Alma Concepcion: The actress-beauty queen turns interior designer

What’s an actress in her 30s to do when offers start slowing down in favor of younger ones in the business? Does she a) hang on tight, hoping a producer will have mercy on her b) stay at home and recall the good old days, c) sulk and d) look for another area to excel in?

Binibining Pilipinas-International 1994 and former Regal Baby Alma Concepcion chose the fourth option.

Instead of wasting her time sulking at home, she enrolled in an Interior Design course at UP (University of the Philippines) Diliman, passed the board exams and took her oath as a licensed interior designer last Tuesday, November 18. Needless to say, Alma couldn’t be any happier.

“When you’re in your 30s (she’s turning 39) mas bihira ang acting offers. May mga younger actors. I used my free time to learn,” she told Yahoo Philippines.

Blending with classmates

Luckily for Alma, her only child’s class schedule changed from half day to full day at the time she wanted to spread her wings. The hands-on mom brings and fetches her son from Ateneo de Manila every day, and passes by UP Diliman, where she tried her luck in applying, at first out of curiosity.

But she passed the qualifying exam, not because she is Alma Concepcion, says the dean, but because she had what it takes to study Interior Design.

“Naka-tsinelas lang ako, naka-cap at halos nakapantulog lang. Blend talaga ako,” she recalls her student days.

She'd park her car, take out a foldable bike from the trunk, and pedal her way from one building to the next.

One big happy family

Classmates, many years her junior, didn’t know she used to do 10 movies a year for Regal Films. Neither did they know she was a beauty queen. They called her by her first name and she loved it.

And since they were one big happy family, Alma’s classmates didn’t mind teaching her how to make a power point presentation and use AutoCad for class requirements.

Why, she even caught a younger schoolmate’s eye! It was in a PE class for bowling. The guy, in his early 20s, saw how down Alma felt over not scoring a spare, which entitles the person to a chocolate bar as his prize.

“I wanted to get that chocolate bar, even if it’s not that expensive,” Alma relates.
Imagine how shocked she was when this guy, more than a decade her junior, came up to her and said,

“Here, you can have my chocolate bar.”

Scared, not flattered

Others would have been tickled pink. Alma was scared.

She wanted to ask, “Hijo, alam mo ba kung anong edad na ako?”

Alma also asked herself if she was sending the wrong signal.

She never saw the guy again, not even during college graduation months back.

Go for it

Another memorable incident came when a professor asked her – and other students – to join a rally (this is UP, remember?). Alma politely said no. What would the people think if they saw her familiar face on TV?
To his credit, the professor didn’t force Alma to join the rally.

Alma’s campus experience inspired her a lot as a single mom who’d move heaven and earth to make sure her son has a bright future.

“It’s never too late to reinvent yourself. If you have the discipline, go for it.”

Energy and fresh ideas

Alma owes a lot to her classmates who inspired her with their energy and fresh ideas.

“Ang gagaling nila! Very synergistic ang energy! Hindi ako gagaling sa drawing kung hindi ko nakita ang techniques nila.”

Meanwhile, Alma urges single moms like her to reach for the stars, even if they lack the academic skills for it.

“People become more enterprising and intelligent when they know they can’t rely on anyone. So keep the faith. Don’t limit yourself to your comfort zone. You can be enterprising, even if it means selling Kropeck.

Okay lang as long as you are productive everyday.”

‘Tuition fee’

Alma is talking from experience. She sold fancy Christmas baskets to corporations while heavy with child. \

She tried the food business and went into construction, where she got fooled along the way. But Alma picked up the pieces.

“I learned to be more careful next time. It’s my tuition fee.”

The ‘tuition fee’ even opened doors for her. Alma rubbed elbows with architects who told her she has an eye for design. And she followed their suggestion to take formal lessons.

She also remained liquid by investing her showbiz earnings in properties – a townhouse and a condo unit which she rented out.

“From the very beginning, my mom told me showbiz is temporary. It’s meant to be a sideline. You have to keep on studying. I had no illusions showbiz is forever.”

More hills to climb

Alma will keep on looking for new things to do, more hills to climb.

“I want to give myself a gift for every decade in my life. In my 20s, my gift to myself was my son. Now that I’m turning 39, it’s my interior design degree. Mag-iisip pa ako ng gift sa sarili ko when I’m in my 40s.”
Expect her to inspire more women – especially actresses in their 30s and single moms – along the way.