Sports

by Flocy Mae B. Fernandez

People were amazed at some point when a woman achieves something different from how they have perceived her capacity. Others might be in the state of astonishment when a WOMAN can succeed in her life (in a very particular field) where most men also succeeded. Meeting her will probably make us think twice about how have we been thinking, acting, and supervising our lives. Born on the 30th of July 1972, this woman who's raised by an Ilocano and Bulaceńo blood has always been a woman ready to face challenges but her fear is to be left alone. She is a woman who is afraid of being away from those people she treasured most. In her early years, she had already been showing passion and patience in studying hard and making her parents proud. She had been a consistent honouree during her elementary and secondary years and continued to be excellent not only in the field of academe but also in the area of being family-oriented as shown in her attitude as a responsible daughter to her parents and a trustworthy sibling. As I talk to her, she had shared to be one of the toughest decisions she had ever faced. Based on her story, she had to accumulate all her courage to tell her father that she wanted to pursue her college education at the Philippine Normal University-Manila Campus. Whatever the situation gets, she always thought of the outcome of her bravery which is to prove to her parents that Manila is a home that will shape her to become someone worthy of being who she is—an excellent woman with her profession of being a Physical Education Teacher. The idea was wonderful back then but she had to face tons of hard circumstances like running out of food and material things as well as fighting back the dramatic feeling of being away. Despite these, she still holds on to her philosophy until this day which says, “don’t worry for tomorrow for He will provide”. Bringing her courage to the doorsteps of PNU-Manila for four years had been challenged by the difficulty in the area of academics. But, just like how an athlete responds to the ball that is about to hit her, she remained focused on the things that make her more challenged and excited which include examinations. She even told me that during exams when she did not know the answer, she would leave it blank. She has proven to be tougher than anything that is about to hit her way by reaping her sacrifices and graduated cum laude. If she has to say something to anyone who has goals to graduate with flying colors, it must be that weakness must not go beyond your strength rather, you have to be balanced in everything you do to have a safe fallback. While teaching and after being single for years she met the man who made the heartbeat fast. Wonderfully, she was married to her first and only boyfriend who made her feel worthy of his love and trust. The result? She and her husband have been happily married for 24 years now, and she considers it her success, that is being a wife. As a mother, on the other hand, she gave birth to three precious girls. She feels triumphant in raising kind and good daughters. In this experience, she has all the authority to tell every woman out there that they should not rely on men. They should at least graduate using their surnames because according to her, graduating with a degree will make a woman so powerful. The prowess she possesses and the life she shares have been an inspiration, leaving a remarkable impact on the people who have been with her, show that she is NOT JUST a woman. Fondly called by the students as 'Madam' and by her colleagues as Doinx, she is like a vine reaching high but grounded, flexible, and adaptive with every situation she encounters. Known as being so particular with the golden value of time, she will always start and end every event she’s coordinating ON TIME. Through the years, she always considers her graduated students with excellent jobs as teachers serving in different schools as a measurement of her success as a teacher. "You have to develop students better than you. Gawin ko silang mas magaling sa akin," Ma'am Doinx mentioned. Indeed, she is an epitome of an excellent yet humble educator instrumental in preparing her students for the future. As I end the interview with Ma'am Doinx, I noted that she has always been motivated to change her master's toga to a doctorate one. The 'Madam' of PNU NL now holds Doctor of Sports Management or Doktor Pendidikan Olahgara is no other than Madam Madonna “Doinx” Castro Gonzales, a daughter, sister, mother, wife, friend, teacher, and the D’vine prowess.#