31/08/2026
NEVER DEFINED BY A 75 ๐
A grade of 75 once made Nemuel Aarron Aswigue Nipolo wonder how far he could really go.
Years later, he would graduate Cum Laude in BS Mechanical Engineering from Saint Louis University, become the first engineer in his family, pass the February 2026 Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination, and place 7th nationwide in the July 2026 Master Plumbers Licensure Examination.
But his journey was built long before the titles.
Nemuel lost his father when he was around two. His mother raised three children while working as a Barangay Health Worker and later serving as a Barangay Official.
During senior high school, he worked as a service crew member, joined government student-employment programs, and searched for scholarships. In college, he became a CHED Tulong Dunong grantee, while his mother, older brother, sister, and relatives helped fill the gaps.
His older sister, a BS Accountancy graduate, CPA, and masterโs degree holderโbecame one of his greatest inspirations.
Then came sophomore year and that 75.
Nemuel could have treated it as proof that he was not good enough. Instead, he recovered, became a consistent Deanโs Lister, and graduated Cum Laude in May 2025.
Board exam season brought another kind of pressure. He compared himself with reviewees who seemed more prepared, until he realized that success was not about being the most outstanding person in the room. He focused instead on effort, discipline, consistency, and becoming better than yesterday.
For MPLE, he studied through concise notes, focused heavily during the final weeks, and moved one topic at a time. On exam day, he had slept for only two hours.
Still, he showed up.
When he learned he had ranked Top 7, one of the first people he showed was his mother.
Her happiness made everything worth it.
For Nemuel, one setback never defines the whole journey. Neither do financial struggles, delays, exhaustion, or self-doubt.
Sometimes, the biggest victories belong not to those who began with the mostโbut to those who simply refused to stop.
