Entrepreneurship, Opportunity and Belonging: Althea’s Journey from the Philippines to ICMS 

Entrepreneurship student Althea Lardizabal moved from the Philippines to Australia at 18 expecting to earn a degree. What she found was something bigger: a community that made a new country feel like home. 

For Althea, her experience has been shaped as much by the people she met and the opportunities she took as by the subjects on her timetable. 

Leaving home to build a future

Moving overseas at 18 meant leaving behind family, friends, and everything familiar. Althea described it as one of the biggest decisions she has ever made. 

She did not arrive without direction.  

Back in the Philippines she founded a small passion business called From The Dough and co-founded several startups during her earlier studies. Those experiences gave her an entrepreneurial mindset early, and by the time she chose a degree, business was the obvious path. 

“I didn’t simply want to learn how to run a business. I wanted to learn how to create one,” she said. 

Why she chose entrepreneurship

Althea chose the Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship and Innovation) because she wanted business to mean more than profit alone. 

She points to one subject in particular, Venture Ideation and Validation, as a turning point in how she thinks. Before it, she says, she viewed ideas simply: come up with something, check if it is profitable, then build around it. 

The subject pushed her thinking further.  

Althea says it encouraged her to observe the world, identify problems and consider what could be created to solve them, rather than starting with the question of how to make money. 

Althea also recalls a comment from her lecturer, Arda, that has stayed with her: “If you want to get rich, copy others; but if you want fulfillment, create change.” 

Finding a family, not just classmates

Studying abroad brought moments of doubt. Althea says there were times she missed home and questioned whether she truly belonged. 

The people she met changed that.  

Coming from the Philippines, she expected an education and new faces. What she did not expect was to find a family. 

“The friends I have gained here come from different parts of the world. They became the people I celebrate with, the people I turn to when I miss home, and the people who have made Australia feel a little more like home,” she said. 

That mix of perspectives, she added, is one of the things she values most about ICMS. For Althea, the degree itself has been only part of the experience. 

Growth beyond the comfort zone

During her time at ICMS, Althea also began taking chances she might previously have avoided.  

One was the Disney International Programme.  

She hesitated, unsure if she was good enough to apply. She applied anyway and was selected. 

The experience reinforced a belief she now holds firmly: the biggest opportunities often begin when we stop deciding our own limits. 

She has also earned Dean’s List recognition for two consecutive terms, another milestone in her ICMS experience. 

“I would not be standing here today if I had stayed in my comfort zone,” she said. 

Her advice to future students

Althea’s message to prospective students is direct. You do not need everything figured out before you start. 

Whatever reason brought you through the door, she says, do not be afraid to pursue it. And when an opportunity makes you think you are not ready, that might be exactly the reason to say yes. 

For Althea, education has been about more than textbooks and assessments. Her experience has also been shaped by the way she thinks, the opportunities she has taken, the people she has met and the person she has become along the way. 

“I found opportunities that challenged me. I found friends who became family,” she said. 

Disclaimer: The views and experiences expressed in this article are those of the student and reflect their individual experience at ICMS. Results and experiences may vary.