Nothing's Impossible

By Roselle Ambubuyog,Newsbreak Contributing writer
My long-term goal is to become established in the business sector so I can easily get in touch with people and groups that can provide financial assistance needed to initiate or promote projects for the disabled.
When I was choosing what to specialize in, I looked for a field that would not limit me to a particular industry. Since I prefer practical applications, the feasible options were math finance, operations research, and actuarial science, a science that uses mathematical and statistical methods to measure risk. I took electives in the last one and found that though most topics were on insurance (life, non-life, health, retirement benefits, etc.), other discussions on stocks, bonds, financial forecasting, and such were also relevant. I found that there are no clear-cut, formulated insurance policies for the disabled in the Philippines, unlike in other countries.
When I turned 18, my parents wanted me to get insured. We found none willing to insure any disabled person. An agent from PruLife of the United Kingdom offered to help, but the most he could get for me was a five-payment annuity, something like a pension fund. There were no riders like the double indemnity fund for accidental death. It was obviously not sufficient to meet my insurance needs, but it was all that was available(more...)
The writer was a participant in the Ayala Young Leaders Congress in February 2000, and is a master in applied math majoring in actuarial science at UP-Diliman. She graduated summa cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2001 and was class valedictorian. She has been blind since the age of six.