A Disney princess story

Young girls have always looked up to Disney princesses. As kids, we often had to choose our favorite—some wanted to be the fairest of them all, like Snow White; others dreamed of discovering a whole new world like Jasmine, and some wished for ice powers and magnificent hair like Elsa.

I don’t have a “bias” among the princesses, though I think I’d like to be like Aurora for the chance to enjoy all the sleep I want. As a child, I didn’t have an immediate answer when asked about my favorite, but like other kids who emulated their Disney idols, I copied everything my own “Disney princess”—my sister—did.

Just as kids mimicked Elsa’s hairstyle, pretended to have mermaid tails like Ariel, and wished for long hair like Rapunzel’s, as a kid, I mirrored nearly everything my sister did—from practicing my penmanship in an attempt to have the same as hers to encouraging my mom to buy us matching outfits. Even my writing style was influenced by her when I randomly found a feature article she wrote back in high school. I was also constantly amazed whenever she returned with at least 10 medals from a recognition ceremony.

As I grew up, she continued to be my role model; I wanted to be an achiever like her. When people compared us, or my teachers, who also had her as a student, would call me by her name, it was instead an honor rather than an insult—because being even mentioned in the same sentence as her means that I am following in her footsteps.

Being the Disney princess she is, of course, she had to face and overcome some challenges—she persevered in the male-dominated fields of computer engineering, information technology, and now cyber security, and continuously has insecure naysayers eating their own words.

In 2022, as a cyber security student representative, she was featured in “Women in Security” magazine, a global publication dedicated to exploring women’s journeys in security. In 2023, she obtained her master’s degree in cybersecurity with a GPA of 3.9, only 0.1 away from a perfect average, from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. And now, she is a finalist at the 2024 Australian Women in Security Awards, Australia’s most prominent security award for women in the field, as a “Best Security Student.”

Like a Disney princess, she has the ability to manifest her dreams into actualization through her hard work and perseverance. One difference, though, is that she does not sing about her dreams because, unfortunately, the only quality that she does not have but a Disney princess does is a great singing voice.

But kidding aside, in her interview with the “Women in Security” magazine, she talked about wanting to be a penetration tester; months after, she got accepted as an intern in a penetration testing team where skilled professionals assess the security of computer systems by simulating cyber attacks to identify and test vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses. She now works at a company as the only woman penetration tester in her team.

My Ate also embodies substance and has a goal that exceeds much more than her self-interests, just like princesses such as Mulan and Moana.

Again, in her interview, she shared what piqued her interest in security, and just like how Mulan had “a girl worth fighting for,” her answer would prove that she, too, had girls worth fighting for: “I think that there are very few women in security, and I want to be one of them. I want to be someone breaking the norm, and I want people to know women can also do jobs in security and excel in them.”

I am sharing these because I am delighted to know that her greatness would be further recognized and that now, she would be able to inspire more young girls and take note, internationally, aside from me—truly the quality of a real-life princess.

I am sharing her story not to brag (well, maybe a little) about her series of accomplishments but to share a story of a relentless pursuit of a dream against all odds—a recurring concept in Disney movies, further cementing my Ate’s sister-proclaimed princess status. This story is also about breaking barriers and showing what’s possible for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is a privilege to have her as my role model, and I am very glad she’s paving the way for her to be a role model to other young girls as well. Her story is a testament to the notion that with perseverance and the right mindset, we, too, can achieve our dreams just like the Disney princesses we once admired.

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Portia Beatriz Palomo, 21, is a chemical engineering student at Saint Louis University, Baguio City.