TWO graduates of the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) have aced the recently concluded May 2024 Licensure Examination for Certified Public Accountants (Lecpa).
Mae Pearl Secuya placed sixth after getting an average passing rate of 89.83 percent, while Clark Peter Castillo ranked ninth with an average passing rate of 89.33 percent.
Secuya, who was asleep when the results came out on Friday, May 31, said she woke up to numerous congratulatory messages.
“I woke my mom... and we couldn’t sleep again due to the excitement,” she said in Cebuano during a press conference held at the USJ-R on Saturday afternoon, June 1.
Castillo, on the other hand, received the news from his review teacher.
“When my teacher messaged that I had made it, I was in shock. I knew she wouldn’t joke about something like this,” Castillo said in Cebuano.
They said their successes were partly inspired by last year’s topnotcher, Hebban Tawantawan, also a USJ-R graduate, who provided them with guidance during their review phase.
Tawantawan placed first in the 2023 Lecpa, sharing the spot with Allaine Beduya Collamar of the University of the Philippines (UP) Tacloban.
Inspirations, techniques
Secuya, for her part, said she used the expectations of others as motivation to excel.
She emphasized the importance of time management and support from family and friends in balancing studies and personal life.
She said her study strategy involved verbalizing or reading lessons aloud, which helped her understand better.
When feeling tired, she said she would take a brief rest before resuming her studies.
Castillo, on the other hand, found the reward-based approach effective.
When struggling with a subject, he said he would temporarily switch to one he enjoyed before returning to the difficult material.
Sharing knowledge with classmates also helped him learn from their perspectives.
Interestingly, neither Secuya nor Castillo initially envisioned a career in accountancy.
They said their decision was influenced by the financial benefits of the profession.
Meanwhile, Rolando Martinez, chairman of the Accountancy and Financial Department of USJ-R, said the feats of Secuya and Castillo have positively impacted the school’s reputation.
He hopes that this could lead to attracting more students to its accountancy programs, which include Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and Bachelor of Science in Management Accounting.
Rewards
Both Secuya and Castillo had distinguished academic records even before college, being products of USJ-R since high school. And in recognition of their recent achievements, Secuya will receive a cash reward of P375,000 and a brand- new laptop, while Castillo will receive P300,000.
Of the 69 Lecpa takers of the school, 43 passed the exam.
Nationwide, the Professional Regulation Commission announced that 3,155 out of 10,421 takers passed the Lecpa given in various testing centers in the country. / CAV