I Choose To Show Up: Vivian’s Courage To Go All In

At 53, Service Activation & Quality Management Engineer Vivian Gapido is proof that energy, passion, and purpose don’t have an expiration date. For almost a decade at Globe, she has gone beyond her role and even funding her own regional Globe Care Crew immersions. With a “heart of a child", Vivian continues to choose courage in simple, consistent ways: by showing up, trying again, and daring to do things differently, one person at a time.

Taken during the Globe Excellence Awards 2024

By August 2026, it will be my 10th year in Globe. At this stage of my life and career, some people might expect me to slow down, “mag-relax ka na lang.” But if you know me, you know that’s not my style. I like moving, serving, and showing up. I like saying “yes.”

And Globe has become a place where all of that energy and courage actually has somewhere meaningful to go.

One of my dreams is to sign up for a chorale group, help people, and spread the spirit of malasakit across Globe. It has been my vision and it keeps me energized in joining each and every activity conceptualized by the Globe Wonderful Service team.

Watched the Globe Voices on their fundraising concert for the Sumatra contest in 2018

Being a wife of a Ka-Globe for 27 years, I have noticed how passionate each and every Ka-Globe is in delivering exceptional service for their internal and external customers—so much that sometimes, they forget to take a break and enjoy the other perks of being a Ka-Globe.

Hence, when I onboarded as an ICONtributor pre-pandemic, I wrote and shared a lot in the hopes of reaching more Ka-Globe. I am glad that the fruits of HR are not in vain. We now have interest clubs that reach more Ka-Globe and make them engaged in after-office activities, and somehow prevent work burnouts.

Perks of being an ICONtributor

That’s really where my energy comes from: a mix of a long-time dream, malasakit, and this desire to remind others that work is not just about output—it’s also about joy, community, and shared experiences. For me, that’s already a form of courage: choosing a fuller, more human way to be at work.

Courage, for Me, Looks Like Trying Again (and Again)

People often think courage is this big, dramatic act. For me, it’s much simpler and more everyday.

I have the heart of a child. I am not ashamed to make mistakes, especially when I introduce a way that seems crazy to a person. I always try another approach when the first approach fails. Eventually, they break their barriers and I am able to reach them. I am hoping I can reach more people through my story.

In support for Globe Mandalorian and Grogu movie in May 2026, I dressed up as an Imperial Security Officer,

That “heart of a child” is really how I move through Globe—curious, willing to look silly, willing to be the first to try.

Minsan kakahiya, minsan parang “ang weird naman ni Vivian,” but if it helps even one person feel seen, heard, or encouraged, okay na ako doon. And that, I think, is courageous.

Ready to slay as a superwoman in Ayala with my fur baby

Saying “Yes” to Doing It Differently

I don’t just stay within my job description. I sing, I cheer, I show up—whether that’s with Globe Voices, the football club, or the G Network. For me, that’s also a form of courage: daring to do my Globe life differently, beyond my role as an engineer.

I have read in an article that you don’t get burned out if you involve yourself in varied activities, and I have proven that. If I need to rest from Voices and there is a tournament in the football club, I make it a point to be present and contribute by just being there.

TSD during our EG kick off meeting in January 2017

I was happy that my team, Mars, won the Championship at the Globe Titan Cup 2025. The lesson I learned during that tournament is that you don’t need to be the best; all you need to do is show up and do your best.

For Voices, I make sure I take care of my voice—eat the right nutrition, take medicines early so that my vocal cords will not be affected.

My son's graduation. His tuition was loaned from Globe since he was in grade one up to his graduation in School of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management major in Culinary Arts in 2019

I am always happy to be present at the milestones of Globe, especially the 50th Anniversary of Globe in PSE, the Atletang Ayala World Pole Vault Challenge in 2025, and the Globe Excellence Awards in 2024.

For the G Network, it has been an honor to speak to all the women of Globe and encourage them to make full their presence in Globe and enjoy the Alagang Globe/Ayala mantra to the fullest.

Halloweens at Globe. I'm always game to dress up whatever the theme is.

For me, bilang babae sa Globe, doing it differently means not shrinking myself into just one role. Engineer lang? Hindi. I can be an engineer, singer, teammate, cheerleader, ate, mentor, and friend—all at the same time. That’s my own “Courage To Go”: to bring my whole self to work.

Going Beyond My Usual Workspace

My courage also brought me beyond my usual workspace and into our stores, face-to-face with our customers and frontliners. Saying “yes” to that was another way of doing it differently.

