‘De pindot lang cellphone ko': 58-year-old Lola finds ways to finish college

VIRAC, Catanduanes — When 58-year-old Elena dela Rosa Satairapan expressed her desire to pursue a college degree, all she got from her husband was a chuckle.

- NINO N. LUCES

“Bakit daw ako mag-eenrol, eh matanda na ako. Kaya ayaw niya. Pero hindi ako nagpa-pigil sa kanya. Tapos 'yun, nalaman din niya pero wala na siyang nagawa. Tumawa na lang siya (My husband asked me why do I have to enroll? He said ‘I am old.’ He didn’t want me to study. But that didn’t stop me. I enrolled and eventually he knew about it. He just laughed),” Nanay Elena said.

Another issue was that Nanay Elena and her husband, together with their five children and 15 grandchildren, have been living in a shanty in Barangay Catagbacan, a remote village in San Andres, this province, since their house was destroyed by super typhoon Rolly last November.

But Nanay Elena’s burning desire to pursue her dream eventually prevailed after she finished Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Marketing Management at the Catanduanes Colleges recently.