Louise Tan Theunis: Certified beauty and brains

PHARMACY BOARD TOPNOTCHER

DR. Philip Anthony Larrazabal has marked the “happiest” moment of his incumbency as president of Cebu Doctor’s University (CDU) after a graduate placed first in the August 2018 Pharmacists Licensure Examination.

Louise Tan Theunis topped the examination held last week with a rating of 91.55 percent, besting over 4,000 examinees nationwide.

“I am so proud and happy that our graduate was able to get the number 1 spot nationwide and even topped the other schools from NCR (National Capital Region),” Larrazabal told Cebu Daily News.

Theunis’ achievement has been since the biggest milestone of the university since Larrazabal was installed as president on October 2017.

Surprise

Theunis, 19, said it still came as a surprise that she topped the board despite the hard work that she did while reviewing.

“A lot of the things that I studied did not really came out in the test. I was losing hope in the middle of the exam,” 19-year-old Theunis told CDN in an interview.

Theunis said she did not want to check the results of the exam when it came out on Wednesday evening out of anxiety that she may have failed the expectations of her professors.

“I really did not look at it. It was my best friend who browsed the PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) website after we came out from the gym. We were on the street when she shouted and told me that I was the top 1 and then we just cried in front of the passers-by,” Theunis said.

“My parents then called me immediately after I messaged them about the results. They were so happy and proud,” Theunis added.

But the news did not come as a surprise for Theunis’ professors.

“The dean of the College of Pharmacy said they were really expecting that she will be part of the Top 5 at least. She was a really good student here,” Larrazabal said.

Magna Cum Laude

Theunis was consistently part of the dean’s list during her college years and graduated as Magna Cum Laude last April.

Apart from her academic achievements, Theunis also excels in beauty pageants and modeling.

Theunis won first runner up during the Miss Mandaue 2016 and has actively participated in school sporting events like track and field.

“Despite having to dedicate most of my time in studying, I also make sure that I spend enough time to rest and spend time with my mom,” she added.

Theunis’ mother, a Filipina, was a former researcher while her father, a Belgian, is a Ph.D holder (Doctor of Philosophy) in Entomology.

She was raised in Zamboanga City, her mother’s hometown, and only moved to Cebu with her two older brothers when she started schooling in CDU in Mandaue City.

“I initially wanted to take up veterinary medicine but since my brothers were already in Cebu so I had to choose another program. I wanted it to be inclined to medicine and I thought Pharmacy was a logical choice since I could pursue many other fields. But I learned to love the program as I go on studying about it everyday,” Theunis said.

Plans

After four years of mind-grinding, Theunis said she will take a break for a while before she would try her luck in Manila.

CDU offered Theunis a scholarship if she will choose to proceed to study medicine. But she said that she prefers to have a masters degree or Ph. D. like her father.

“This is perhaps the happiest that I felt since then. Hopefully, the spate of topping the boards will continue,” Larrazabal said.

Aside from Theunis, Larrazabal also took pride in two other students who also topped in the July 2018 licensure examinations for Optometry and Radiologic Technology.

CDU graduates Sayuri Sally Osada placed 9th for Optometry while Sienna Lee Osorno placed 8th for the Radtech licensure exam.

Larrazabal said the board topnotchers will be given reimbursement of their tuition as a reward for the pride they brought the school.