WHILE they shirked from the titles they had won, claiming they could not be “ideal” by any stretch of the imagination, Bryan Christian Ilagan and Maria Beatriz Borlaza, Mr. and Ms. Ideal Thomasian Personality 2007, said that the contest was an ideal way for cultivating their personalities.
“Many will criticize you, but what I have learned from the contest is how you take the criticism,” Borlaza, from the College of Nursing, said. “If you take it destructively, walang mangyayari sa iyo. But if you take it constructively, if you see it as something that will improve who you are, then that will be very much to your favor.”
Ilagan said the contest taught him to take risks.
“I would not be who I am now if not because of the things that I had encountered during the pageant,” explained Ilagan, who was representing the Faculty of Pharmacy (he’s now taking up Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery).
“The world of pageantry is all about getting along with other people and meeting new friends,” Borlaza told the Varsitarian. She’s now a licensed nurse and is reviewing for the International English Language Testing System. She plans to work abroad.
“It is hard to set someone as ideal. You can only come close but you cannot actually fit in the title,” Ilagan said.
Both agreed that being the ideal is simply “being yourself.”
Remembering their struggles, Ilagan and Borlaza said they got support from their colleges. They got excuse letters from ther college administrations so they could attend rehearsals.
“The College of Nursing financed my wardrobe and my hair and make-up,” Borlaza said.
Pharmacy was equally supportive of Ilagan, footing the bill for his posters and publicity materials.
Borlaza said she was under pressure to take home the title since Nursing had not won it for the past 30 years.
Ilagan said he was particularly pressured to make a good impression since the reigning Ms. UST during his time was from Pharmacy. In addition, the last time Pharmacy won the male title was when its representative was Hayden Kho, who has since become a popular model, cosmetic surgeon, and partner of another cosmetic surgeon, the famous Vicky Belo.
They said they benefited from the free workshops for good bearing and modelling.
Their biggest problem was looking for the proper wardrobe for the contest’s several and rather demanding fashion portions.
2008 winners
Ilagan’s feat has been repeated somewhat this year by Angela Lauren Fernando, who won for Pharmacy the Miss Ideal Thomasian Personality title.
Fernando impressed the judges when she was asked her image of an ideal Thomasian: “An ideal Thomasian uses her head, heart and hands.”
Meanwhile, David John Chua, a Painting student of the College of Fine Arts and Design, won the male title. Making it to the contest to represent the college was a rare feat considering there are only a few Painting majors.
Asked the same question, Chua invented his own set of “3 C’s” of the ideal Thomasian to depart from the standard answer of promoting “competence, commitment and compassion.”
“I just created my own—camaraderie, creativity and confidence–because these are the new values that I learned while being in the pageant,” Chua said. With reports from Jonathan Eli A. Libut
I was dissapointed about what happen to Sir Hayden Kho!
sana huwag nalang natin siya husgahan kasi we don’t know what his Past and specially about his Life”
nakaka-turn off man para sa iba pero for me i think Sir Hayden Kho has a Good Attitude
Hindi naman kasi talaga siya ang nag exploit ng mga Video scandal eh!