Farmer’s Son From Bulacan Gets Scholarship To Harvard University

Romnick Blanco, the 7th son of a vegetable farmer from Sierra Madre, Bulacan, received a full scholarship to the prestigious Harvard University. Blanco has also been a scholar of the International School of Manila (ISM), where he graduated from this year.

According to an ABS-CBN report, Blanco joins 12 other graduates who will also be going to Ivy League schools in 2018. A daughter of a police officer will be going to Columbia University on full scholarship as well.

From Sierra Madre To Harvard: Rom’s Journey

Rom’s journey from a small municipality located in the foot of the Sierra Madre mountains in Bulacan to Harvard is nothing short of inspiring. According to Town and Country, as a young boy, he was already a scholar of the GreenEarth Heritage Foundation. Despite his daily struggles when going to school, he persevered.

In 2011, he became a beneficiary of the foundation’s sponsored child program. This helped him in his daily needs as he finished his elementary education. Because the foundation saw his love for learning, they pushed him to go after a five-year scholarship at ISM. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Giving Back To The Community

Rom was supposed to start his studies this 2017, but he opted to enter in September 2018. According to him, he will use the 1 year period to rest from grueling school work while giving back to the community where he comes from.

Among his commitments is to plant more trees for his community, particularly for the Moringa Food Forest he help set up 5 years earlier. This also helps his own father with his earnings as a vegetable farmer. He is also giving some time to the sponsored kids of GreenEarth by conducting theater classes.

He is looking at possibly pursuing a degree in economics, environmental studies, math, or history. And when asked about what he hopes to see when he comes back, he shares his dream of seeing more children like him getting a chance to receive a good education.