What initially started as scribblings on their respective lanterns for the annual Dal-uy Festival (dubbed Festival of Hope) of Foundation University, Dumaguete City turned out to be the biggest decision they would make that would change their lives forever.
Little did Sunbeam Katrina David-Dela Cruz and her spouse, Amiel Lindley Dela Cruz, realize that sustaining their long-term relationship proved that love knows no distance and can hurdle obstacles so long as you have each other.
“To marry the woman I love” was what Amiel wrote and wished for in one Dal-uy Festival, while Sunbeam aspired to be “happy ever after with Amiel.” A video of their lanterns went viral as their friends and classmates swooned over their being campus sweethearts.
Sunbeam and Amiel met in 2009 when they were in their third year in high school. Sunbeam comes from Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental, while Amiel comes from San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, but they met again after a year when Amiel went to Sunbeam’s hometown for its fiesta celebration.
“After high school, I decided to enroll at Foundation University because of its top-notch quality of education and its standards that are of international caliber. Since I already had plans of working out of the country, I took up Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management,” Sunbeam recalls, finishing her degree in 2015.
Amiel, who was then studying in Bacolod City, decided to join Sunbeam and studied at Foundation University for two years in the same degree program. But, because she had already graduated, Amiel thought of leaving school to be with Sunbeam.
While both pursued their own endeavors, Sunbeam and Amiel relentlessly “chased their dreams” of trying their luck abroad, a passion they never let go since high school. “We were all the more motivated to work abroad because of the learnings we got from our teachers, including some alumni who would come to give lectures to us,” relates Sunbeam.
They got married on February 2, 2022 and to perpetuate their memories as students at Foundation University, the couple retraced their journey, capturing these in photographs inside the picturesque campus.
Sunbeam, upon the full support of her aunt, a resident of Canada for 35 years, finally realized her dream, arriving in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in September 2022. Not too long after, Amiel joined his wife. And, as people are wont to say, the rest is history.
Fast forward to their life today, Sunbeam works as a certified personal support worker, especially for health care among the elderly. “My training in hospitality management has proven to be more than just handy as I learned how to handle the varying behaviors of people from all walks of life,” Sunbeam expresses, adding that time management is another useful training they both got from Foundation University as they juggled academics and extra-curricular activities.
Amiel, on the other hand, works in a large automotive company that assembles and disassembles big machines. “I used to be very shy, but I have learned to get out of my comfort zone through trainings I’ve attended. I have a team of excellent, adept Filipino workers,” Amiel confesses.
For Sunbeam and Amiel, they did not only dream big, but they dreamed together. To their fellow Foundationites, they urge them to continue to study, learn, and dream as “it is your instrument to success, even if you won’t get everything that you want all at the same time.” | NWI
