On April 24, 2021, a total of 12 girls and youth mentors participated in the online Champion mentorship session with GirlsGotThis ambassador Cathy Chiong, a Certified Public Accountant, businesswoman and traveller.
Catherine joyfully shared her life story with the girls. She highlighted the struggles she surpassed which molded her into becoming the better person she is right now. “Poverty should not be a reason for you not to reach your dreams,” said Cathy when she shared about how poverty affected her family when she was still young.
When the girls shared each of their dreams, Cathy admitted that she dreamt of becoming a newscaster but because of her parent’s advice and encouragement she took up Accountancy instead. “If you want to become successful you first need to finish your studies,” Cathy said adamantly. Cathy shared that the road towards success is not always smooth. Problems and challenges will always be present in every chapter of an individual’s life but for someone to reach her dreams he/she needs to persevere and work hard.
“Financial challenges should not be a reason for you to stop pursuing your dreams,” Cathy motivated the girls. Known to promote women empowerment, one of the girls asked her about how she feels about getting ahead of men in her field of work she proudly said, “I view men and women as equal.”
She is also a strong advocate against human trafficking and is involved in helping survivors of sex trafficking. During the session, she animatedly discussed with the girls about her experience in starting a business in Cebu. “In starting a business you need to think about the significant impact of your products on the life of the people in the community. Profit only goes second. Once you make a great impact then you are making your way to success.”
After the long and fun talks, the girls expressed their appreciation towards the experiences shared by Cathy. “Thank you for sharing the chapters of your life with us who also wants to become successful someday,” said one of the girls.