ATHENA AUXILLO

Age: 20
Height: 5 feet 7 inches
Measurements: 33 inches - 26 inches - 34 inches
Occupation/Education: Psychology Student

Describe your childhood/growing up years (8-13 years old):
I was told by my mother that, I have always had this angelic face growing up, but my personality and actions are completely the opposite of it. I was an energetic and adventurous kid who isn’t afraid of anything, other than spiders. I was willing to dive into a pool that is so deep even though I didn’t know how to swim. I was willing to try zip line without any fear of heights or falling. I even taught myself how to ride a bike, even though that caused me to have a lot of bruises. I was never a “girly girl” growing up, in fact my friends are all guys, I always play with my guy friends after class because I didn’t like playing with the girls because they were too feminine for me. It’s actually funny to look back to today, even my mom is as shocked as everyone else about how much my life has shifted to becoming this empowered woman that I am today.

What lessons did you learn from your childhood/growing years?
One of the lessons I have unfortunately learned at a very young age is about value acceptance. This has always stuck with me over the years because my father died when I was still 8 years old. Being a daddy’s girl, I never accepted the fact that he died, sometimes I pretended that my father was just out of the country working for us even though he is long gone. The value acceptance allowed me to grow, it allowed me to embrace the pain I have felt that time and the disappointment of thinking how my father didn’t see me succeed in life. It has allowed me to see my life differently right now actually, because whenever problems or oppurtunities come my way, I always try to give it my all because I know how short life is and if it doesn’t workout the the end I always put it in my mind that maybe God has other plans for me, I may not understand its purpose now, but I know someday it will all make sense.

Most memorable moment:
One of the memorable moments in my life so far isn’t actually me winning the title Miss Toledo 2022, but it was actually during my first national pageant Hiyas ng Pilipinas charity works. It was when we visited an orphanage of kids with different kinds of disability. This was the moment I realized how beautiful the pageant industry is really is. It helps us women in this industry to become strong and empowered, at the same time it allows us to find our purpose in the community, to be able to help other people in need and to inspire them with the different stories we carry with us. That moment alone allowed me to change my perspective of life, it made me want to go back there and do anything I could to help these children with anything in my power, so I tried joining Miss Toledo again and these kids were my backbone of that success because they are the main reason why I wanted to earn that title in the first place.

Why do you want to be Miss Philippines Earth?
I have been introduced to a lot of pageants, all with different purpose and goals but I was drawn to this pageant because of its purpose as it is so specific and it is something new for me. To be Miss Philippines Earth 2023 will be both an honor and a responsibility and I knew that from the start this has always been a dream of mine, because it will finally allow me to have a bigger platform to use to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining a healthy environment in the community especially in my city Toledo, wherein mining is rampant and the growth of the our population has been growing over the years.

What is your environmental advocacy and why did you choose this?
One of the things I have always wanted to do is to introduce the on going project of a famous American youtuber about planting trees. The name of their project is called “Team Trees” this is an organization that allows people to donate one dollar or that is equivalent to planting a lot of trees, not only are they using the money to help other people but also helping heal the environment around the world. I love their idea but I would make some changes a bit for it to be possible in my own capabilities. I chose this kind of environmental advocacy because Toledo city has a famous mining industry called Carmen Copper Corporation, not only did this company teach my previous school the importance of planting trees, they also let us experience planting trees to revive the mountains with no trees on site. A tree might mean nothing to some of us, but it actually has a huge impact to our community, not only does it give us shade but it also avoids natural calamities like landslides and it can increase resilience of our ecosystem and help minimize climate change effects.

What tip can you share to promote eco-tourism in your City or Municipality?
Preservation. One of the things Toledo City is known for is the numerous nature-based tourist spots in the area. Some tourists hike their way to the famous Mt. Tagaytay and got to see the beautiful view of the whole city. There is also a cave called the “Lapos-lapos” cave wherein it boasts its wondrous rock formations. With famous places like these, tourists tend to go there often and to promote proper preservation for the eco-tourism it will educate the tourist to appreciate the nature’s beauty by observing and taking care of it by not leaving anything behind.