What was originally a challenge made by his former classmates  while they were reviewing for the board exam is now something Orville Parreño and his friends are looking forward to in the next few days – a beach outing, ‘something like a thanksgiving treat,” he said.

They egged me on to give them a treat if  I top the licensure test, Orville said. And now he is preparing for that big treat for his classmates out of the cash incentive he got from the university after he topped the November 13-15 board exam with a rating of 89.3 percent. Orville, son of Milo Parreño, a self-employed mechanic, and wife, the former Haydee Esmeres, a First Farmers employee, of City Heights Subdivision in Bacolod City , earned in March this year his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering  degree  from the University of St. La Salle .

I was just hoping to pass the exam, said Orville, as he recalled that the first of the three days of the test was really tough. “I even doubted at that time whether I can pass it,” he said. Orville, now 22, also  admitted that the pressure of having graduated with honors took a toll on his health as he got sick two weeks before the exam due to stress. The doctor, he said, told him he was experiencing tension headache.

His department head, Dr. Fely Altalaguire, however, was not pessimistic, especially that Orville participated in three national engineering Quiz Bowl where the St. La Salle team finished in the Top Three in the past three years. He's fortunate to have those exposures because apparently many questions in the board examinations were similar to the ones asked during the quiz bowls. Orville and his teammates were national champion in his third year, first runner-up in his fourth year and second runner-up last year.

His topping the board exam, Dr. Altalaguire said, is a big bonus for Orville and  “an affirmation of what we have been doing in the university – the delivery of quality Christian education”. We literally shed tears of joy, she said, adding that the feat of Orville has proven, once more, that, given quality students,  provincial schools are just as competitive as those in Metro Manila.

Orville is the second St. La Sallian who topped a licensure exam in two years. Brian Lim was No. 1 in the Accountancy board last year.

It's actually a double celebration for the St. La Salle Engineering program when another alumnus, Rodney Sia, now 22, placed tenth in the Nov. 3-4  licensure test for Electronics and Communications  engineers.  “I'm happy I made it to the Top 10,” said the son of Henry Sia, a former CENECO executive, and wife, Joan Ortaliz Sia, of Puentevella Subdivision, who obtained a rating of 87.8 percent. Rodney, went to St. John's Institute for his grade and high school studies.

Both engineers were honored by the USLS in a testimonial dinner held Dec. 4 where they received cash incentives, which, in the case of Orville, will be partly spent for his thanksgiving outing with his friends. Bro. Ray Suplido, USLS president, stressed the moral dimensions of professional work during the program in honor of the Chemical Engineering and ECE board passers.

Rodney said he was hoping to do well in the exams based on the results of  his tests during his review classes in Manila . Earlier, he added, he topped the Smart Communications-sponsored National Quiz Bee participated in by about 40 Engineering colleges in the country, prompting him to think that “the possibility of being a topnotcher in the board exam was not that too far-fetched, after all.”

While in high school at the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos, Orville admitted he was poor in math that Engineering was not really in his mind for his college education. I wanted to be either a scientist or a lawyer, as I was interested in political issues but an award he received from Globe after his high school graduation made him to rethink his options. I thought I'd enroll in the ECE program, but eventually I got convinced with Chemical Engineering as I learned it's easier to find a job since few young men and women consider it as a career compared with other Engineering courses, he said.

Orville attributes his success in the board exam to his persistence and determination, the encouragement of his parents and teachers but admits that,” in the end, it's up to God – what His will is for one who believes in Him”. Orville said that his six-month stay in Cebu made him to establish a stronger personal relationship with God as he  sought out Christian fellowship – apparently to compensate for the absence of family and friends.

He said he relied, too,  during the review on self-discipline on self-discipline, which, he said, had earlier helped him in his student days to focus on his academics and extra-curricular activities, like being a senator of the university Student Government and a class officer.

It is the same piece of advise that he would like to share with those who are preparing for their future careers: “Do your best always while in school and persevere  for a review of six months could be too short to cover the learnings and lessons gained in four or five years.”

Both Rodney and Orville are looking forward to their first jobs after graduation after applying to various companies as both engineers said that  with their careers they can help give their families and themselves a better life.