A 32-year-old lady finally passed the Teacher Licensure Examinations after 14 attempts (LET).
Richelle Ann Gonzales received a score of 76.80%, slightly higher than the passing rate of 75%.
Gonzales, a mother of six children, was overjoyed that she can finally call herself a credentialed teacher after years of waiting.
“I was doing some laundry work when a cousin of mine broke the news that I finally passed the exams. At first, I did not believe her but later on, was able to verify it as a sister-in-law of mine posted it on her social media account,” she said.
Gonzales, a native of Sangay, Palapag town in Northern Samar, took her first test in 2010, the same year she graduated from the University of the Eastern Philippines in Catarman, Northern Samar.
The results of the LET, which was held in January of this year, were revealed by the Philippine Professional Commission on March 11th.
Gonzales was the second oldest of eight children, the son of coconut growers.
Despite their hardship, she aspired to complete her education and work as a teacher.
“I even had to sell used clothings and peddle bets on lotto just to earn money for my studies,” she said.
Gonzales dreamed of being a teacher as a youngster, and often pretended to be one to her younger siblings and village children.
“It’s nice to impart knowledge to others and that they are happy to learn something new from me,” she said.
Despite several setbacks, Gonzales never surrendered and continued to take the teachers’ examination until she passed.
“My parents and my siblings and my own family motivated me to take the examination again and again until I could pass it. They never gave up on me. Of course, there were times that I’d like to give up. In fact, there were times that I isolated myself from my classmates who are now teachers,” she said.
“But God is so good that finally, after 11 years and 14 times of trying, and fervent prayer and novena, I was able to pass the exams. I cried so much. I could not believe it at first,” she said.
Gonzales said that she would like to teach at the Sumoroy Agro-Industrial School, located at the town proper of Palapag where she finished her high school.
She was optimistic that aside from helping her parents and her siblings, she could also help her husband, Michael, who works as a laborer, and their six children.
“Be confident in your own abilities and don’t give up. Don’t be ashamed if you have failures. Always trust papa God,” she said, when asked what she could advise to others who have also suffered similar setbacks in life.
