Written by: Mary Kate Llanos
Photos from: Eugene dela Cruz
Eugene dela Cruz, Eugene or Gene to his friends, was a determined AASA Scholar who continuously aimed not just for survival but for success. Despite his rough experiences through childhood – having to live alone on the streets and support himself to survive, he patiently persevered to make ends meet and fight for a better future.
“May piso po ba kayo?” (“Do you have one peso?”)
For him, every single peso then was a lifeline. “It may seem like loose change, something you’d barely notice falling from your pocket. But to the 12-year-old me, a single peso was a lifeline. It meant a piece of bread that I would divide into 3 parts for a day’s worth of meal; a moment of hope, for it meant I had a reason to stay alive,” Eugene shared in the Welcome Address during AASA’s Thanksgiving Celebration last June 14.
During the pandemic, due to financial difficulties, he started a campaign called “Piso para sa Laptop, Piso para sa Pangarap” where he humbly asked for small donations, one peso at a time. His persistence and hard work allowed him to save up for a laptop for his use during the pandemic. But when he had saved enough to buy one, Eugene fell victim to an online scam that wiped out his savings. Heartbroken but not defeated, he continued to press forward.
See post here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15bPHDtSYL
Touched by his life story, he was featured in Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) in 2021 and began to receive various help from different individuals and organizations. Instead of simply moving forward, he purchased more laptops, aside from the unit given to him. He was able to donate three more laptops to students in similar need like him. It showed how his goal was not just merely personal, but one with service in mind.
See post here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15nZ17iAyi/
Eugene continued to work hard with multiple jobs, choreograph festival dances and privately tutor strangers, to return to school after a long pause. He shined his brilliance during high school in Hilongos National Vocational School where he graduated with Highest Honors and collected more than 150 medals from various events and competitions.
Eventually, he took the chance to apply for college admission and scholarship and made it to the Ateneo. Ateneo’s Office of Admission and Aid (OAA), along with the Ateneo Alumni Scholars Association (AASA), believed that he was worthy, and he clung to this hope. He spent his years in Ateneo pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Honors Program). Beyond academics, he was an active officer with the Ateneo Economics Association and was also an official player under Loyola Gaming in the UAAP ESPORTS Tournament for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
He continued to excel as he represented the university in the ASEAN-China-India Youth Leadership Summit 2024. Eugene was one of the four Filipino delegates to reach the Grand Finals. Before his graduation, he and Francesca Victoria B. De Chavez were awarded 3rd Place in the 2025 Dr. Vicente B. Valdepeñas Jr. Best Undergraduate Thesis in Economics Awards. Their study focused on a topic close to his heart, specifically on “nutrition and foreign aid, using robust econometric tools to assess how international assistance translates to tangible improvements in child health outcomes.”
Eugene proudly stood on the stage of the Blue Eagle Gym at the Ateneo de Manila University Graduation Rites last Saturday, June 21, after receiving an Honorable Mention Medal as a Bachelor of Arts in Economics (Honors Program) degree holder with a specialization in Financial Economics and a minor in Decision Science.
“This is not just a graduation. This is a tribute to shared grace, to quiet sacrifices, to the profound truth that hope, when shared, multiplies.” Eugene, as he ended his Thanksgiving speech.
