MANILA, Philippines – The story of the journey to success of licensed professional teacher Wenn Ricaforte, who graduated as summa cum laude and ranked 9th in the March 2023 Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), has inspired netizens.
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| Photo courtesy: Facebook/Wenn Ricaforte / Central Philippine University |
In a post by DSWD Western Visayas on the agency's official Facebook page on May 23, 2023, Wenn mentioned the hardships he went through. Hailing from Barangay Kinalangay Viejo, Malinao, Aklan, Wenn comes from a family lacking in financial resources.
According to Wenn's story, she is the eldest of four siblings, children of a farmer and a midwife. Their small house is made of combined old and repurposed materials. From a young age, they were already aware of the reality that nothing would change in their lives if they were complacent and didn't strive for more.
Despite their poverty, this did not stop her parents from supporting their education. Wenn remembers how her mother always found ways to provide her with money when she needed to attend contests or workshops. She didn't hesitate to pawn her souvenir jewelry from her time working abroad. Alternatively, their father would sell their pigs or rice grains. Wenn's family was among the beneficiaries of the government's Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, or 4Ps.
After graduating from high school, Wenn pursued a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education majoring in Science at Central Philippine University (CPU) in Iloilo City. However, the cash grants from the 4Ps ended for her. To continue her studies, Wenn applied for a scholarship from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). Fortunately, she passed. With the help of his DOST scholarship, she successfully completed college and graduated summa cum laude.
She immediately started reviewing until she took the board exam and was fortunate to rank 9th with a rating of 91.20%. Because of this, she became a review lecturer at the review center where she had done her review.
Congratulations, Teacher Wenn!
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express
