Poverty pushes farmer’s daughter to top board test

LAOAG CITY, Philippines—Noralyn Fernandez Sacoco did not make it to the honors list when she graduated from Data Center College of the Philippines here. She, however, amazed school officials, her friends and relatives when she topped the licensure examination for elementary school teachers given in August.

Sacoco obtained a rating of 89.4 percent to lead 25,301 new elementary teachers, test results released last week showed.

A farmer’s daughter and the fifth child in a brood of six, Sacoco said experiencing poverty had pushed her to attain her dream of becoming a teacher, inspired by her parents and relatives in Barangay Nambaran in Bacarra town, Ilocos Norte province.

“Poverty is not a hindrance to success. If you have a dream, you must do something to achieve it,” she told the Inquirer.

“I have always wanted to help my parents send my siblings to school. I’m so happy God guided me all throughout,” she said.

A scholarship grant from the provincial government helped her to finish school and succeed.

While in grade school, she said she had great admiration for teachers and dreamed of becoming like them. “I like interacting with children,” she said.