Words by: Tatiana Onofre
Maezy De Ocampo looks back on the pivotal moments of her life that proved her resilience
Most people take one look at Maezy De Ocampo and think they’ve got her figured out. But if there’s one thing Maezy does best, it’s proving those people’s thoughts wrong.
What they don’t see at first glance is the journey she’s weathered since childhood. Maezy started school at two after early assessments suggesting she needed extra support.
Her parents enrolled her in a special care learning environment, as advised by doctors who were unsure of her developmental needs. While some might have expected her to struggle, Maezy quickly showed signs of advanced understanding. One day, she walked up to her mom after class and said, “The lessons are repeating. It’s boring.”
That was when her mother realized her daughter’s challenges were not intellectual but perhaps physical and social in nature.
Maezy often keeps things to herself—even when something’s wrong, she pretends to be fine. But they always notice. “She’s brave,” her mom shares. “Too brave, sometimes.” She admits she was surprised when Maezy’s teachers pulled her aside to tell her how outstanding her daughter truly is.
Unlike most teenagers, Maezy is not very fond of travelling. Her mom says she would rather stay home and study or listen to worship songs.
If there’s one thing her mom loves most about Maezy, it is her ineffable faith. She’s the kind of person who reminds everyone to pray before meals, not just out of habit but because faith is rooted deep into every part of her life. The kind of person who gets genuinely excited when Sunday comes because it means worship and time with God.
Making and keeping friends hasn’t always been easy for Maezy. The guidance office once suggested she should try to build stronger friendships, but even when she puts in the effort, it doesn’t always work out.
“I’m doing my best to be their friend, but they just walk away from me,” she once told her guidance counselor. Still, with a strength that defines her, she adds, “Anyway, I can manage.”
“I wish people knew me as friendly and helpful, regardless of abilities or challenges. I aim to provide useful, accurate, and friendly assistance to everyone,” she says.
By sixth grade, after going through a lot of check-ups and psych tests, her doctor no longer considered her “different,” putting her in a normal school instead of the usual special care. In junior high school, she wasn’t just keeping up, she was leading.
Best in Leadership Award? Check. Loyalty Award? Of course. By senior high school, she didn’t just graduate with the highest honors—she became an academic scholar and an AY Foundation National Discipline Award nominee.
“She’s transparent and honest,” many people say. And winning? That’s kind of her thing.
In college, her mom worried about the pressure of being a financial management student. The numbers, the calculations, the high-stakes decision-making—wasn’t it too much? But Maezy, as always, stood her ground. “Ma, I can do it,” she assures her mother. And she did, jumping with joy after passing all her major subjects.
Beyond textbooks and tests, Maezy moves with various rhythms and melodies. She is a ballerina, twirling through life with the same precision and discipline that earned her all those awards. Her love for movement extends beyond dance as she plays the piano, producing the same grace with melodies with the same love she brings to everything she does.
Another feat of Maezy is her commitment to the rigorous training of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. When she first told her mom about it, her mom thought she was joking, only to realize otherwise.
As if her schedule wasn’t packed enough, every Christmas, she makes sure to give Jollibee meals to street children. Not for the recognition. Not because anyone told her to. But because kindness isn’t something she switches on and off, it’s simply how she exists.
“Every person is made differently, and you are one of them,” her parents always remind her.
When Maezy was given the chance to share her story, she saw it as an answered prayer, an opportunity to let her voice be heard in Silliman University.
She hopes to be seen and for people to understand her. “I wish people knew me as friendly and helpful.”
People may have underestimated Maezy all her life. But she stands tall, thriving, achieving, and proving that she is never meant to blend in. She is meant to stand out.