UC scholar bags 10th place in teachers exam

CEBU, Philippines - University of Cebu working scholar Jan Frelyn Ocso Paalisbo landed on tenth place in the March 2012 Licensure Examination for Teachers out of 32,798 examinees nationwide. This feat made her fellow students and teachers at the UC College of Teacher Education extremely proud. Jan related that “On the day results were announced I got text messages from friends congratulating me for making it to top ten. Of course I didn’t believe them. I was certain they were just poking fun at me, and I told them off saying it was no joke. So I asked my brother to search the net for me. Later my brother called confirming it. I was speechless, then I started to cry – all our sacrifices paid off in the end.”

Jan, who belongs to a family in Siquijor whose major livelihood is farming, knew she couldn’t rely on her parents to shoulder all expenses for a college education. She is the youngest of seven siblings and she never experienced a comfortable life.

Her father finished only up to elementary and her mother only up to high school. But they instilled in their children the value of education and trained them to be responsible. Her father once said, “Don’t be like us. Life is hard if you do not finish a college education. You get lesser opportunities.”

He did several odd jobs to make ends meet – tailoring and later as an employee at the beach resort called Coco Grove. But when he got sick things started to be harder and Jan’s siblings started pitching in.

Jan took a Bachelor of Elementary Education at UC. “On my second year I applied as a working scholar. I didn’t want my parents to sacrifice their health for me. Things turned out really well. The teachers and staff at the UC Main Grade School Department where I worked treated me like family. They provided a home away from home,” Jan said.

Several scholarship opportunities are offered for all courses at UC. The UC administration believes education is a right and not a privilege and that poverty or financial constraints should not be hindrances to a quality education.

“All I asked our Almighty Father was to let me pass the licensure exam, it never occurred to me to be a topnotcher. It was so overwhelming; I was able to bring the name of UC in the topnotchers list,” Jan added. UC College of Teacher Education had its first topnotcher in 2010 with its graduate taking sixth place.

When asked for advice Jan shared, “Take studies seriously and remain focused on your purpose for schooling. Just be positive in your outlook in life. Challenges are only tests from the Lord to see how consistent you are with your dreams.” (FREEMAN)