Rise Against Hunger First Volunteerism (right after the burning at resorts world) in 2017

My journey with the Globe store began in 2018, providing back-end support for serviceability and provisioning. However, joining the Globe Care Crew program as a frontliner truly completed a fulfilling professional circle for me.

Did my Care Crew duty in Iloilo

As one of the earliest participants in the program, I had the opportunity to support Globe Store Cebu on February 28, 2025. It was a rewarding experience assisting regional customers with complaints, iPhone purchases, and upgrade requests. Following my duty that Friday, I supported a location transfer for Globe Store Alabang Town Center from Saturday night through Sunday morning. By 5:37 a.m., the temporary location was ready for a seamless opening. Seeing a store evolve from initial MPLS and internet provisioning to active customer service has given me a vital perspective on why our technical upgrades are so essential.

Later that year, I signed up for the program the second time during a trip to Iloilo on July 11, 2025. Working in different regions exposed me to various local dialects; however, the customers in both Cebu and Iloilo were incredibly accommodating, switching to English once I explained I did not speak the dialect.

People say why do I have so much energy? Well, I am eager to always be present

at the moment and take chances in life.

These experiences have made my travels significantly more meaningful. If given the chance to travel locally again, I would gladly volunteer for the program to continue supporting our stores and customers.

Yes, I paid for my own trips. Pero sulit. Because now, when I provision something at the back-end, I don’t just see a ticket or a system—nakikita ko ’yung mukha ng customers, ’yung pagod at dedication ng frontliners, and how everything connects.

That understanding gives deeper meaning to my work and strengthens my courage to keep going the extra mile.

First batch of Volunteers of PPCRV with the PPCRV Youth Ambassador Robi Domingo in 2019

Defining my own courage

Every woman needs to be the guiding light—in their home, in the office, in their personal circle. When everyone is in chaos, a woman should muster all her courage to choose the correct path, set a good example even if others take it against them, demoralize them, and backfight against them.

My first selfie with Ernest on his bday, I also wrote an article about his cakes in 2017.

As a woman also, we need to take courage to leave a situation or relationship if that escalates to physical violence and endangers our existence. That, for me, defines how a courageous woman is.

For me, courage also means staying—and leaving. It’s staying firm in your values even when people misunderstand you. And it’s leaving when your safety, dignity, or life is at risk.

Hindi selfish ang paglisan sa ganong sitwasyon; that is courage.

As an employee ambassador and culture champion, I don’t see influence as something tied only to job titles. It’s about what you do with what you already have.

I took part in Rise Against Hunger record-setting effort in 2018

I was glad that prior to me being employed at Globe, I was honored to achieve the Distinguished Toastmaster level in Toastmasters International, able to write and perform more than 50 public speaking speeches and manage more than 20 clubs as a Division L Governor. Leadership for me is not just the promotions in your job, but using your prior knowledge, skills, and power to change culture in Globe.

Our task is not yet finished; it is only the beginning. I try to change one person at a time—through meaningful friendships, lending my ears to their problems, and looking at their problems objectively.

I also make time for hospital visits and wake visits (this has been my personal ministry) and for setting an example on how to execute my work–life balance to its fullest potential.

Different faces over the years, but still the same passionate me

In a male-dominated industry, I don’t feel the need to “be like a man.” I just try to be fully myself—a woman who listens, encourages, prays, sings, shows up at wakes and hospital rooms, and uses every bit of experience (even from outside Globe) to build a kinder culture inside Globe. That is my way of quietly transforming culture.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Gusto ko rin, pero wala akong time / energy / lakas ng loob,” I understand. But I also believe this.

My unforgettable waking hours in 2019. world bike day before ofc hours in Ortigas then GEA in the evening

All of us women are princesses. Hence, I will leave them with this quote about courage from the Princess Diaries movie:

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.” 

Participated in this race sponsored by Globe in 2019

You don’t need to be the best. You don’t need a title. You just need to show up, do your best, and say “yes” one small step at a time. 

That is how I live my courage to go—and dare to do it differently—here in Globe. And if someone like me, 53 years old, chorale dreamer, engineer, wife, and a Ka-Globe can do it… ikaw din, kaya mo.

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Vivian’s journey challenges us to ask: Where in your own work and life can you dare to do it differently, and choose to show up more fully?  

If this story inspired you, let’s keep the conversation going. Follow Globe on LinkedIn for more stories of women at Globe who are living their courage every day.