Twenty years ago, high school student Rizaly Lim and her four siblings would watch in awe every time they pass by the construction of the first SM City in her hometown Sta. Rosa, Laguna. All five children, packed in the tricycle their father rides for a living, were all excitedly looking forward to happy family weekends they would be spending at the huge mall.
Rizaly finished high school at the Balibago National High School as class valedictorian in 2005 and was already sending applications for other college scholarships when her teacher asked the top 10 students to go to SM City Sta. Rosa for an interview with SM Foundation.,” she recalls. She proceeded of course, driven by the one goal of finishing college and helping her family. “A few exams and interviews later, SM Foundation, Inc.
Then there’s the memorization of motivational poems and speeches, one of which stuck with her for life: “It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” She shared that this last stanza of “Invictus” by W.E. Henley had kept her motivated to look past the limitations of her circumstances and focus on her personal goals.SM Foundation was established in 1983 by Henry Sy, Sr. and Felicidad T.