Cebu grad tops dentistry exam

More than the fame, the lone graduate from Cebu who landed in the top 10 in the recent dentistry board exam finds her feat an opportunity to get her family out of poverty.

In an interview with The FREEMAN yesterday, 22-year-old Anna Kharina Manapil was still in disbelief after placing fourth, saying she never aimed to top the exam, which for her was very difficult to accomplish.

“We had to loan to support my studies. But now, it is so much worth it. I am out of words. I just can’t explain what I am feeling right now. But this is for my mom,” she said in an interview over the phone.

Manapil, an alumna of Southwestern University PHINMA, was still in Manila yesterday where she took the Dentist Licensure Examination in separate dates in December and January.

She said she did not believe a friend who called her to inform her about the results. However, the firsttime taker was overwhelmed after seeing her name through an online link as among the exam’s topnotchers.

Manapil, who garnered a rating of 83.47 percent, said she only focused on studying and never expected of the outcome of the exam.

She shared that the earlier exam, which was the written phase, was very difficult that required good analytical skills. She even cried since she was unsatisfied of her answers during the exam that she took from December 3 to 5.

In fact, only 769 out of the 1,484 examinees passed the written phase, according to the Professional Regulations Commission.

During the practical phase from January 5 to 6, she said she lost all her energy and enthusiasm since she was not confident of her performance.

PRC reported that from the 769 examinees of the practical exam, a good number of 763 had passed.

But she said good thing Southwestern University PHINMA already trained them well through a series of practices.

Now Manapil can use her achievement as a tool to get a better job and help her mom with all their family expenses. The second of four siblings, she was the first to graduate from college.

Her mother, who is an architect, single-handedly supported her and her siblings’ studies after her dad died when she was still two years old. She said the six-year course was “financially draining.”

It was also her mom who encouraged her to try the course and she did learn to love it along the way, Manapil shared.