'Strive to learn and not just pass,' doctor-lawyer tells hopefuls

MANILA, Philippines— It took almost two decades for physician Jean Joan Polido, one of the country's newest lawyers, to earn her two titles.

Wearing many hats, the 33-year-old Polido was one of the 1,800 who passed the 2018 Bar examinations.

READ: FULL LIST: 2018 bar exam passers

Polido, also a mother, was seven months pregnant when she took the Bar exams last November. She considers her success a “blessing.”

"Sobrang ecstatic, sobrang happy and overwhelmed sa blessing na binigay ni Lord. I have been praying hard for this," Polido told Philstar.com, when asked how she felt on learning she was among the Bar passers.

Polido was in the news after she posted a photo of herself wearing a stethoscope and sitting on a desk that had law books. Her photo made the rounds online and inspired lawyer and doctor hopefuls.

It also indicated her name with her titles "Atty." and "MD."

The physician-lawyer earned her Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 2010. She finished law school at the Arellano University School of Law in 2018.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for Polido as it took 10 ten years to finish Medicine and six years more to become a lawyer.

Polido tells those aspiring to be lawyers or doctors or both to trust God’s timing and to always persevere.

"Strive for learning instead of just mere passing. Never compare and always be grounded. Maraming maraming dasal (Too many prayers) and trust God in his timing," Polido tells dreamers.

She is reportedly planning to practice both her professions.

The Bar examination results was released by the Supreme Court last Friday. A total of 8,155 took the examinations but the passing rate for 2018 was only 22.07%, lower than the previous year’s 25.5%.

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