Double joy! Nagbunga ang lahat ng paghihirap at pagsusumikap ni Celine Angelica Garcia dahil hindi lang siya isang beses nakapasok sa listahan ng topnotchers kundi sa dalawang licensure examinations.
Si Celine ay nagtapos sa Davao Medical School Foundation at pumangatlo sa Physician Licensure Exam na may rating na 88.42% nitong March 2022.
Halos 7 taon na ang nakalipas, naging bahagi rin siya sa top 10 pagkatapos ng 91.75% na rating (6th place) noong July 2015 sa Pharmacist Licensure Exam.
“I studied and read with all my heart. I always say, ‘Love what you do and the rest will be easy’. I guess in a way, it reflected to how I studied for the board exams,” aniya.
Si Celine ay hindi nagmula sa isang mayamang pamilya, ngunit ang pangarap ng kaniyang mga magulang para sa kaniya ay maging isang doktor. Kaya naman, determinado siyang panatilihin ang buong academic scholarship na inalok sa kanya.
“I’m not really the top 1 but I’m on the honors list (since elementary). My principle was simple: I just did what any obedient child would do. I love to relax once in a while. In fact, when I was in high school, I had a little more than a few’ absences, even my friends know that,” aniya sa isang ABS CBN story.
Naalala rin ni Celine na dumaan siya sa mga pagsubok sa panahon ng pandemyang ito dahil hindi siya sanay na mag-review o mag-aral nang mag-isa.
“I love going to libraries because I like seeing people read and realize that somehow, we share the same academic struggles. It powers me to persevere more. But because of COVID-19, I had to adjust to having to study alone. That, I think, was the biggest hurdle,” pagbabahagi niya.
“After the first week of exams, I was already so down and lost all hope of being included in the Top 10 because the questions that came out were all unpredictable. And then second week of exams came and they were twice as difficult,” pag-amin niya.
Kaya naman laking gulat ni Celine nang malaman niya na nag top 3 pala siya sa board exam.
“The whole waiting ordeal was hell for me because I honestly thought I had failed that exam. Then results came and my parents called me saying I even placed top 3. I was in shock,” aniya. “All I can say is, I owe it all to the collective prayers of my family, friends, and relatives.”
Nagsikap, nagsipag, nagkamit! Isa kang inspirasyon, Celine!