For Stephanie Grace Esponilla studying and working at the same time to help her family was a balancing act that eventually paid off as she passed the recent board examinations with flying colors.
A daughter of a widow with nine children from Sipalay City, Negros Occidental, Stephanie ranked 8th in the recent Psychometrician Board Examinations.
“Balancing work during weekdays left me with limited study time, but my flexible working hours allowed me to study in the afternoons after a brief nap, often stretching my study sessions until midnight with coffee in hand”, she told DIGICAST NEGROS.
She is the daughter of Cerila Siaga, a homemaker and widow. Her mother would sell “ibus” around their village or help in an eatery in Sitio Lapuz, Brgy. 3 in Sipalay to raise her nine children.
When her mother stopped working Stephanie stepped up taking on online jobs to provide for herself and her sibling who is still in college. Aside from working, she is also an academic scholar and Sipalay City scholar courtesy of Mayor Gina Lizares.
She graduated Magna Cum Laude from STI West Negros University in Bacolod on July 2023 and took the board examinations on Aug. 11 and 12 this year.
“Preparing for the exam was challenging due to my work commitments, so I opted for self-review and also enrolled in a review center to help me prepare”, Stephanie said.
After taking the exams, Stephanie said she felt like she had a 50/50 chance of passing and waiting for almost a week for the results felt like an “excruciating eternity” for her.
“The tension was overwhelming, and I felt incredibly restless”, she said, adding “I prayed that a 75.1 percent would be enough for me, and truly, He came through.”
When the results came out, she was asleep while the inbox of her phone was filled with congratulatory messages and missed calls from her mother. Stephanie said that when she saw that she was the 8th placer she cried with joy.
“Mom had called me multiple times while waiting for the results… As soon as I saw the results, I called her back. We ended up having a tearful conversation, and she and the family struggled to express their joy”, she said.
With her journey towards taking and passing the psychometrician board exams, Stephanie advised future board exam takers to review as early as possible and to always be kind to themselves.
“If you feel overwhelmed during your review, it’s okay to take breaks and continue later. You may not learn everything, but what’s important is that you learn something”, she said.
As she awaits her official oath-taking, Stephanie said that she will continue with her current job until her sibling graduates from college. Until then, she plans to pursue her profession in psychology.
“Having overcome so many challenges to reach this point, I’m deeply grateful for my perseverance and high spirits that helped me prevail”, Stephanie said.*