Cebuana lands 2nd place in chem engineers’ board

CEBU, Philippines -  A daughter of a school bus driver from a mountain barangay in Cebu City was among the top 10 passers in this year’s licensure examination for chemical engineers.

Leslie Adolfo, 22, of Sitio Agpasan, Barangay Binaliw, garnered an average score of 81.50. She ranked second among the 242 passers out of the 438 graduates nationwide who took the board exams given by the Professional Regulation Commission from April 14 to 16.

Adolfo, who graduated Cum Laude at the University of San Carlos in 2013, admitted a lot was expected of her when she took the board exam.

“Naa man gyod ang pressure na ma-feel kay murag everyone  is expecting something from me. Lisod, pero I got lucky and blessed sa akong parents and relatives. Supportive ra man kaayo sila nako,” Adolfo said.

Adolfo said she first heard the news from her friends on her Facebook account, but she was hesitant to believe it.

“I first heard about it from an FB message of my friend, pero abi man nako gikabuangan ra ko. But a few minutes after kay daghan na nag-message and nag-text, nanawag and wa na ko time maka-feel og anything.. Nalipay ra,” she told The FREEMAN.

“I didn’t expect to be in the top ten, naa gani koy doubts na maka-pasar, pero gi-set ra nako ako mind na  pasar lage to,” she added.

For Adolfo, the exam was not merely a measure of someone’s intelligence, but more  of measuring one’s character.

“By character, akong gi-mean kay dili lang intellectually and physically, dapat spiritually and emotionally ready pod ka,” she said.

She said that she wanted to have a quick break with her family and friends after hearing the good news.

“Kay murag na-busy ra kaayo ko whole college life then board exam dayon. But of course, I’m thinking of pursuing my career as a Chemical Engineer, a few months from now most likely,” she added.

This year’s top spot was shared by Justinn Donn Sales Mulingtapang and Von Joby Manaloto Romero of the De la Salle University-Manila and Mapua Institute of Technology-Manila, respectively, with 81.80 percent.

Other topnotchers are Rick Allan Rabara Chua from University of the Philippines Los Baños, 81.30; John Philip Domondon Garcia and Charmaine Santos Pinlac from Mapua Institute of Technology along with Kevin Ignatius Polayapoy Tan Kim Kiat from De La Salle University-Manila with 80.50. (FREEMAN)