When I remembered it, and he was already gone, I thought to myself, “If I have 900 something tries not to give up on someone, then I also have 900 something tries not to give up on my dreams, goals, passion, and of course, to the country, I never lost the love of. I may have lost him, but not my purpose in life.”

Being alone to fight a battle that you wouldn’t even know if you’d survive, 900 ST became my inspiration. It became my motivation to establish this company.

I never dreamt of being an entrepreneur nor a chairperson of a company. My greatest dream since innocence left me is to become a housewife. I only wanted to clean the house, do the laundry, tend my children, and of course, take care of my husband. To tell you the truth, I never imagined myself living outside of my home country, how much more in planning to read financial reports. And so, with the help of my childhood friend, Love Lainne Mabasa, 900 ST has its own Director of Finance.

Love Lainne has been my rival since we entered first grade. We always competed for the “Top 1” and “Valedictorian” award. We joined a lot of creative and educational contests to prove to everyone that we were the best. We both cried many times for losing our competitions. Even our mothers kept motivating us to do more to be ahead of everyone. I know for sure that our greatest fear before was the announcement of who was the Top 1. However, we were best friends. It was so ironic that even while we were competing for excellence against each other, we were building and supporting each other. Our support and love for each other had never failed. It only grew stronger when we finished high school.

We both entered Central Mindanao University. That was before I entered the University of Southeastern Philippines. She was enrolled in the College of Accounting, and I took up Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. It wasn’t my greatest dream but an ultimate goal, to be a lawyer.

Unfortunately, we separated ways. Lack of financial support made me decide to halt my studies. Regardless of the academic scholarship that I received from the university, at such a young age of 16, I couldn’t help myself financially. But if there’s one person that I will always be grateful for during those times, it’s her. Love Lainne joined my battle of fighting for the education that I really wanted. She even asked her mother to support me instead. Together with her, I stayed at her aunt’s house, figuring out the ways for me to keep going. However, in the end, I had to give way to something that is really meant for me. We might have separated ways and grew up differently, but it helped both of us to acquire new perspectives in life that eventually led us to a greater purpose.

To my vivid memory, I first laid eyes on our Vice President of Operations and Marketing, Novie Ramos when he did his practice teaching at the University of Southeastern Philippines. I was his student. Nevertheless, I had my first professional conversation with him at a famous fast-food chain. That was almost five years ago. I contacted him to give me advice on my graduation thesis. He was once my inspiration to finish my paper. He is one of those professional, educated, and well-spoken people I’ve known in the university.

Our friendship grew stronger later on. When I discussed with him about the company, he told me, “I want to be with you from the beginning of this till the end.” I found someone for 900 ST who was committed to build, someone with purpose and goals.

Starting a company is not easy. Hardships are always given. I don’t want to be called the brain of 900 ST, instead, the heart of it. We built and will always run this company with love, passion, and purpose. If something doesn’t feel right, then I won’t go for it and won’t even question my heart for not feeling something right.

However, if I am the heart of 900 ST, our Head of Operations, Nikho Arrosas is the balance of both the brain and the heart. He always supports me in everything. Nikho and I finished the same degree. We used to be called the “love team” in our batch. Nevertheless, we are more than genuine friends since the beginning. There was even a time when we stopped talking to each other. We blocked each other on social media. In my heart, I was never mad at him. Honestly, he has a very kind heart. We just had to stop communicating. It took us a year to start talking again. Our reconciliation made our friendship grew stronger than ever before. Even during those times that I was suffering from a dilemma of going back to the Philippines or staying in Romania, he was there for me. While building this company, we had arguments and discussions, of course. But if there’s one thing that I’m so sure of, is that he will never leave me in this undertaking.

Before 900 ST made sense, my suffering and frustration brought by the pandemic destroyed my mental calmness. Surprisingly enough, one of my professors at the University of Southeastern Philippines before sent me an inspirational message saying, “I am so proud of you.” It gave me the energy to keep going.

Our Head Editor, one of the most prominent professors in the Southern Philippines, Maam Irish Dalona, PhD., is a professional everyone should look up to. Even when I was still her student, I looked up to her as someone unreachable. Thus, her being a part of this undertaking is such an honour. And to tell you honestly, she is more than just a professor, but a big sister everyone would want to have.

We all have our own 900 ST stories, those moments we felt vulnerable, times we just decided to leave behind everything that we started, and even forgetting our purpose. Nevertheless, it is my greatest hope that when the time comes that we see the end, we remember 900 ST.

This is not just about creating, publishing, and giving you what you need through our passion and skills. But this is something which will inspire you always to keep going when you’re already at the crossroad between moving forward and giving up.

900 ST. is YOUR ONLY WAY TO GO!

Your Chair,
Catherine Tabequero