My favorite success story

There are girls’ schools and there are girls’ schools. One exclusive school for girls that has produced some of the finest women in the country is St. Scholastica’s College.

Among its outstanding alumnae are former President Cory Aquino, Cecile Sicangco, Clarissa Ocampo, Gloria Diaz, Ma-an Hontiveros, Mitch Valdes and Ida Henares.

With due respect to these ladies, however, my favorite Scholastican will always be Bessie Badilla del Castillo (although Mitch and Ida are two people I love dearly).

Bessie spent 12 years in St. Scholastica’s – from the grades all the way to high school. Those years were easy for Bessie and her family.

Since they were eight children in all, her parents had a tough time making both ends meet. Their late father had always been an honorable man who earned his living the honest way (read: wasn’t corrupt) and so there wasn’t really much to go around with eight kids to feed and send to school.

Their late mother, Teresa, however, insisted that the girls go to St. Scholastica’s. She had studied there herself and she knew that her daughters would get the best education in that school run by the Benedictine nuns.

Appreciative of her parents’ efforts to send her to a good school, Bessie diligently went through all those 12 years through jeepney rides (her classmates were chauffeured to school in the latest car models), delayed tuition fees and hand-me-down uniforms (some really faded and practically threadbare) that her mother collected from friends whose daughters also went to St. Scho. That she managed to finish high school there is a testimony to the perseverance of both parents and Bessie herself.

Her Scholastican education eventually paid off because Bessie had a relatively easy time surviving the tough academic requirements of the State University where she took up Hotel and Restaurant Administration (now Management). To think that while at UP, she also worked as a fashion model in order to help support her family. Her daily schedule went this way: She went to UP in the morning, took the bus to go to Hyatt for the lunchtime shows and went back – by bus again – to the Diliman campus for her classes in the afternoon. But she still got straight 1s in spite of that dizzying routine.

One thing you can say about Bessie is that she excels in everything she does. As a model, she became one of the top mannequins within a year of joining the profession. Contrary to popular notion, looks isn’t all there is to being a top model. There is the talent and the discipline (the most difficult part) – and this Bessie practised all her years as a model.

Here in the Philippines, she had modeled for all the big designers – Pitoy Moreno, Ben Farrales, Aureo Alonzo, Auggie Cordero, Christian Espiritu, Joe Salazar and Santiago de Manila.

Abroad, she had walked down the ramp wearing the lines of Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Valentino, Emporio Armani, Nina Ricci and Hanae Mori, who chose Bessie personally when the famed designer went to the Philippines once.

Her biggest achievement as an international model, however, was her stint as a Balenciaga model, which ran for eight seasons. While at the House of Balenciaga, she would be sent to the igado (German version of prêt-a-porter) and this was the highest compliment to the Pinay talent as a ramp model because in Germany there is a strong union of fashion models and you had to hire German mannequins if you wanted to put up shows there. Since the House of Balenciaga wanted Bessie so much to do the show, the company would hire German models, all right, but would just make them sit backstage and let Bessie model the clothes.

Bessie’s modeling stint has brought her all over the world and she has, in fact, toured every European nation – including the Eastern blocs – during all those years she practised this profession.

She is proudest, however, of the time she served as an ambassador of goodwill – doing shows abroad (she carried a red passport all throughout) to show off Philippine dresses (both stylized and traditional), weaves and fabrics.

From modeling, she joined television and did the talk show Monday Nights With Edu and, later, the comedy programs Career Girl and Eh Kasi, Babae, where she excelled in her comic role as an in-house designer for an architectural firm. Unfortunately, there were no award-giving bodies for television then – otherwise she would have brought home a truckload of awards as Best Comedy Actress.

Marriage (to Bambi del Castillo, now the president of an American trading firm) cut short her TV career because they had to move to Singapore, where she also became a popular cover girl and did more modeling stints that brought her to the Maldives and other exotic places.

When they relocated to Connecticut, she pursued her other interests – like Chinese brush painting (11 of her works were included in the CD cover and liner of an American artist), music (she is a percussionist) and poetry (as a member of the National Poet Society in the US, she has some of her poems published in two anthologies).

While her kids went to school, she also studied children’s book writing and has published works under the name Mary Castle. (Maria Blesilda Badilla del Castillo would have been a mouthful for kids). She plans to come up with children’s book someday, but meanwhile concentrates on co-editing with book publisher Marlene Aguilar Pollardart books – one of which is the Encyclopedia of Philippine Arts and another one coming out in July: Myths and Legends.

As a homemaker, Bessie has won the Blue Ribbon for 10 consecutive years in the Connecticut-based gingerbread house-making competition.

What I consider Bessie’s greatest achievement is her being a mother to three wonderful daughters. Of course, it’s public knowledge that Isabel, now in medical school, is actress Hilda Koronel’s daughter. but Bessie treated and raised Isabel like her own and, in turn, Isabel now looks up to Bessie as a real mom. It wasn’t easy at first, but Bessie is an amazing woman with a kind heart. Instead of being the wicked stepmother, she chose to become a loving mom. It’s a beautiful relationship the two women now have.

Bessie is here in town to attend the pearl anniversary (30th year) of her St. Scho batch tomorrow (to be held at the St. Cecilia’s Hall in the Leon Guinto campus). She had always been an active participant in all of their alumnae activities.

I’ve met most of her batchmates (who are still young-looking after all these years) and they are such wonderful women (some have become personal friends like Dee Gonzalez and Macy Pineda). While they have all become successful in their respective fields, my favorite success story will always be that of Bessie’s.