‘This is my championship’: Former UP star Kathy Bersola becomes doctor

MANILA, Philippines — Call her Dr. Kathy Bersola from now on as the former University of the Philippines middle blocker passed the physician licensure exam.

Bersola bared on her social media accounts that she is officially an M.D., which she considers her “championship and holy grail.”

“This is my championship. My holy grail. For years, all I’ve longed for has been winning it all in one of the big leagues at least once before I stopped playing. It became an obsession and it was mostly the reason why I pushed myself to play pro volleyball throughout medical school,” said Bersola.

“I felt like that was the one elusive thing I had yet to achieve before hanging it up. The individual awards didn’t matter, the podium finishes short of gold were never enough. But, this? This makes up for all of it. This is my championship,” she added.

Bersola last played for the Perlas Spikers in the Premier Volleyball League in 2019 before she decided to beg off from playing in last year’s bubble in Ilocos Norte to focus on her medical studies.

The middle blocker-turned-doctor credited her achievement to her “team” which supported her throughout her journey.

“I’m proud to share it with everyone who journeyed with me through this long, difficult road. This is our win, a true team effort. l’ve said this a thousand times, but it will always ring true. I wouldn’t have been able to get here without my team, my village,” Bersola said.

“This is my purpose. I’ll keep my promise. Q Finally #LicensedToHeal,” she added.

Bersola joined Shakey’s Super League president Ian Laurel, AJ Pareja, and Mika Esperanza among others as volleyball players turned doctors.

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