After officially becoming a Binibining Pilipinas pageant contestant last April, Herlene “Hipon Girl” Budol continues to pursue her beauty pageant dreams as she attends to her duties as one of the 40 finalists that will vie for the crown on the pageant night happening on July 31.

READ: Herlene Budol on becoming a beauty pageant contestant: ‘Masaya na may halong kabado ang Hipon Girl nyo!’

During one of the official activities for the pageant last June 13, Herlene got the chance to meet Miss Universe 2015 title holder Pia Wurtzbach who is one of her idols.

“Activities for today with Miss Universe 2015 - PIA WURTZBACH. isang malaking karangalan po para kay Hipon Girl niyo makasama si Ate Pia. [Nakakamotivate] at [inspire] ang journey niya sa beauty pageant at hanggang ngayon kahit naging successful na siya ay nananatili pa rin ang kanyang kababaang loob. Isa kang tunay na huwaran, Ate Pia,” she wrote.

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A post shared by Herlene Nicole Budol (@herlene_budol)

READ: ‘Hipon Girl’ Herlene Budol on life after showbiz: ‘Back to zero kami’

In another post, the 22-year-old vlogger thanked Pia for giving her added inspiration to do her best in her pageant journey.

“Ate Pia, Thank you sa mga words of wisdom mo para sa pangkalahatan ng batch namin sa Binibining Pilipinas 2022. Sobra po ako na-inspire dun sa never give up on your dream! Masarap sa pakiramdam kung araw araw may natutunan tayo sa lahat na bagay kapag may ipinaglalaban ay matutupad. Salamat po ng sobra. Saludo po ako sa husay at galing mo Miss Universe 2015 - Pia Wurtzbach.”

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A post shared by Herlene Nicole Budol (@herlene_budol)

READ: Herlene Budol reveals she will be joining Binibining Pilipinas

Since joining the pageant last April, Herlene’s fanbase online has grown from 300k to 461k on Instagram and from 3.9M to 4.5M on her official Facebook page.