“You can reach your dreams if you put your mind to it.”
Engr. Joshua Mangila, an SM scholar alumnus, proved this to be true as he ranked 4th at the recent Civil Engineer licensure examination.
Engr. Joshua is a son to a hardware store worker and a housewife from Caloocan City. He was able to finish his degree in Civil Engineering from the FEU Institute of Technology through the SM Scholarship program. Even though he is an only child, Engr. Joshua and his parents experienced hardships as they make ends meet.
A good training ground
According to Engr. Joshua, he learned from the SM Scholarship Program to not just aim for the minimum but to always go for something greater. He was able to carry this principle when he took the board exams.
“As an SM Foundation (SMFI) scholar during my college days, keeping a grade of more than 80% can be very challenging. This is where I learned to be persistent and focused, especially when studying for exams. During the review, my main objective was to score higher than 85% in all subjects. This was of course not easy, but because of my experience as an SM scholar, I was able to achieve it,” he said.
“As an SM Scholar, we don’t only receive scholarship grants and allowances, we are also given the opportunity to join their various enrichment activities for character building. This is where I learned grit. I still remember the message of Ms. Debbie Sy in one scholar event. She stressed the importance of grit – that it’s about creating a higher purpose with our roles and passion. That we need to propel forward despite the setbacks and failures. We need to have a deep motivation to change our current economic status to a better one,” Engr. Joshua added.
A message for his fellow SM scholars
A ‘kuya’ to his fellow SM scholars, Engr. Joshua gave some reminders for the current scholars, especially those who will take their board exams in the future: There will always be a lot of challenges, especially in our studies, but we should never give up. We should never stress ourselves with negativity because it will not make the situation better.”
“Rest is important. Studying and solving problems everyday can be tiring, so taking a break sometimes is helpful. Focus on your weaknesses and improve yourself. Making mistakes is fine, but making the same mistakes in the actual exam is not. Learn from these mistakes during the review, so that it can be avoided while taking the exam. Excessive pressure can be unhealthy. Always keep a good balance in life, and do not be distracted by stress. Studying is not easy, but that does not mean that it cannot be enjoyable,” he discussed.
“Most importantly, always rely everything, especially the things that we cannot control, to the One that controls all,” Engr. Joshua added.
Beyond grateful
During the kumustahan session of the SMFI officers with Joshua, he took the opportunity to express his gratitude for SM Foundation and the Sy family, “I am thankful for this opportunity to express my gratitude to SM and the Sy family for all the support that they have given us. To be able to study civil engineering without worrying about the expenses and tuition fees allowed us to focus more on our studies. Without SM, I probably would not have reached this point in my life.”
Aside from Joshua, other SM scholars from the recent batch also passed the said board exams. They are: Engr. Elgemae Aboilo, Engr. Fatima Belale, Engr. Jessie Mari Cerera, Engr. Miel Carlo Reganit, Engr. Froilan Tanque, and Engr. Kenneth Villanueva.
SMFI, through its Scholarship program, provides deserving and qualified students with access to college education and technical-vocational studies since 1993. To date, SM has produced more than 8,000 college and tech-voc scholar-graduates.
