Justine Valdez

Bea Estrella

WRITTEN BY BEATRIZ C. REYES

It will be scary but there are people who will encourage you. For me, those are my family and mentors.

[Forecasts] are guides. There are unexpected conditions that happen in-flight or when you land. You have to manage well.

COLLEGE IS a place of exploration—or so we’ve been told. But no matter how much we try to control the future, life has unexpected surprises. For many students, shifting out of a course is one of many major decisions in college that can be empowering if chosen voluntarily and disheartening if by circumstance.

Nathalie Beatrice Estrella (4 BS COMTECH) experienced the latter, shifting out of a degree program she loved. Today, she exits college with a different course and as one of the few Filipina paraglider pilots nationwide. Whether it be in her element or in college, Bea expresses the future doesn’t always go as planned—and one can survive the rough winds of life if one “just manages well.”

ACCORDING TO PLAN

After high school, Bea passed the Ateneo College Entrance Test and was accepted into the AB Management Economics program. However, the said course was not her first choice. “I wanted Management Engineering (BS ME) because that was what I planned,” Bea shares. “I didn’t think [Ateneo] would reconsider but I tried.” To her surprise, the appeal was granted. She spent her initial college years in BS ME, balancing school work and theater membership in Ateneo Blue Repertory. As training for her extracurriculars usually ended late in the night, Bea persevered by finding joy in her theater performances, which was also a place for her to learn.

AN UNEXPECTED REDIRECTION

However, come the first fully-online semester, Bea faced a tight situation with a strenuous subject. “[It] was the crux of everything,” she recalls. “During the first few weeks, I already felt [that I will shift out]. I was accepting that it was a possibility.”

As if pre-empting her situation, Bea changed courses the semester after to BS Communications Technology Management (BS COMTECH). It was a choice that was out of her control. “I didn’t know where I wanted to go,” Bea explains. “I felt like I had everything planned out. [Now], something stopped. I didn’t know what to do… I didn’t have that direction.”

Throughout this ordeal, Bea was supported by family and friends. They encouraged her to view the experience not as a loss but as a redirection. “I’m having so much fun in COMTECH, [which is] like ME but on the creative side, because na-exercise ang creative brain cells ko (my creative brain cells are being exercised),” Bea shares with a smile. “I’m not gonna say it’s easy, but I feel less pressured.”

LAUNCH AND TAKEOFF

When asked about her learnings in shifting out, Bea shares it helped her try harder despite the many difficulties she faced. Because of the marketing-oriented nature of her course, Bea believes COMTECH is aligned with her advocacy: To spread awareness on paragliding. protagonists’ encounter through a paragliding accident. Shortly after, a client of Bea’s dad mentioned paragliding and invited her and her family to meet at a launch site—and Bea fell in love.

“[Paragliding] was amazing,” exclaims Bea. “We were up a thousand meters near the clouds. I felt like there was no pandemic. After that, I just couldn’t let it go. I can’t let it stop there.”

Despite almost two years since her first takeoff, Bea expresses she sometimes still feels nervous. She says a short prayer asking for guidance and protection whenever facing the unexpectedness of each flight.

In paragliding, conditions during flights are unique. One cannot rely on forecasts alone. “[Forecasts] are guides,” Bea shares. “There are unexpected conditions that happen in-flight or when you land. You have to manage well.” Bea attributes managing well to her instructor, who often reminds her to do so.

Bea brings her experiences of paragliding to the unexpectedness of college. She expresses how there are many uncertainties, but it is our response that makes us manage these situations better.

As a graduating student, there is the fear of not knowing what to do. Bea advises to explore away from their comfort zones. “It will be scary but there are people who will encourage you. For me, those are my family and mentors,” she reassures.

Today, Bea is ready to take off for her next adventure beyond the comforts of campus life. Like her and for anyone with an open heart and a willingness to explore, the uncertainties in life will only be doors to new opportunities that lie ahead.