For John Eric Dagos, growing up meant learning early that hard work alone doesn’t always open every door. The eldest of three children to a hardworking truck driver, Eric knew his parents were doing all they could just to keep food on the table. Determined not to be an extra burden, he juggled classes at Don Bosco College with work as a student assistant and tutor, scraping together whatever he could to help make ends meet. Still, as his studies went on, the bills kept piling up—and it looked like his dream of finishing college might slip away entirely.
Desperate but not defeated, he turned to the internet one day, typing a simple search query that would rewrite his future. “The Aboitiz scholarship was the first result that came up. I applied, and fortunately, I got in,” he recalls. That acceptance letter meant far more than just covered tuition; it brought a steady monthly allowance that let him stop worrying about making ends meet and start focusing on excelling in his lessons. But the program offered something just as precious: a community that believed in him.
Through the Aboitiz Foundation’s Future Leaders program, Eric found himself at the Future Leaders Business Summit in Cebu, collaborating with fellow scholars on real business challenges alongside top Aboitiz Group executives. He landed an internship at Aboitiz Equity Ventures, getting a firsthand look at the corporate world that would one day become his own. When he graduated at the very top of his class in 2015 with an IT degree, he already had a clear vision of where he wanted to go.
He joined UnionBank as a junior branch ambassador, greeting customers and processing transactions one transaction at a time. Through dedication and the confidence his scholarship journey had instilled in him, he rose steadily through the ranks—all the way to branch manager of UnionBank’s bustling 32nd Street branch in Bonifacio Global City. “Working at UnionBank is a dream come true. What makes it more meaningful is that the support and trust I received as an Aboitiz scholar are still there,” he says.
Today, Eric carries that same belief forward. He mentors his team, cheering them on as they grow in their own careers—paying forward the kindness someone once showed him. “I want to help others discover what they’re capable of and help them succeed,” he says. His story stands as a powerful example of what the Aboitiz Future Leaders Scholarship Program has been doing since 2000: opening doors for over 1,200 young Filipinos, proving that when you invest in a person’s potential, you don’t just change one life—you inspire a ripple effect that touches many more.
