She’s making waves from the other side of the world in Taiwan, proudly wearing her Belize Defense Force badge. In fact, many of you may have already seen her interview on social media, catching attention not for speaking Belizean Creole, but for confidently speaking Mandarin. That’s twenty-six-year-old Reevie Ysaguirre. She’s been hard at work in Taiwan for the past four years, hitting the books military-style. On Wednesday, she officially received her undergraduate degree in Foreign Languages from the Republic of China Military Academy. And while she admits the journey hasn’t been easy, she says it’s been worth every struggle after the overwhelming support she has received from back home. We caught up with her earlier today to talk about her journey so far, and what’s next.
Reevie Ysaguirre, BDF Cadet
“During my four years in Taiwan, what kept me motivated was the fact that I know that I am exactly where my dad wanted to be. Because before he passed, he always wanted me to study in Taiwan. And he was the one who told me to go apply in the BDF because I might get an opportunity to study abroad, so that was something that motivated me and kept me pushing because, of course, many times I felt like giving up, and I said, Hey, I am honouring my dad; I cannot give up. This semester was like six months, and every summer and winter we had training. and I did special forces training, various weapon training, EMT 1 training, and I was also one of the training officers for the recruit training that they had. Don’t let fear hold you back, because sometimes it might seem impossible; you might say, Oh, I am just a young lady; their training is too rigorous for me, but if you push yourself, then you’ll be able to see your true abilities. And my advice to young women who want to join or are afraid to join is: assert yourself because the BDF has a lot of opportunities, and it is up to you to know how to take advantage of these opportunities. I hope that all the women in the force can find that and use that to push them towards their best abilities within the force.”
Reevie Ysaguirre is now entering the final leg of her studies as she prepares to take on her specialization course in the coming months. This means her stay in Taiwan will be extended by about a year more.