A job that may take her abroad on writing assignments is keeping 20-year-old Jorisse Gumanay busy in Cebu.
She had a good start through a Cebu city scholarship program that has turned out several achievers.
Gumanay is part of a pioneer batch of 2,665 baccalaureate scholars, a harvest that includes 130 graduates with honors – five who finished magna cum laude, 105 cum laude and 20 who finished with honors and other distinctions.
“It was a very humbling moment for me. I felt like I have come full circle, ready to face any challenges,” said Gumanay who finished a degree in English Literature in Cebu Normal University (CNU), topping her class with magna cum laude honors.
Gumanay returned to Cebu last Saturday after undergoing training as a writer for a travel company in Singapore. Although she will be based in Cebu, Jorisse will be traveling to other countries on writing assignments.
“Being a scholar of the city certainly helped me achieve this milestone,” she said.
“I saw many students struggle with lack for funds for their education. This reaffirmed for me the fact that I must never falter when it comes to my studies.”
A city scholar receives P10,000 per semester for tuition and P1,000 as allowance for school supplies from the city government.
Four years ago, Jic Mandel Quebec, a fresh graduate of Pardo National High School in Cebu City, thought finishing college would remain a dream.
His father’s earnings as a taxi driver were just enough to get the family through the day.
“Bisan pa man sa kalisod sa among sitwasyon, dili nako ipakita sa uban nga lo-oy ko. Ug dili ko ganahan nga kaluy-an ko, mao nga naningkamot gyud ko sa akong pagtuon,” Quebec told CDN.
(Even with our difficult situation, I don’t show that I was hard up. I didn’t want others to pity me so I studied hard.)
Fast forward to 2014, Quebec has graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication at the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U). He now works as a project staff for public affairs in Smart Communication’s for Visayas-Mindanao.
For Quebec, the program saved him from having to work and study at the same time.
“All of my and my parents’ efforts paid off. If not for the scholarship program, I wouldn’t be in my job today, providing my parents with much ease and comfort,” Jic said.
The Cebu City College Scholarship Program was created under Executive Order 10-124 issued by Mayor Michael Rama and strengthened by City Ordinance 2333. Beneficiaries are graduates of public high schools and the Alternative Learning System within the city’s 80 barangays.
The program started in 2010. Although there were earlier graduates of vocational and short-term courses, it was only this year that students of baccalaureate courses graduated.
“It is my dream to make it possible for every family to have a college graduate,” said Rama in an earlier gathering of city scholars.
“Take care of your studies, and always pray.”
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