Justine Lei Ramos, daughter of an OFW who was laid off from work in Saudi Arabia, topped the January 2019 Architecture licensure examinations (ALE) with a rating of 83.80%.
Hailing from Alegria in Southern Cebu, Ramos graduated at the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) in Cebu City and surpassed 1,120 passers of the ALE held last January 25 and 27.
Ramos admitted that she was surprised by the ALE results as she was only hoping to pass and get a license.
At a young age, Ramos had set her eyes on that dream house for her family and to also make her father, a former OFW, proud. It was her dad who pushed her to aim higher and challenged her to make it to the Top 10.
According to the young Cebuana, her father was one of her inspirations to pass the exams.
“My greatest inspiration was my father who worked as an OFW in Saudi Arabia and who was recently retrenched from his job. When he lost his job, I knew I had to pass that exam,” Ramos shared.
To prepare for the ALE, Ramos deactivated her social media accounts, including Facebook so that she could focus more on studying and reviewing.
She also spent as much as 14 hours at the Cebu City Library to study her lessons and make sure she would be prepared enough for the exam.
When asked about her secret to success, Ramos said: “Try to dream big and don’t be afraid to take risks.”
In the media interviews, Ramos’ parents happily expressed their pride for the young lady.
Her brother also took pride of his sister’s achievement by sharing a photo of Ramos’ notes-filled room which amazed a lot of netizens.
As Ramos brought much pride to CIT-U, the university gave Ramos cash prize and offered her a teaching job in her Alma Mater.
Photos from Sean Ramos
