Benjamin Alves not blinded by titles

Benjamin Alves

As someone who finished college with honors, Benjamin Alves encounters this question from time to time: “Why waste your education by staying in show biz?”

And the answer is always a no-brainer. “Because I really wanted to act,” said the Kapuso talent, who graduated summa cum laude from the University of Guam with a degree in English literature.

He and his family moved to Guam when he was only 6 years old. But because there wasn’t much of a television or film industry there, he tried his luck auditioning for theater productions.

“I would try out for roles, but would end up being part of the crew or doing art for backdrops. But I wanted to do it,” Benjamin said in a pocket interview.

It was in his early teens when the now-28-year-old celebrity found out that his uncle Piolo Pascual was slowly making a name for himself in the Philippine entertainment industry. After graduating from high school, Benjamin was supposed to go straight to college. Instead, he went on a vacation in the Philippines, where he had a chance to talk with Piolo.

“I was inspired. I thought that if I were to do this, it would have to be now. So, I went back to Guam, saved up enough money, and tried my luck here,” he said.

He entered local show biz in 2008 and went by the screen name Vince Saldaña. And while he was able to land projects here and there, he failed to achieve the level of success he was aiming for.

“Things didn’t work out for me the first time, so I returned to school,” Benjamin said.

But his desire to act proved too strong; the what-ifs started gnawing at him. In 2012, after college, Benjamin decided to give it another shot.

“I kept asking myself, should I return to show biz or not? But I went ahead, because I didn’t want to have that lingering feeling of regret,” he said.

While his career remains his priority today, Benjamin is happy to still be involved in initiatives related to education, like the GMA Network Excellence Award (GNEA), for which he has been the ambassador for two years now.

The project, now on its 15th year, intends to recognize excellence among graduating students through “the demonstration of exemplary leadership, stellar academic performance, and proactive social responsibility.” And as the face of GNEA, Benjamin will tour around the country to search for worthy candidates.

What advice or values would he be imparting with the hopefuls?

The importance of hard work, he said: “There are people who think I am from a life of privilege, but I worked hard for it … I maintained a scholarship, because I didn’t want to burden my parents. I worked as an English tutor, I worked in warehouses—I did a lot of jobs.”

“I would like to tell them to not get blinded by titles, but instead focus on the work that goes behind them,” he added. “You need to have dedication and focus to reach your goals.”