From the Sidelines is a feature series that seeks to profile talented individuals who work behind the scenes in contributing to the greater success of Ateneo Sports. In the fifth installment, we get to know Mrs. Sansan Borja, an educator who has left her mark on iconic Atenean student-athletes such as Dave Ildefonso, Kiefer, and Thirdy Ravena.

FOR THE past 32 years, Ateneo Senior High School faculty member Rosanna “Sansan” Borja, or Mrs. Borja as her students call her, has played an active role in shaping Ateneans to reach their full potential. Because of Borja’s role in her students’ formation, many of them have considered her as family, resulting in deeper and closer ties with those she mentored in the past. The bonds she fostered with her students is particularly evident in the development and growth of many celebrated Atenean student-athletes like Dave Ildefonso, Kiefer, and Thirdy Ravena.

More than a life’s work

After graduating from the Loyola Schools in 1988, Borja originally had her sights set on a career in medicine. In an effort to fund her future expenses in medical school, she opted to teach English at the Ateneo Grade School. However, as Borja began her teaching career, she grew to love educating and inspiring young minds as her way of giving back to the University that helped raise her. Ultimately, Borja decided to forgo her dreams of becoming a doctor to continue her career as an educator.

After a few years of teaching in the grade school level, Borja eventually made her way to the high school level, where she currently serves as the English subject area coordinator of the Ateneo Senior High School.

For Mrs. Borja, one of the highlights of being a teacher is imparting the values that help her students remain good people in their respective fields of work. “I always tell my students [that] I don’t care whether you remember your English lessons, but I hope you don’t forget the [values] you learned in my classroom,” she shared.

An unseen force

As a veteran in the field of education, Borja has become renowned for her no-nonsense approach to teaching. Often described as “tough love,” Borja takes every opportunity to tell her students the blunt truth over sugarcoating her feedback. Through this, Mrs. Borja puts a premium on supporting all of her students by forming strong and healthy relationships with them, including student-athletes.

While she understands the added obligations of training and games that student-athletes may have compared to their classmates, Borja makes it clear that they must still fulfill their commitments as students. “You have to remind [student-athletes that] you’re in the Ateneo, you’re a student-athlete, and student comes before athlete,” Borja shared.

With her students’ best interests in mind, Borja has fine-tuned her method of instruction in a way that her pupils are able to apply her teachings beyond the walls of the classroom. “We [teachers] are there as mentors, in a certain field and in life as well. What they see and what they get from our classrooms are not simply the theoreticals, it’s more the life lessons that they pick up along the way, those are the ones they remember more,” she stated.

One Atenean student-athlete that Borja inspired is Kiefer Ravena, whom she taught as a Grade 7 pupil. While Ravena was still a young kid at the time, Borja easily recognized Ravena’s passion for basketball and acknowledged the bright future ahead of him. “Alam mo, sisikat ka, palagay ko sisikat ka. At kapag lumaki ulo mo, ako ang unang-unang babatok sa iyo (You’re going to be famous, I think you’re going to be famous. And if it gets to your head, I’ll be the first to knock some sense into you),” Mrs. Borja recalled telling Ravena in his grade school graduation.

As a result of Borja’s continued positive effect on him, the now 27-year old basketball star can still recall the moments when the seasoned educator reminded him to stay true to himself. 

“She was one of those people in my life who would be the first one to tell me to keep myself grounded…Kapag talagang nakausap mo si Mrs. Borja, siya yung taong direct to the point  (When you talk to Mrs. Borja, she’s the kind of person to tell you things straight to the point)…You would really appreciate a person like that,” Ravena shared.

The meaning of mentorship

A major facet of Borja’s relationship with her students is that it comes with no strings attached. From five-minute pep talks consisting of life updates and girl problems to short text messages of support, Ravena holds these little things dear to him as they are testaments of Borja’s endless support. “I don’t think she knows how much I appreciate those little messages that I get from her every time I’m [feeling] down,” admitted Ravena.

While Borja has dedicated her career to teaching lessons to her students, she admitted that her students have taught her as well. Through the challenges her former student-athletes experienced such as Ildefonso’s transfer process, Thirdy being cut from the Men’s Basketball Team, and Kiefer’s suspension from professional basketball, Borja has learned how to pick herself up and keep going just like her former students.

As she watches her past pupils grow, Borja admitted that her students’ lowest points reveal the quality of their character to her, the quality which she has grown to be proud of. “I remember those moments when they were at their lowest, and yet nakikita mo pa rin yung spirit(I still see their spirit). Kasi kapag nanalo, expected na iyon, pero ‘pag natalo, doon ko nakikita yung character(Because when they win, good character is expected, but when they lose, that’s when I see their true character),” Mrs. Borja explained.

From formator to family 

Having spent more than three decades as an educator, Borja has positively impacted generations of Atenean student-athletes. To former students like Ravena, Borja serves as a reminder of the holistic formation that can come from having a mentor like her in your corner. “She is definitely a part of my family, she’s part of my life, and she will always [and] forever be a part of it,” Ravena shared.

Through the support she has rendered to her students in her 32 years of teaching, Borja has stayed true to her role in the formation of young men and women.  Her desire to be a compassionate and understanding mentor to the youth has fueled her continued commitment to helping Ateneans reach their full potential. 

Considering the many Ateneans she has met throughout her career, Borja has always been, and will continue to be, proud of them for all their achievements. “I feel really proud of them, and it gives me the inspiration to continue what I’m doing because who knows who’s going to be the next one that goes into my class?” she stated.