Success StoriesRyan Labrador, One Man’s Remarkable Journey
Ryan Labrador, One Man’s Remarkable Journey
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May 2025
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Ryan Labrador (ADNU - '04) had fond memories of his years in college at the Ateneo de Naga in Bicol. On the occasion of the 2024 Reunion, he addressed the guests from the stage podium.
"I didn't know how I made it through. My parents had to work many jobs and a tight budget to cover the living costs of 10 people in my home. I was overjoyed to be accepted into Ateneo de Naga high school. But it was a difficult commitment, If I was lucky, someone would give me a ride to school, which was 13.5 kms away, on a rough rocky road. But sometimes I just had to walk Still I was determined to do my best, just to keep up my academic requirements. I was lucky to be enrolled here at the Ateneo de Naga. I got accepted into college here.""Then I was blessed with two full scholarships that covered my tuition, and also provided additional allowances for living expenses, transportation, books and clothing.""Ang daming allowances na para po kami meron ng sweldo, sabi nga sa treasurer’s office everytime naka-pila kami para kumuha ng monthly allowance, masu- suwerte daw po kami to be earning while we were still studying. And yes! we were very lucky and blessed to receive all that generous kindness. And that is the reason why we are having this simple celebration today.”
He looked up, at the floor high above the first floor.“The Xavier Honors Dorm which was right above this hall, was opened in November 2001 through the efforts and leadership of Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J. They were not luxurious arrangements, We were given personal private spaces to sleep and study in, free meals, free stay, free internet, and free computers. (Imagine! My first computer!) Everything was free! We just needed to be honor students.”
To be an honor student at that time required him to maintain a 92.00 grade point average“The honors dormitory was not just an ordinary dorm. Staying there also required, in addition to maintaining academic grades, a very special formation. We were required to wake up at 5am for morning exercise, attend the Mass at 6am in the university church, then have our breakfast at the Little Flower canteen right outside the main gate. I’m sure my fellow former students still remember how Nanay Auring loved serving all of us all our meals! I also still remember how much Nanay Auring loved Chad Bautista, her favorite. When all of us were given a sunny-side up egg with two hotdogs, Chad had another sunny-side up egg and hotdog hidden under his fried rice! (Just kidding Nanay Auring! And thank you so much po for your service!)"“At 8 to 10 in the evening we are all required to be at our desk for a supervised study period where you could not do anything else but study. Then we ended the day with an evening prayer at the church following St. Ignatius’ consciousness examen.""On many weekends we had outreach activities, and on summer breaks we had retreats, the most unforgettable of which for me was the 8-day silent retreat in Tagaytay with Fr. Joel and the prefects.""And yet, on (date), I proudly graduated with my classmates. I remember the look on my parents’ proud faces."
A Personal Mission Starts“So from my high school years, through college, and even while studying for a Master’s degree in Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, I was helped. I made it my personal mission to one day give back and pay the kindness forward by providing financial assistance to deserving scholars. All those kindnesses I had received, together with the rigorous Jesuit formation, nurtured me. From high school years through to the Xavier Honors Dorm, I learned to be grateful to our Lord, and the experience instilled in me the desire to pay the goodness forward. So, starting from my first job…through all my succeeding jobs, my question has always been,how can I pay forward: how do I send my help?"
The Plan Begins“Around seven years ago in 2017 (I can no longer recall the exact date), I received a message from Mr. Dennis Locsin, my former high school teacher asking me if I could assist a very special student in any little way I could. I wholeheartedly accepted."“That student, plus a few more students thereafter, have since graduated. Again, all because of and through God’s grace and generosity."“The College Admissions and Aid Office through its current head, Ms. Evelyn B. Amaro (known to most of us as Ma’am Belen) has been religiously sending me official receipts for those students I had managed to help despite the fact that I repeatedly told her I did not need the receipts. I was happy to focus on the many other deserving students who needed help."“It inspired me back in 2018 to further ask my former dormmates at the ADNU Xavier Honors Dorm to organize a fund-raising activity for scholarships. They did, and this eventually developed into the Xavier Foundation."“During the course of conversations with Ma’am Belen whom I visited from time-to-time at the office of the College Admissions and Aid whenever I was in Naga, we identified a common issue faced by most of our former scholars when they desired to help scholars. They didn’t know how to best send the help.“One example is a former scholar working in the middle of the desert in Saudi Arabia. He shared that it would take him almost half-day to travel from his workplace to the nearest money-remittance center. This scenario made us think “if only there were a way to make sending help faster… and if it could take advantage of online facilities, be more convenient. It would surely strengthen help for scholars.”“And thus, the Batchmates app idea was born.”
The Birth of the Batchmates AppIt was with real pride that Ryan announced:“Today, we are soft-launching the Batchmates app in the service of the Xavier Foundation, which has come to be legally formed as the Xavier Batchmates Foundation, Inc.”
To the amazement of all present, Ryan and his team went on to demonstrate the app… not just on flashy graphic slides, but through real samples of in-time donations.Easy and EfficientThe support is open to scholars of all nationalities who are current students of the foundation's partner schools. XBFI will work with the Aid and Assistance offices of the accredited schools, to qualify, fund and monitor the academic progress of each scholar.Financial help is given freely and fully by the Donors to their Scholars, with no restrictions on study programs other than those structured by the participating schools. A scholar cannot transfer funds to another person.The Plan is Launched and SharedThe dream continues, and Ryan shares it with like-minded friends and donors who also wanted to “pay forward,” without the entanglement of red tape and banking regulations.Ryan’s REVLV team leads the ongoing development of Batchmates. The app has helped 28 scholars, studying for various parts of their ongoing education, in various universities in the Philippines.
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