Maxine Esteban, a 2019 Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist fencer, made jaws drop after she finished nine Ivy League online courses during the COVID-19 lockdown in the Philippines.
The 19-year-old sophomore at Ateneo de Manila University posted the certificates she received from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University on April 26 during the country’s Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), according to ABS-CBN.
Esteban told Spin Life that she took the online courses after her university called off their online classes.
“With Ateneo calling off all online classes and deciding to give a passing mark to everyone, there wasn’t much to do anymore, there was a lot of idle time,” the teen, who is part of the Ateneo Women’s Fencing Team, said. “I was really used to having a hectic schedule. I came across forwarded links of free online courses from Ivy League schools, I got drawn into it because there were so many interesting business courses. I was really happy.”
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The teen athlete completed Entrepreneurship 1 (Developing the Opportunity), Entrepreneurship 2 (Launching your start-up), Entrepreneurship 3 (Growth Strategies), Entrepreneurship 4 (Financing and Profitability), Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content, Introduction to Marketing and Customer Analytic from Wharton School.
She also finished Financial Markets and Introduction to Negotiation courses from Yale University.
Esteban, who is the Rookie of the Year for University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82, was able to raise 496,000 Philippine pesos ($9,800) and donated personal protective equipment (PPE), pillows and rice to the frontliners, hospitals and those affected by the pandemic.
“We have a responsibility to our community,” Esteban said. “In our own small way, we all can do something to help. So, we came up with our fund raiser, and we are really grateful for all donors. We hope to be able to raise more money or supplies. The drive is still on going and we are receiving some call for help from some NGOs.”
Feature Image via @themaxfactor
