Inspiring

Whiz Kid Wows Everyone after Graduating from College at 16 as Summa Cum Laude

With summa cum laude being the highest honor that anyone graduating from college could ever receive, everyone is surely impressed with anyone who receives that distinction. But one young lady topped everyone else when she graduated from college as summa cum laude at age 16!

In the Philippines where schools often refuse to accept you to a grade or year level if you don’t meet the age requirements, it is surprising that child prodigy Mikaela Irene Fudolig was allowed to enroll in college and finish her degree at such a young age.

Photo credit: Gineers Now

Allowed to enroll in BS Physics at the University of the Philippines – Diliman under an experimental program for gifted children called the Early College Placement Program (ECPP), Mikaela was actually just 11 years old when she started joining classes at the university. But it was only a year later that she was officially enrolled.

Enrolled at Quezon City Science High School but working on her college lessons at UP Diliman, Mikaela was a well-known but puzzling figure in campus. Many thought at first that she was a teacher’s daughter visiting the school, what with her girlish clothes and doll shoes, but it was soon clear to everyone that this small girl meant business.

Thankfully, her parents had an agreement with the university to keep the girl out of the media’s prying eyes to allow her to enjoy her college life like any other ordinary student. She isn’t an ordinary student, of course.

Photo credit: Gineers Now

Feeling intimidated on her first day of class, she failed in her first test. The young girl was shocked to receive a grade of 72 on her first test. But this challenged her to try harder – and by the time they got to the second test, she was acing the exams and getting the highest scores in class!

As an official BS Physics student at the UP National Institute of Physics, Mikaela graduated at the top of her class, completing the degree as summa cum laude. She also received the Best BS Physics Student award and the Dean’s Medallion for Excellence in Undergraduate Studies at the UP College of Science.

At just 16 years old, the age that kids graduate from junior high school, this was certainly a huge achievement in the academic community.

Photo credit: Gineers Now

But her education didn’t stop there. Mikaela would soon complete her master’s degree and Ph.D. shortly afterwards as she became a Fulbright scholar in Economics at the University of California-Irvine.

The young woman would also become a full-time faculty at the University of the Philippines Institute of Physics, a job that might be daunting considering she’s teaching students older than herself but Mikaela readily faced those challenges with ease.

“Many people think that a child, even if equipped with the mental abilities, is not emotionally prepared to enter college. I am glad to have proven them wrong,” Mikaela said.

Inspiring

Former Street Sweeper Sends Five Kids to College, Finds Fortune by Selling Tableya

A former street sweeper finds good fortune and sends her five kids to college by selling tableya – and she has become an inspiration to many.

Today, all her five kids have finished their studies, and their home is now a favorite tourist destination. Wow!

Former Street Sweeper Finds Good Fortune in Tableya

People are born with different challenges and fortunes in life. It is said that even if you’re born poor, you can turn your life around and change your destiny.

That’s what Elsa Polot, a mother of five in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, managed to achieve as she found good fortune through hard work.

Back in 1994, Polot worked as a street sweeper. It’s a blue-collar job with low pay. Her husband didn’t earn much as a tricycle driver.

former street sweeper — Photo credit: CDN Digital

With five kids to support, Polot decided to find other ways to earn extra income. That’s when she started roasting cocoa beans to make tableya. It’s a tablet-like traditional Filipino food product (“tableya” means “tablet”) made of ground cocoa beans.

To make ends meet, she spent time preparing these products and selling them to her neighbors. She also sold her products on the streets of their city.

Thanks to her determination and hard work, Polot was able to send all her five children to college.

Kids Upgrade the Family Business

All her hard work didn’t go to waste. Not only are her children professionals, they’re also helping upgrade the business.

Dalareich, a Computer Engineering graduate, also studied in Belgium where she learned the latest technology in tableya processing. She also bought machines to improve their production.

Amazingly, the family’s tableya products are now being exported to Japan, Australia, and Sweden.

From simply making tableya, the family business has upgraded into a chocolate factory!

Chocolate “Shoes”; Photo credit: CDN Digital

Today, not only are they producing chocolate, their home has also become a tourist spot known as the “Chocolate House.”

