A 39-year-old mother from Santa Rosa City in Laguna province abides by the saying “age is just a number” as she graduated from senior high school last week with flying colors.
Ranking fourth among the entire graduating batch of Labas Senior High School, Precious Manguerra, fondly called by many as “Mommy Precious,” proudly received her diploma under the Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) track, awarded with high honors.
The mother of four children and a wife of an IT manager was also feted with the Pandayan Resiliency Award, and a recognition for being a member of the campus journalism organization which was commended as the school’s best-performing organization this academic year.
“Marami akong pagkakamali noong kabataan ko pero mula doon ay ako ay natuto at nagsumikap na ayusin ang aking buhay kasama ang aking pamilya na itinatag,” she told INQUIRER.net.
(I made so many mistakes in my youth, but from that I learned and persevered to fix my life, with the family I was raising.)
A self-confessed delinquent student — having finished her fourth year in junior high school after two attempts and for always skipping and cutting her classes during those years — Manguerra overcame her mistakes, took a leap of faith, and eventually turned into a role model for her younger classmates.
“Ayoko magpakita ng katamaran. Nais ko magpakita na maayos ako na ehemplo sa kanila. Kaya ang medal ko para sa kanila,” she added.
(I do not want to show laziness. I want to show them that I can be a proper example for them. My medal is for them.)
Manguerra also shared that having what she describes as a loving family was already a huge feat in itself, and weighs more than the medals she received from studying.
“Minsan naisip ko na nais kong magsisi bakit hindi pa ako nag-aral noon siguro isa na ako sa pinakamagaling sa profession na napili ko. Pero naisip ko baka hindi rin sapagkat hindi man pag-aaral ang napili ko noon, walang papantay sa natanggap ko na biyaya ngayon na isang masayang pamilya,” she added.
(Sometimes I think I want to regret, why did I just not study early on, perhaps I would already be one of the best professionals now in the field I have chosen. But I realize that maybe it really is not how it should be, because although I did not choose studies then, nothing can equal the blessing I have now, which is a happy family.)
With mind and heart all set, Manguerra is poised to enter Far Eastern University to take up Multimedia Arts with specialization in mobile technologies. JB
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