ICTSI scholars graduate from NEU
ICTSI Foundation international scholars Marlito Soriano and Charmille Coleen Dizon are now one step closer to their dreams, having recently graduated from Northeastern University (NEU) in Boston, Massachusetts.
It has been five years since Marlito and Coleen first set foot at NEU as pioneers of the ICTSI-Northeastern University Scholarship Program. Having endured the hardships of studying in a foreign country and living thousands of miles away from their families, they are now reaping the fruits of their sacrifices.
Known to his closest friends and loved ones as “Yong,” Marlito completed his accounting degree and is currently working as a staff accountant for Biena LLC, an emerging brand in the food and beverage industry. A member of the B’laan tribe in General Santos City in Southern Philippines, he describes his life-changing journey at NEU as surreal.
“There are moments when in the middle of walking on the Northeastern campus ground or sitting in one of my classes that I would wake up and look around in awe and wonder. I always felt that it was unreal that I was studying here in America. I still feel that it is unreal that I am here now. It has been beyond life-changing,” said Marlito, who used to work odd jobs during his high school years to help put food on the family table.
He is the eldest child in their family, and in the Philippines, being the eldest comes the expectation to provide for your younger siblings – a responsibility that is now easier for him to fulfill.
Marlito Soriano
Coleen, on the other hand, graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. She recalls chasing all the scholarships she heard about back in high school but “never imagined studying abroad and having the chance to learn about different cultures, and learn from and contribute to science & technology in a different country.”
A native of Olongapo in Central Philippines, Coleen holds a degree in Geosciences and Physics. She now works as a Data Insights Associate at Indigo Ag, a company that looks at ways and strategies to generate carbon credits through sustainable farming practices and implement them at scale. Coleen is also a member of Inpirasian, an employee resource group at Indigo that celebrates and spreads awareness about Asian cultures and promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
“I am actively learning to be a better and productive individual to hopefully help many lives and help improve important sectors of society, focusing on them one at a time,” said Coleen, who dreams to one day establish a scalable way to give back to the Philippines.
Charmille Coleen Dizon
Aside from Marlito and Coleen, the ICTSI Foundation has another scholar currently enrolled at NEU. John Lenard Rivera is pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering and is now on his third year. He returned to the Philippines last year to pursue his Cooperative Education internship with the ICTSI Global Engineering, which he described as one of the best decisions he made in college.