A fresh graduate of the Institute of Rehabilitative Sciences (IRS) topped the Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy board exam last Aug. 6-7.
Alexander Vidal III, who graduated Cum Laude, placed 4th in the said exam.
Vidal did not expect to be part of the Top 10 as he has always seen himself as an underdog surrounded with cum laudes and magna cum laudes from other schools during his reviews. But that moved him to push himself harder to reach his goal.
Vidal said that he just did his best in the reviews, “At the back of my mind, there is always that unvoiced goal to top the exam; it’s always been a dream.”
He also said that Silliman taught him to love what he got himself into. He recalled being pounded with exams and thick books to learn which he would refer to as “torture” back when he was third year.
“Everything just made me dizzy initially. But I learned to appreciate all the ‘torture’ eventually as they even served as the core knowledge which I manipulated to answer half of the board exam questions,” Vidal said.
Vidal wants to remind his fellow Sillimanians to enjoy the things while they are still in the university.
“Success and fulfillment in college are certainly not gained only through academics. Join organizations! Bottom-line is be part of something that you enjoy. But when the going gets tough, always learn to set priorities,” Vidal added.
As to his next plans after passing the board exams, nothing is certain as of the moment.
“I am still waiting for the perfect opportunities. But there could only be two options: first is to get myself a job or second, pursue my first love, Medicine,” Vidal said.
Silliman University garnered a passing percentage of 90 per cent, which is higher than the national passing rate of 68.06 per cent in the said board exam.
