Serendipity

Serendipity is defined as, “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”. While some may quickly associate it with romantic notions, I have long been a firm believer that serendipity goes beyond meeting “the one” in the middle of a busy store in New York City. I’ve always believed that God prepares us for what to come by aligning the right people at exactly the right time.

My friendship with supermom, Cathy Nazareno began rather serendipitously. We first met when I conducted an interview with the Younghusbands for this very same paper four years ago. Since we both lived in the South of Metro Manila, bumping into each other at the grocery store or at the mall was inevitable. It is also safe to say that Facebook contributed greatly to our friendship.

The first thing I can tell you about Cathy is that she is strikingly beautiful from the get go, but what makes the mother of three remarkable is her strong sense of self, and most importantly, her determination to win in life, whether at work or in personal matters. I’ve always believed that we become like the five people we hang out with the most so at my age, I’ve always sought for the wisdom of those older and wiser than me and I’m fortunate that Cathy has allowed me to take a peek into her jam-packed life.

Aside from being a mother of three to her three equally successful daughters Cathy is also the CEO of the Chelsea FC Soccer school in partnership with James and Phil Younghusband, the President of Mac2 Group, a company that represents athletes and handles sports events, owner and president of Casa Belrina Travel Consultants, a partner at Surface Guru and just recently became a partner of the Alcasid Total Entertainment and Artist Management. The St. Mary’s College of California graduate also has experience as a Match Commissioner for FIFA AFC and AFF (both men and women) all throughout Asia all while raising her three daughters.

Her resume is enough to leave someone impressed, but what makes her different is her strong sense of passion to serve others, “I think my purpose in life is to serve the athletes that my group and I are currently handling. We wanted to give opportunities and help these athletes who don’t know much about the business side of sports.” Cathy, just like me, also believes in God ordained meetings that help her connect people with one another, this she believes, is one of her greatest strengths.

When asked how she manages her very tight schedule while being a single mom, she was quick to say, “Life is tough in terms of juggling between meetings, travel, my kids’ activities, and just plainly lounging around. But I am blessed with wonderful girls who understand their mom’s motivation is to work beyond self but rather be a servant for others.”

It is not a secret that Cathy’s “put others first” attitude that easily translates to action and her passion for life in general has greatly influenced the success of her three daughters. Her eldest daughter, Franky Rivilla, 22 graduated as a football scholar from the University of Sto. Tomas with a degree in Industrial Desgin and is currently a Visual Display Officer for one of the major department stores in the country. Her second daughter, Kitkat plays football with the Chelsea Ladies Team and is currently a second year Multi-Media arts student. Her youngest, Reese was recently taken as an aspirant for the ballet company she dances with.

Cathy’s positive nature is a reminder than life can indeed be beautiful if one chooses to see the good in every situation and use every opportunity for the better. Her life is not an example of a perfect, trouble free existence, but one that has stood well from the roadblocks life has thrown her way.