Homeless at 12, Filipino man defies all odds to graduate from top university

Today, his story is inspiring millions after he graduated from Ateneo de Manila University, one of the Philippines' top schools.

Eugene's life fell apart when his parents divorced and neither took custody. He survived by begging for food, bathing in public restrooms, and sleeping in alleys or under parked tricycles when it rained, Philstar reported.

"Public restrooms became my sanctuary: where I washed my body, my clothes, and tried, vainly, to scrub away the shame," he wrote in a social media post.

Four years later, a charity helped him return to junior high. He excelled academically, finishing vocational high school in 2021. He then applied to Ateneo de Manila University, ranked second in the country by QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) University Rankings 2026, and received financial aid through its admissions relief office and alumni association.

To support himself, he tutored and worked as a choreographer for university festivals, Pinas Now reported.

"Ateneo saw beyond my tattered story and took a chance on someone like me. They didn't see empty forms, just a child desperate for a second chance," he said.

On June 21, the 25-year-old graduated with a degree in Economics, majoring in Financial Economics and earned third prize for his outstanding thesis.

"I wasn't meant to make it here, but by some grace, I did," he shared on social media.

His story has gone viral across the Philippines, drawing hundreds of thousands of reactions. Many praised his determination to overcome poverty, while others criticized his parents for abandoning him.

In his thesis dedication, Eugene left a message for others facing hardship: "You possess a strength no hardship can steal. Because that strength carried me past broken dreams, past every 'no', past every night I thought I couldn't survive, straight to this very moment."