Instant noodles is already considered a luxury in their family. That's why they always make sure that they share it with one another when they have one.
Fortunately, she had good friends who share their meals with her.
With this kind of situation, netizens claim that they are amazed and puzzled as to how Iah was able to place second in the nationwide Licensure Exam for Teachers (LET).
Iah was able to place second beating other 81, 463 test takers. She had a score of 90 percent, few decimals away from the top passer from Davao City who got 90.20 percent.
Iah claims that she accepted their situation because nothing will happen if she would just complain about it.
She is the eldest daughter of a fisherman and a housewife in the small town of Looc. Her father's salary is just P20 to P50 a day from fishing. There is a good catch if he brings P100 to the family but it barely happens.
Iah also goes home without electric power and literally burns the midnight to study. The family had electricity last year with the help of a kindhearted family.
Knowing their condition, Iah conditioned herself that she needs to educate herself to have a decent job and help her family get out of poverty. So, Iah graduated in high school as the batch valedictorian.
She struggled to continue her education in college but because of her desire and determination, Iah was able to take Bachelor of Science in Education (BSED) with a major in Biological Science at Romblon State University. But she had to stay in a boarding house in Odiongan, away from her family.
Iah became a scholar of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and gets P15, 000 per semester which helped her big time. She was also fortunate because she never bought books for herself because her classmates would lend her.
She claims that her learning method helped her perform well even without books. She added that she developed her listening and comprehension skills.
After finishing college, Iah went to a review center named Carl Balita Review Center in Romblon. She was in the review center from 5pm to 8pm, and continue reading at home. Iah would sleep from 2am until 4am, and read again the whole day.
Iah said that she never dreamed of becoming top 2 nationwide; she was just praying to enter the top 10.
Iah was with her parents in a solemn church activity when her review center brought her the good news: she placed second in the LET.
She plans to continue her masters and doctoral degrees, as Romblon State University already offered her a scholarship. While studying, she will be teaching at her alma mater as a way of giving back.
After receiving her first paycheck, Iah plans to renovate their house and support her younger sibling's education.
Iah also shared that it was those lessons that she did not learn from the books that she would always remember. "I proved that poverty is never a hindrance to success," she said. "When you commit yourself to an ambitious goal and sacrifice, dreams would eventually come true.
As for her advice to other students facing the same struggle, she said: "Never give up just because you're poor. I still believe that life is fair. Just look at poverty as a challenge to improve oneself and get out of the bad situation."
Lastly, her viral speech shows her saying that one shouldn't be discouraged because he or she is studying in a state university and not in the big schools in Manila.
Source: ABS-CBN
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