Cebu fisherman’s daughter graduates Magna cum Laude
CEBU CITY — “Never stop chasing your dreams no matter how hard and difficult it may be.” This is the advice of 20-year-old Regine Cañete Villamejor, the daughter of a fisherman and fish vendor from Argao who graduated Magna cum Laude in Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Commerce from the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) in Cebu City yesterday.
“It was very difficult but I always saw good things in every situation. To motivate me against the hardships, I kept telling myself that someone was more unfortunate than I was,” Villamejor said.
The eldest of three siblings, Regine depended on the earnings of her parents to sustain her studies living off a 1700 weekly allowance which pays for her boarding house, meals, and school expenses.
She knew her parents’ earnings were not enough so she made sure to get into the Dean’s list to avail of the 50 percent tuition discount. To do this, she had to maintain a grade of 1.4. On the side, she sold biscuits to her classmates for extra money.
Despite her busy schedule, Villamejor, called “Rej” by her friends still makes the three-hour travel home to Argao every weekend to help her mother sell fish.
“It was at an early age that I realized how life was. While selling fish, I always kept telling myself that I had to finish college to help my family and my siblings,” she said. The family lives in a small nipa hut in Barangay Taloot, Argao. A fulfilled promise Leaving her family to stay in a boarding house in Cebu City was among the hard decisions Rej had to make to achieve her dream. “We are a small family and it was hard to be away from them during the weekdays.”
“When I enrolled in college, I really promised myself that I would graduate with flying colors. Now I’m here. I’ve crossed the finish line,” she said.
When she learned that she was graduating with Latin honors, Rej said she immediately called up her parents. Her father, Raul was very happy. Her mother, Mary Jane, cried.
“As I look back at my struggles, I realize that it made me stronger. And I want to thank my parents. Whatever achievements I have, it’s because of them,” she said.
After graduation, Rej hopes to find a job immediately so she can send her two younger brothers – Jonard, 15, and Ramer, 17 – to school. “I don’t want them to experience what I went through.”
All the challenges she encountered and the hardships that her family went through so she could finish college made the graduation ceremony even more meaningful, she said.
“If I did not go through those challenges, this graduation will not be worth it. This toga is a proof that poverty is not a hindrance to success. We should not give up chasing our dreams,” she stressed.