DELICA (LEFT) & TAPANGCO (RIGHT)
When he learned that he landed 6th place in the May 2016 Chemical Engineering licensure examination with a rating of 82.60, Keane Marc Quinte Tapangco jumped for joy and called his mother, who is an accountant in Zamboanga Sibugay.
“I did not expect this because I didn’t graduate from college with honors,” Tapangco told Cebu Daily News.
Tapangco, 23, took up Chemical Engineering at the University of San Carlos and graduated in March 2015.
He is the first engineer in the family. He said it was his mother, Alice, who suggested that he take up the course.
He said he wanted to work in a power company or factory in the Philippines to gain experience before applying for a job abroad.
Tapangco is the second of two children. His father Marino, is a retired soldier.
Tapangco went to Titay National High School in Zamboanga Sibugay and graduated as valedictorian. He spent his elementary at Titay Elementary School.
His fellow Carolinian, Holly Daneille Giango Delica placed second with 84.10 rating.
Delica told Cebu Daily News she did not expect to top the examination. She said all she wanted was to pass the exam since it was difficult especially on the second day, which covered major subjects.
“It’s all about prayers and hard work. You just need to study hard, make yourself relax,” Delica said in a phone interview.
Delica said that she went to the Marian shrine in Simala, Sibonga town and to the Basilica del Sto. Niño to offer prayers days before the examination.
Delica is the eldest of four children.
A resident of Banawa, Cebu City, her mother Heide is a housewife while her father Freedomer is an electrical engineer.
Delica belonged to the top 10 high school graduating class at the University of San Carlos (USC) South Campus. Her elementary years were spent at the Asian College of Technology (ACT) where she graduated as valedictorian.