According to the great philosopher, Aristotle, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

I always believed that poverty and age is not a hindrance to education because if one is truly determined to succeed, no matter how difficult life is, you will pursue your goals no matter what. That is a person with futuristic view in life and this I can tell about my friend, Mr. Claudio Auro, 56 years of age and one of our very own ALS graduates.

“Jojo” or “Majo” as fondly called by his friends is a person with a big heart-a bread winner, a good son, and definitely a blessing to his family. He worked extra hard not only to provide for himself, but also for his whole family. Despite his status, Jojo continued to work tirelessly as a utility person in Margosatubig Regional Pilot School (MRPS), as a hair and make-up artist, and even entered the world of caretaking just to survive while studying at the same time.

It was not until 2017 that he passed the examination and graduated the ALS program. He is now taking Bachelor of Science in Information Technology at JH Cerilles State College, Margosatubig Offsite Campus and is planning to proceed to Bachelor in Elementary  Education.

In  2020, during the surge of COVID-19 pandemic, another  trial came his way. His father got sick and Jojo who was a utility person (i.e. with P5,000 honorarium funded by Special Education Fund) by then, walked 24 kilometers back and forth daily from his work station to his hometown Barangay Buli, enduring the heat of the sun and muscle pain just to visit his sick father and tend to his family. His father, however, eventually died partly because of old age.

ALS gave him the opportunity to continue his education with flexible learning schedule despite the  circumstance.

Looking forward to the day that he will finally become a full-fledged teacher in Margosatubig Regional Pilot School as a faculty member who will proudly impart not just academic knowledge, but all the lifelong lessons he accumulated over the years.

“Nobody is too old for education.”