MARIA SOCORRO LUZ ASPE was just an ordinary Grade 11 student last year. Pageantry never crossed her mind and joining a national beauty competition for teens was never in the equation. All she ever wanted to be was to be a doctor and be able to help kids with special needs.
But life is full of suprises. One minute she was just sipping milk tea and the next minute she was already standing in front of the camera and introducing herself. Apparently there was a regional screening for Miss Teen International Philippines that day at the very milk tea shop where Maria Socorro was and her mother was able to convince her to try her luck. After all, there’s no harm in trying, her mother told her. And so, being an obedient daughter, she bravely stood in front of strangers and auditioned for the pageant. She passed and the next thing she knew- she was already on stage competing in the nationals. She won 4th Runner-Up and got the Best in National Costume Award. Things happened so fast and there was no turning back.
Today, Maria Socorro who is a Grade 12 STEM student at the UST-Angelicum College, is the Official Candidate of the Philippines for MISS TEEN UNIVERSE which will happen in Colombia in November. Only 17 years old, she stands 5’10 without heels. She is now one of the FACES of ALTA Skin Care. In between her classes and pageant training, she attends social and charity events. She has photo and video shoot from time to time. She has taken an acting workshop and has already appeared in GMA7’s TADHANA (The Sisters episode). Her life now is definitely a far-cry from the quiet girl sipping milk tea last year.
According to Maria Socorro, being given the opportunity to be called Miss Teen Universe Philippines is an honor and a responsibility. She has to be more careful with her choices and how she uses her social media platform because she is the role model of teen girls. Her dream (of becoming a doctor) stays the same but this time, she wants to take up medicine abroad. In a way, being in Miss Teen Universe has given Maria Socorro new insights in life and that she can actually explore a whole new universe of opportunities.