I founded Bernales Foundation after seeing a gap that became increasingly clear to me through my own experience as a business owner. Over the years, I have met and interviewed many fresh graduates applying to work in my business. Many of them were intelligent, hardworking, and clearly capable of succeeding.
But I also noticed that many were not yet ready for employment. Some struggled to communicate their strengths. Others had limited understanding of professional expectations. Some were uncertain about how to approach interviews, navigate the workplace, or even recognise the value they could bring to an organisation.
What struck me most was that the problem was not always a lack of talent. Sometimes, it was a lack of exposure, guidance, opportunity, and confidence.
I realised there was a gap between graduating from university and actually being prepared to enter the workforce. Bernales Foundation was created to help bridge that gap.
The Foundation also reflects something I experienced personally during my time at the University of Cambridge. One of the most valuable parts of my Cambridge experience was having access to people I could speak with, learn from, and ask for advice. Mentorship gave me perspectives that I could not have gained from lectures or books alone.
Sometimes a mentor does not need to solve your problem for you. They simply need to ask the right question, share their experience, introduce you to someone, or help you see a possibility you had not considered before.
That experience reinforced my belief that young people benefit enormously from having access to people who have already travelled the road they are about to take. I wanted Filipino students to have access to something similar.
That is why Bernales Foundation is not designed to be simply a scholarship organisation. We want to help students finish university. But we also want to connect them with industry mentors, help them understand the professional world, introduce them to employment opportunities, and most importantly, help them develop confidence in themselves.
Self confidence matters deeply to me. A young person can have a degree, skills, and intelligence, but if they do not believe in their own ability, they may hesitate to pursue opportunities that could transform their life.
We want our scholars to trust themselves. We want them to believe that their background does not determine how far they can go.
We want them to see themselves as future professionals, entrepreneurs, leaders, mentors, and contributors to the country. Because I believe that one of the ways we can confront poverty, unemployment, inequality, and other social injustices is by helping people develop the confidence and opportunity to change their own circumstances.
And our responsibility should not end when one student succeeds. That is why the final part of the Bernales Foundation model is to pass the opportunity forward.
A student receives support from the Foundation today. They graduate and find employment.
They gain confidence and experience. Eventually, they return as a mentor for another scholar.
That scholar then repeats the cycle. This is the multiplier effect we want to create.
Over time, I hope Bernales Foundation becomes a community where scholars become graduates, graduates become professionals, professionals become mentors, and mentors help create opportunities for the next generation. Success should never stop with one person.
It should create the opportunity for someone else to succeed too.