Jose V.

Jose is a 21-year-old student-athlete at Belmont Abbey College. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management with plans to graduate in 2026. When he isn’t studying, Jose balances the athletic expectations of the men’s basketball team. Originally born and raised in the Philippines, Jose moved to Los Angeles, California when he was 17. His hobbies include going on adventures, reading, and having meaningful conversations with his peers. 

Jose described his upbringing as being a completely different experience than what most people grow up with. The Philippines is still considered a third-world country in most of its areas with a few exceptions of more developed cities such as Makati, Das Maririnas, and Forbes. Sports was a major part of Jose’s life as he competed in baseball, soccer, track, etc., before choosing basketball as his primary focus. He was able to play high-level basketball which allowed him to play in a postgraduate program, located in Las Vegas. By earning the opportunity to play in a postgrad program, Jose started to receive scholarship offers from colleges, which was how he landed his position at Belmont Abbey College.

After coming to the United States, Jose described his basketball skills as exponentially improving. As a result, sports agencies from the Philippines have contacted Jose in hopes of him becoming a part of their professional basketball teams. If playing professional basketball doesn’t run its course for Jose, he would like to start coaching and training children. “I would love to get into coaching…I feel like I love being around kids and just teaching them how to play basketball [and] molding them to become better human beings,” Jose explained. Even though he has two possible plans for his future, Jose wants to one day earn his Master’s degree in a sporting program, located in Australia. Traveling and branching out to other cultures is an experience that Jose would like to do more of as he becomes older. 

When asked about his values, Jose explained the most important characteristic a person can have, kindness. To Jose, kindness means to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” Along with kindness, Jose expanded on the importance of having self-control. He stated, “You need a routine to be a successful person and you need to have some fun and take things seriously at the same time.” Along with kindness and self-control, Jose reiterates two more key attributes for success; having a sense of responsibility and working hard to achieve one’s goals. Having a combination of these traits has helped Jose learn how to make decisions that will positively impact his future and lead him down a road toward success. 

In Jose’s opinion, he considers mental health as a balancing force. He compares aspects regarding mental health to yin and yang, “If you have the good and bad working continuously together, I feel like you could have a good understanding that life is about ups and downs.” He believes that the meaning of life is about learning how to maintain an open mind with the hopes of navigating through different situations. Whether being difficult problems or joyful memories, balance seems to be the key to unlocking a greater sense of a person knowing the way their mind operates. In terms of dealing with mental health issues, Jose recalls the traumatic and emotional experience of losing his cousin to suicide. After seeing the pain his family went through and his uncle losing his only daughter, Jose’s perception of having a stable mentality broadened its scope. 

Although he agrees that the topic of mental health has expanded over the recent years, social media has presented new challenges to altering an individual’s mentality. Social media has offered friends and family a chance to stay in touch through posting content of pictures and videos; however, people only really see a surface-level insight into others’ lifestyles. Jose commented on social media by illustrating it as a form of expression that sometimes becomes skewed in the eyes of a person's audience. “People want to look too perfect and be too perfect and it destroys the beauty of authenticity,” Jose added regarding his views of social media. Far too many internet users believe they truly know a person by looking at a screen and viewing the content they post. Jose understands that a person's mental health may start to deteriorate when they compare themselves to the people they see on social media sites. 

Jose utilizes his religious beliefs as techniques to get him through difficult situations. He credits his faith in God as being his ultimate support system and claims that any problems life throws at you, shouldn’t be viewed as a negative thing. Jose also expresses his unique take of having to deal with internal and external issues by saying, “Problems are never bad. It means that you’re doing something with your life.” Going through difficult situations may be tough but they become necessary to learn new experiences. “Every problem that has come my way are challenges that I need to overcome to reach a certain level,” Jose adds. 

Maintaining his faith and having a positive mindset has helped shape him into becoming an empathetic, understanding person. Jose shares that he has had friends who have experienced mental health issues such as depression. Standing by their side and helping them feel valued and appreciated has helped Jose as well as his friends feel more connected to each other for a greater sense of community. More often than not, people try to fit into their environment so they feel accepted by their peers. While people try to fit in, they also try to form a balance trying to be unique in at least one aspect of the way they present themselves, so that they can stand out in a positive way. 

Jose believes that advocacy for mental health is important because as a society, “We need to identify what's wrong and attack it properly.” Awareness of mental health issues and learning how to intervene with healthy coping mechanisms can improve the overall discrepancies of techniques that are currently being used in mental health programs and resources. Jose also acknowledges the significance of surrounding oneself with a group of trusted friends and family. Seeking help from others can help a person get through uneasy conditions that they can eventually learn from. “Being around good people, never giving up, thanking the people that helped you throughout your life journey, and praying and believing in God” is the overall message Jose wants people to take away most from his life story. 

Through his optimistic attitudes, eagerness to experience all that life has to offer, and conscientious mindset, Jose has set himself on a path towards finding his passions in athletics and helping those around him. His story is a testament of what it means to work hard with hopes one day achieving his dreams. His opinions on mental health help paint a picture of how easy society can overlook deeper meanings when they are only given the surface-level sides of people. However, through the embodiment of displaying kindness and appreciation towards others, society can address issues for the overall impact of learning to live more cohesively.