Topnotcher owes success to late pa

CEBU, Philippines — Topping the recent board examination for electronic engineers was a bittersweet victory for 23-year-old Judd Maverick Rufin Tan, the lone Cebu topnotcher.

Tan, a graduate from the University of Cebu-Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue (UCLM), wished he could share his success with his father, who succumbed to acute leukemia in March 2014.

He said his father was instrumental in achieving his dreams.

“My father was the one who suggested to me to take the course. It would have been better if he was still alive,” he told The FREEMAN in a phone interview yesterday.

Tan landed third place with a rating of 91 percent, sharing the limelight with graduates from other prestigious schools like De La Salle University and Far Eastern University, among others.

Almost half of the examinees passed the board exam. The Philippine Regulations Commission noted that 1,208 of the 2,663 examinees passed the licensure exam for electronic engineers.

The results were released on April 12, a week after the two-day exam on April 4 and 5 in different cities across the country.

Tan was still in disbelief after placing third as he found the exam difficult. Although, he said he aimed at clinching the top spot.

He said he dedicated most of his time reviewing and preparing for the exam. He added that his hard work and dedication finally paid off.

Tan has been an achiever.

He graduated magna cum laude from UCLM with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering. He was also the class valedictorian in high school and elementary at the Mandaue Christian School.

He is the second of three siblings. His mother doesn’t have stable income from their small business and he got through college by being a scholar.

He is planning to apply for work here and to broaden his experience and knowledge before venturing into a different path abroad.

Moreover, Tan urged board examinees to strive harder and to fire-up their desires to be on top.

“Don’t be intimidated. Just do what you can and God will do the rest,” he said. — Adonis Matthew P. Ardiente, CNU Comm Intern/KBQ (FREEMAN)