This proud fisherman’s daughter from Cebu graduated as magna cum laude.
Despite financial struggles, 20-year-old Regine Villamejor will be graduating from the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu City with magna cum laude honors. She was determined enough regardless of life’s obstacles to excel in school and in life for the love of her family.
She’s the proud daughter of Mang Raul, a fisherman and fish vendor in Taloot, Argao in Cebu. Regine told PEP.ph Philippine Entertainment Portal) in an interview through Facebook Messenger that her 42-year-old father gets up at dawn every day to start fishing.
“Umaalis nga po pala ng bahay ng two or three a.m. ng madaling araw para mangisda ‘tapos po, uuwi siya mga two or three din ng hapon. “Pero minsan, kapag wala talagang huli, maaga siyang umuwi.”
When asked how much Mang Raul earn per day, the proud daughter said:
“Si Tatay po more or less 700 pesos yung kita niya in a day. Pero depende po iyan kasi pag may bagyo, siyempre madalang ang kuha niya.”
“Tapos naman po minsan pag maraming huli, kikita po kami ng more or less 1k pero hindi po iyan permanente. Depende lang po talaga sa panahon. “Kukunan pa po iyan ng pambayad sa gasolina at ice.”
“Kaya po hindi kalakihan kita namin kasi huli lang ng Papa ko ang binibinta namin at WALA PO KAMI SA MERCADO. Nasa tabi lang po kami ng kalsada nagtitinda.”
Whenever Rej is home, she helps her mom, Mary Jane, sell fish on the roadside. Because of her consistency of having good grades, her school granted her a 50% discount on her tuition.
Since her hometown is located more than two hours away from Cebu city, she had to stay in a boarding house near her school. In her room, she put up an “inspiration wall” filled with her family’s photos. Simply looking at their photos encouraged her to keep doing well even at times when she felt exhausted.
When asked what advice she would give her fellow students, she said:
“Never give up chasing your dreams. Where there is love and determination, you can never go wrong. Just be optimistic, no matter how complicated the situation may be.”
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