Uses of Tableya

“Tsokolate” (syrupy chocolate to match with puto maya)
Hot or cold cocoa beverage
Chocolate shake
Chocolate cookies
Chocolate products

Inspiring

“Mango Flute” Girl Who was Cyber-Bullied at 14, Now a Licensed Engineer

Do you remember the “mango flute” girl who was cyber-bullied back when she was just 14 years old? She’s a licensed engineer now – and looks back to the experience with an advice for others who are experiencing a similar situation…

Cyber-Bullied “Mango Flute” Girl Becomes a Licensed Engineer

People make mistakes. Whether big or small, it’s often how we handle the situation and our attitude that can help us overcome the challenges that this mistake brought to our lives.

Pauline Claire Arucan was only 14 years old when she was subjected to intense cyber-bullying, not just by her classmates but she feels like it was the “entire Philippines” that trolled her at the time.

It all started with an innocent post about a delicious dessert, which she called as “mango flute.”

The young girl soon posted a follow-up, telling off someone for correcting her that the spelling should have been “mango float.” Instead of accepting her fault or realizing her mistake, she laughed off the correction for being a mistake – after all, is the mango really floating in a mango float?

She added “magic???” to her post, before ending it with “aral poh kasi muna” (that’s why you really should study first).

Of course, she’s the one who made the mistake – and the “mango float” correction was, indeed, correct.

Due to her attitude at the time, and the fact that many people are actually unsure about the dessert’s correct spelling, the post went viral.

Arucan now recalls that she experienced so much cyber-bullying at the time. Still, even if she regrets the tweet now, she was able to rise up and overcome the challenges that followed.

Proving that the spelling mistake was a one-off, she went on to get 1st place in a spelling bee contest at her alma mater, Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

She didn’t let that one situation get her down – and she recently shared about becoming a registered mechanical engineer.

What’s a Spelling Bee?

This is a competition wherein contestants are asked to spell a selection of words, ranging in difficulty. The contestants should provide the spellings of the words as written in dictionaries.

Inspiring

Top 1 in Physician Licensure Exam Battled a Heart Problem since 4 Years Old

A patient who had battled a heart problem since she was 4 years old wowed everyone after she ranked as #1 in the March 2023 Physician Licensure Exam – and netizens are happily celebrating her success.

Patient Who Battled a Heart Problem, #1 in Doctors’ Licensure Exam

Being sick is something that’s challenging, especially when you need to study, work, or accomplish your goals.

Yet there are people who still manage to excel despite their difficult situation – and they’re the truly amazing ones!

One of them is Aira Cassandra Castro, a graduate of Mariano Marcos State University – Batac who topped the March 2023 PLE (Physician Licensure Exam) with a rating of 89%.

Photo credit: Aira Castro / The Summit Express

What’s impressive about Castro’s success is that this came after she spent most of her life as a patient, battling rheumatic heart disease.

According to The Summit Express, Castro was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed with the condition.

Castro’s doctor since she was 4 years old, Dr. Patria Calupig-Demetillo, proudly shared her achievement.

According to Calupig-Demetillo’s Facebook post, she gave Castro’s monthly injection for her rheumatic fever starting when the young girl was still 9 years old until she was cleared at 19 by Dr. Pia Malanyaon, Castro’s Pediatric Cardiologist and Calupig-Demetillo’s consultant at East Avenue Medical Center.

She added that she honestly didn’t think that Castro would go this far, being a shy and modest girl. Still, she wasn’t also surprised that the brave girl was able to achieve this feat.

A consistent academic achiever her entire life, Castro became a government scholar. She graduated summa cum laude but hadn’t expected to rank as #1.

“If you want to be a doctor, you can do so, as long as you have the passion for it. Nothing is impossible if you always believe in yourself,” she shared.

What’s Rheumatic Heart Disease?

This heart disease is due to damage to the heart valves caused by rheumatic fever, an autoimmune inflammatory reaction to a throat infection from group A streptococci, such as streptococcal pharyngitis or strep throat.

The condition usually happens during childhood and can be life-threatening or lead to life-long disability.