St. James. Rather than disappearing through the cracks he became heavily involved in many church and community activities. He currently co-captains the soccer team and is an active member of the cultural troop at St. James.

When I asked him about what was next, I was admittedly taken back by his Billy Madison-esque response. The next step for this six time freshman was college.  Not only will he be doing his undergrad work next year, but he will be going to college with an eye on seminary afterward. I cannot recall a better example in my short lifetime of a person relegated by society as a failure accomplishing so much in 3 years towards reaching his full potential. He is the epitome of success for a school like St. James.