Beauty Queen from Alegria is 1st non-Cebu City resident to win CBE Medal of Excellence Award

Keith Joy Pearl Primor was crowned Bb. Madridejos in 2018. /Photo from Primor’s FB page

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Keith Joy Pearl Primor is a consistent dean’s lister.

She also joins beauty pageants to earn money for her school projects and other needs.

Primor is set to receive two more recognitions – latin honors from the Cebu Technological University (CTU) Moalboal Campus and a Medal of Excellence Award from the Coalition for Better Education (CBE) – during their school’s graduation program scheduled next month.

Primor, 20, is the first non-Cebu City resident to bring home the CBE Medal of Excellence Award.

Now on its sixth year, CBE choses a total of seven exceptional students coming from different Cebu City and Cebu colleges and universities.

“The CBE Medal of Excellence Awards recognizes outstanding (Cebuano) education majors, who have shown academic and non-academic excellence and have, in one way or another, contributed to the attainment of CBE’s mission of creating empowered learning communities,” said CBE Executive Director Luchi Flores.

With her CBE award, Primor will also be getting a free CBE membership training and development grants for a period of one year, free licensure examination (LET) review at the Edu Studio Review and Training Center, and certification or endorsements as may be needed to the Department of Education (DepEd).

Struggles

In an interview with Cebu Daily News Digital, Primor said that she is very honored to have been chosen as among this year’s CBE awardees.

She recalled all her struggles while she was trying to comply with the requirements set by CBE especially since she also had classes and other school activities to attend to.

“I was called together with another student to the head office to work on our requirements but the other applicant who was chosen by the school did not show up so I had to double time in making (both) ends meet. I knew about it (the CBE award) last March 14 and was given the March 18 deadline to submit all requirements. It was such a challenge for me because I am currently doing my practicum in Alegria and (had to) go back to Moalboal just to comply with all the requirements” she said.

Primor said that her struggles in life made her strive even harder. /Photo from Primor’s FB page

Primor said that she anxiously waited for weeks before she was told that she was chosen as one of the Medal of Excellence awardees.

“As the first MOE awardee outside Cebu City, I feel so happy yet pressured because I guess a lot of people will be expecting a lot from me. But I know I was given this award because God has his purpose for this and I believe in his plans for me” Primor told CDN Digital.

Primor said that finally holding her Medal of Excellence Award on her graduation day is the best gift that she would be getting together with her college diploma.

Fate

When she enrolled in college, all that she had in mind was to get a degree.

When she was younger, her mother, Macaria, had told her to she will only be able to send her to high school because of their financial difficulties. Her parents separate when she was young.  Macaria left their home in Talisay City where Primor was born and raised and brought her and her older sister back home to Alegria town.

But fate had another plan for her.

“Luckily, I went to school at Saint Peter’s Academy in Alegria which is funded by Germans. They were willing to sponsor students who are financially challenged.  I strived hard to get a scholarship. I graduated class salutatorian and went to college with the sponsorship of the school,” she said.

From then on, she continued to exceed the expectations of her family and friends by consistently being a dean’s listers.  Primor is also a candidate for latin honors during their graduation in May./dcb