INCOMING second-year college students Arvie Sino Cruz, Daniella Mae Adrales, Maristelle Quiñones and Andrea Candice Alvarez always keep the teaching "Education is the only treasure I can give that no one can ever take from you" in mind as they carve their way to their most prized college degrees.

Growing up, they regard education as of utmost importance as their parents instilled in them that it is the path that will take them to a good career someday, uplifting not only their lives but also their families.

Dedicated to getting good academic remarks, the four students make the most out of their available resources, such as mobile data, just to comply with school requirements.

So, when schools went distance learning mode from face-to-face classes during the pandemic then, the four struggled with the immediate transition as they did not have the financial capacity to avail of premium fixed-line broadband plans.

"In my course, internet connection is very important as we need to research and watch videos for advanced studies. We also need to communicate [virtually] with our teachers and classmates," Cruz, who is taking Applied Mathematics under the Information Technology Track as a scholar at Far Eastern University (FEU), said.

They also could not fully rely on their phones to attend their day-to-day classes. Mobile reception in their area is poor, and mobile data can be as expensive as postpaid internet since users need to reload when they max out or their plan expires.

Knowing the difficulties these students faced through a letter from the community parish that also supports the education of the four students, in 2021, Converge took action to power up their connectivity for free until they finish their studies.

The students no longer had to worry that they might get disconnected during their online class and they can now count on unlimited and dependable connectivity to take part in all their online learning activities, synchronous or not.

"At home, there's no signal at all for any network. We live at the farthest end so I used to get out of the house and sometimes I climbed up the roof to look for signals. Now, the internet is strong," Quiñones, a BA Communication student, related in Filipino.

For Adrales, who studies Internal Auditing, she said since she became a connectivity beneficiary of Converge, her whole family experienced the difference that a decent internet connection makes, especially her siblings, who are still in junior high school, and her parents who also attend occasional online fellowship at church.

"When we got our Wi-Fi connection with Converge, it became a lot more convenient because the signal is strong and we can use all apps especially with our classes through Zoom at Google Meet," she said.

The free internet connection was also particularly beneficial for Alvarez whose family used to spend almost half of his father's monthly salary just for prepaid Wi-Fi load.

"Since internet is now prevalent, strong connection is really important as libraries are located far away and us students get information and resources [through the internet] especially for research projects. Technology is advancing and we also need to adapt to catch up [with the trend]," she said.

With the connectivity support from Converge, these students were adequately equipped to focus on online class discussions, instead of stressing if their mobile plan could still hold on for the next class. No wonder, the four completed their senior high school with honors.

These stories continue to inspire Converge to provide connectivity support for students striving in school to achieve their dreams.

Converge scholarship for STEM

Recently, Converge unveiled its Bida Fiber Internet Scholarship Program, which seeks to extend free fiber connectivity to incoming senior high school students, powered by its low-cost postpaid product Bida Fiber.

The program is open to incoming Grade 11 students enrolled in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) track in public schools.

Visit https://www.convergeict.com/bidafiber/ or https://web.facebook.com/bidafiberpage/?_rdc=1&_rdr for more information.