The Choco Mucho captain gives back to the Ateneo community.
Bea de Leon, apparently, does not only inspire volleyball fans. Now, she is also an inspiration for Ateneo de Manila University students.
On Friday afternoon, Ateneo announced the first recipient of the Bea de Leon Scholarship. The award was given to Ayen Retuta, who was accepted into Ateneo under the BS management program.
Retuta initially applied for a different scholarship but was unable to receive one due to its limited availability.
De Leon, though, pulled through. The Choco Mucho Flying Titan reached out to Retuta and offered to support her financially through college.
The Bea de Leon Scholarship was formalized through a memorandum of agreement signed last January 27.
Ateneo, through a release on its website, recalled the story of the inception of the said scholarship. It said de Leon, who played for the Ateneo Lady Eagles, “originally did not want to avail of the athletic scholarship, but later accepted thinking that she could eventually pay it forward.”
Retuta's case then became "the opportunity she was waiting for” to help.
In a Twitter post, de Leon congratulated Retuta, urging her to be an inspiration for others as well.
Retuta, incidentally, is a huge fan of Ateneo's women’s volleyball team—especially of de Leon. She said the PVL star is her inspiration to do well in academics and volleyball.
During her time in Ateneo, de Leon was seen as a model student-athlete. She was a consistent Dean's Lister while she led the volleyball squad, which eventually resulted into a UAAP title in 2018.
Now in the PVL, de Leon is still putting emphasis on her studies as she is currently finishing her master's degree in sustainability management. Truly a role model for aspiring athletes.