INNOVE graduate and winner in the recent 2015 Future Champions Golf (FCG) World Championship, Abegail Arevalo talks about the sport and her Southville education.

Q: At what age did you start to play golf, and how did you get into the sport?
Abegail: I started hitting a few plastic balls with plastic clubs when I was about two years old. I started training seriously when I was five and joined Callaway Junior World when I was six. I got into the game because my dad influenced my whole family with it. My dad is a golf pro. Our whole family knows how to play, though I am the only one left playing competitive golf. My brothers are now working and my other brother is focused on college. My little sister isn’t really interested in the game.

Q: What has playing golf taught you?
A: Oh wow. Golf has taught me a ton of things. A lot of people underestimate the game of golf and think that it isn’t even a sport. But they are wrong. It takes a lot to be a golfer. You need patience, determination, discipline and confidence. You have to score the lowest to succeed in the game. In order to do that, you have to hit the least strokes. You need to know how to manage your game well. It’s just like money—you must know how to use and save it. Golf is related to real-life situations, and most of the people who do not play the game don’t even know that.

Q: Why did you choose Southville for your education?
A: I started studying in Southville when I was in pre-school. I got into the ICTSI-TCC RP Team in the middle of 2nd year, and was about to move out of Southville for home school when Ms. Avic, the Principal and Ms. Gladys, the Deputy Principal told me about the INNOVE program. It was perfect and convenient for me because I was able to have my own schedule with my own set of teachers. It was perfect because I have to be at the golf course almost every day. I play twenty-four tournaments every year.

Editor’s note: INNOVE is a home-school program in which students are allowed to study and complete requirements without going to school every day. For more details on the program, click here.

Q: How did the Southville INNOVE program help you balance studies and your career in golf?
A: Thinking about my schedule, it was almost impossible for me to finish everything on time. INNOVE was the best program for me and I couldn’t ask for anything better. Though to be honest with you, I am the busiest person in the world. I pack my things, leave, go home and repeat. I go around the world to play golf tournaments. During my first two years in INNOVE, I wasn’t able to finish it on time because I was barely at school. However, I was able to balance and manage golf and school during my last year in Southville and I am truly proud and thankful for that.

Q: With a Southville education, what makes you different from other students your age?
A: Southville taught me not only to be the brightest student but also to be the best person that I can be.

Q: Which of the 5C’s best describe yourself? Why?
A: Southville taught me 5 C’s and it never left my heart. The C that describes me best is Commitment to Achieve. I am a work in progress and I still continue to do everything I can to get to where I want to be and what I want to achieve.

Q: What is your advice to Southville students who would like to try playing golf?
A: My advice to Southville Students who would like to play golf is to get a good coach whom they could trust. Hopefully there would be a golf team in Southville in the future. The Junior Golf Association of the Philippines is pretty active and the Philippines is doing good in terms of World Rankings.