'Magtiwala kayo': 'Eat Bulaga' scholar shares success secret after UP magna cum laude finish, topping board exams

MANILA, Philippines — Jaydee Lucero, a former "Eat Bulaga!" scholar, returned on the noontime variety show to look back and express his gratitude at the opportunities that "Eat Bulaga!" gave him.

Lucero appeared on the March 11 episode of "Eat Bulaga!" during its "Bawal Judgmental" segment, years after he was given a college scholarship as an EB Excellent Student Awardee or EBEST.

Back in high school, Lucero was a consistent honor student (particularly in Filipino and Mathematics), frequently joined inter-school competitions, and served as his school newspaper's editor-in-chief.

All his achievements then were seen as "Eat Bulaga!" replayed the video of Lucero receiving an EBEST trophy from host-comedian Vic Sotto, who still remembered him years later.

Lucero would go on to take up civil engineering at the University of the Philippines - Diliman, where he finished magna cum laude in 2018 with a 1.31 weighted average.

In the same year, he finished as the topnotcher of the Civil Engineer Licensure Examinations with a score of 97.20% — 0.7% ahead of the second-highest finisher.

Lucero recalled that he did not feel nervous until the board exam results were about to be released, "Nu'ng lumabas na 'yung results, sobrang saya ko po noon kasi hindi ko po talaga in-expect, as in, na magta-top po talaga ako sa board exam.”

He then went on to acknowledge the help "Eat Bulaga!" had provided because of the recognition the show bestowed on him.

"Talagang malaking-malaking pasasalamat ko sa 'Eat Bulaga!' kasi kung hindi dahil sa kanila... Malaki ang chance na hindi ako nakapagkolehiyo, much more high school," said Lucero, adding he promised to do his best and took everything seriously "para maipakita sa kanila na talagang sulit yung binibigay nila."

Today, Lucero works as a Senior Structural Engineer 1 for a structural design firm led by a leading local structural engineer, designing large houses and buildings.

He ended with a piece of advice for students like he once was, "Ang lagi ko sinasabi sa ibang tao, magtiwala kayo. Nandiyan na yung skills ninyo, nandiyan na yung knowledge ninyo. Praktisin niyo pa, magtiwala kayo sa sarili niyong kakayahan, and most importantly magtiwala din kayo sa mga sumusuporta sa inyo sa journey ninyo."

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