Cebuana ranks second in nat’l architects exam

PEER pressure can work wonders on people.

Ask Jessica “Jika” Macachor, who ranked second in the National Architecture Licensure Exams held last June.

With a boyfriend and close friends who all topped the exams in recent years, Jika said she had enough motivation when she took the exam along with over 1,900 architecture graduates around the country.

A congratulatory text message from a friend, who also ranked second in last year’s exams, made her day.

Jika went online to see the results and then told her parents the good news.

“I’ve been checking the results online since early morning that day, but apparently, the results were posted around 9 pm already so I have stopped checking by then,” Jika said.

Around that time, her FB and twitter were flooded with messages from friends.

The eldest of four children, Jika is the daughter of  Pepet, a manager of Rustan’s Cebu and Gigi, who is into advertising. Jika finished her BS Architecture degree at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.

“I got into college in 2003 and while it took me seven years to finish my degree, I have no regrets because I liked my pace. School was fun,” she said.

While in school, Jika took subjects outside her course to pursue her first love – Fine Arts.

“My parents suggested I take up Architecture rather than Fine Arts because they told me a technical background would give me a better edge in the future,” she said.

Jika said she found it tough to develop a love for architecture. Taking her time in college helped Jika develop her interest in Architecture.

“You have to love it – at least to a certain degree – so you can finish it. Architecture entails a lot of sacrifice,” she said.

After graduation, Jika joined Adrianse Group Philippines, Inc. which gave her two years work experience to qualify for the board exam. She is still employed there.

By placing second in the licensure exam, Jika finds another motivation to pursue  her plan to set  up her own firm in a few years.

“I want something that offers a mix of the things I love doing. It’s not going to be just about architecture but it needs to be able to offer something in fashion as well.”  Contributor Anabelle L. Balanzar