“Anyone can top the board! All you need is a massive amount of determination and 200% or even 300% effort. Put trust in your abilities, and success will follow!” - Michael Lyndon Chua
Michael Lyndon Chua is a civil engineering graduate from the Cebu Institute of Technology - University (CIT-U) in Cebu City, central Philippines. He ranked No. 8 in the April 2024 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination with a rating of 91.95%.
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| Michael Lyndon Chua, Top 8 in the April 2024 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination. Photo credit: Michael Lyndon Chua |
While we’ve already heard of many inspiring topnotchers who’ve always been achievers their whole lives, graduating with flying colors, Chua shared on his Facebook page that he isn’t someone like that. In the weeks leading to his graduation, he wasn’t even close enough to the top or a qualifier for cum laude to even bother to check if he made it.
He admitted, though, that while he acted tough on the outside, he also had doubts - and the actual reason why he didn’t bother to check if his grades were of “laude” quality is that he was afraid of failure.
Chua explained that he felt it would hurt if he didn’t achieve what he would have tried to reach, so he didn’t entertain the idea. However, he would later consider this as a “downfall.”
After he aced the board exams, placing 8th, he enthusiastically shared on Facebook that he used that particular “downfall” to fuel his drive towards striving better for the board exams.
He also told Cebu Daily News that he had actually dreamed of topping the board exams in his younger years, though that dream changed when he started college. In these more recent years, he realized how tough college life can be and how difficult it is to become an engineer.
But when he overcame his self-doubts, Chua was able to focus on his board exam reviews. After taking the exams, his self-doubts returned, making him mull over the questions that he might have gotten wrong. He felt that his scores might be too low for someone aiming to top the board exams.
Yet those self-doubts were baseless because he ended up in 8th place.
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| Topnotchers of the April 2024 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination. Photo credit: PRC |
Aside from Chua, there were also several graduates from Cebu who made it to the top 10:
- Jonash Aldrin Caldoza Juntong from Cebu Technological University - Main Campus - 5th with a rating of 92.95%
- Renz Greg Camargo Ducay from Cebu Technological University - Main Campus - 10th with a rating of 91.85%
- Lennon Gabrielle Narciso Francisco from Cebu Institute of Technology - University - 10th with a rating of 91.85%
