JUANA “Annie” Caminade-Villegas will add another feather in her cap.
The 58-year-old grandmother from Argao, Cebu, who became the oldest student in her batch to graduate with honors at the Cebu Technological University Argao campus last year, passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) last March.
Villegas is the mother of two professionals, including lawyer and Argao Municipal Councilor Jonathan Villegas.
She graduated cum laude from her Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education course last year.
Villegas told SunStar Cebu yesterday that passing the LET was not easy.
She had to juggle reviewing for the LET, studying law in the University of Cebu and taking a trainer’s methodology course under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda). She also had to take care of her house in Barangay Taloot, Argao, while working as a temporary project monitoring assistant for the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Villegas said she decided to give up her law studies for a semester and her job at the DA to focus on her review for the LET.
“Dili gyud ko ready ato nga mutake sa LET. Gatoo gyud ko nga dili ko kapasar (I wasn’t ready to take the exam. I really thought I would not pass),” Villegas said.
Problems at home also caused her some stress while she was reviewing for the exam. But all the hardship paid off when she saw the results.
Villegas said it was like having a thorn removed from her side.
Her next goal is to go back to law school and to finish her Teacher’s Methodology course at Tesda.
She said that age should not be a hindrance to getting an education.
“Ang pag-eskwela dili na duwa-duwa lang. Tinood nga dili ko full-time student pero kung kugihan ka o interesado kang mutoon, makapalampos gyud ka. Importante sad nga ibalance ang imung work ug studies (You must be serious about going to school. I wasn’t even a full-time student but if you study hard and you’re interested to learn, then you will succeed. It’s also important to balance your work and studies),” Villegas added.