High School started everything.
So, donate and start everything for someone else …
- Henryl Moreño, Class 1996, Yahoo! Southeast Asia in Singapore (Search Editor for the Philippines), Trailblazing Tunober
“The U.P. High School Cebu was instrumental in helping me discover my love for words. Through its teachers, I learned how to think on my own, express myself, and use my gift to serve others. Winning the poetry contest the school staged two years in a row strengthened my resolve to hone my writing and editing skills.
“After college, I worked for four years as news editor for Cebu Daily News, an affiliate of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, serving the community by helping set the public agenda, making readers more aware of what’s happening around them and how these events impact their lives, and promoting the pursuit of peace and justice in the community through stories that are accurate, well-edited, and balanced.”
“In my current work as an editor for Yahoo!, I ensure that Filipinos and other users from around the globe get the information they want and need quickly through my work with Search and Front Page.:
“Knowledge has always been a source of power, and U.P. High shaped my belief that finding and delivering information accurately can change the world.”
Henryl graduated cum laude in U.P. Cebu College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications. He was Editor in chief of the U.P. Tug-ani official student publication. In 1998, he received the Rotary Youth Leadership Award.
- Joseph Rey Alquisola, Class 2003, NEC Software Design Engineer
He had had to cry to beg his mother to enroll him in U.P. High.
An honor student from Danao City Central School, he had taken the U.P. High entrance exam together with his classmates and passed. As a single mother working as a housekeeper for P1300 a month, his mother could not afford to send him to a school so far away but she eventually gave in to her son’s begging. As his teacher had said, it would have been an opportunity lost had he been denied the chance to go to U.P. High.
Sensing that his mother was struggling with his school fees, Joseph took up a job driving tricycles in his hometown Danao during his first year. He drove every weekend on Saturdays, from 7AM to 7PM, and studied on Sundays. He also drove for a month during the semester breaks to pay for the 900-peso PTA dues. He faithfully drove his “sikad” until his junior year, when his teachers, Drs. Lapa and Eboras, found out about his sideline and chose him to replace a disqualified student for a St. Joseph Scholarship slot. This scholarship allowed him to stop driving tricycles and focus on his studies. And focus he did.
He graduated 8th in his batch from high school, became the recipient of the Doña Modesta Gaisano Scholarship Grant and became a DOST Scholar in college. He took up BS Mathematics in U.P. Cebu College and was a consistent topnotcher—he was a Dean’s List regular during his first year, and a University Scholar for the rest of his college years. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and valedictorian of his class of 2007, a feat only rarely achieved in the history of the Mathematics program.
Today, Joseph works as a Software Design Engineer for an international software company.
- Rhonpete A. Belgida, Class 2008
He rarely eats breakfast, preferring instead to eat brunch and he only eats at an eatery ten minutes away from school. He sounds like a health-conscious snob, but his actions are governed not by diet fads, but by need. He is Rhonpete A. Belgida, the eldest of five siblings to a jeepney conductor father and a fish vendor mother. He eats brunch because he can only afford one meal, which consists of rice and the free soup that he must trek 10 minutes for. The rest of his money goes to his daily 24-peso jeepney fare. His uniform was always a few sizes too small but it did little to hide a spirit big enough for his dreams. An honor student in Tabunoc Central School, he was a regular contestant in Math contests and quiz bowls. When he transferred to U.P. High, his teachers spoke highly of him for he showed perseverance, a good attitude and a pleasant disposition.
Rhonpete graduated from U.P. High School Cebu in 2008 and went on to become a CIT scholarship grant recipient and a Dean’s List regular in CIT, where he is taking up BS Computer Science.
- Mary Antonette P. Esperida, Class 2008, UP Cebu College BS Biology
She studied by the light of a kerosene lamp. Her father was a kitchen hand in Asilo, her mother a housewife. Their house had no electricity but this did not stop Mary Antonette from reaching for her dreams.
A valedictorian from Banilad Elementary School, she had heard of the training in U.P. High and was convinced by the valedictorian of an earlier batch to apply. She heeded the advice, passed, and enrolled in U.P. High. She became a PUNLA scholar since first year and was a consistent honors student. She graduated 6th in high school, received the Doña Modesta Gaisano Scholarship grant and became a DOST scholar. She has since enrolled in U.P. Cebu College as a BS Biology student. A former Glee club member, she is now also a member of the renowned U.P. singing group, Serenata.
As a freshman she finds U.P. College challenging but believes she was able to adapt quickly because she came from U.P. High. There had been no culture shock, she says. She has already been trained in the years she spent in U.P. High. Her skills, the tools she needed to survive college and the perseverance that allowed her to study by the flickering light of a kerosene lamp, had already been sharpened.
Tonette would like to be a teacher. Since there is no Education course in U.P., she took BS Biology instead.
- Jeziel Anne L. Sanchez, Class 2010
Jeziel, a junior at UP High, lost her father at the tender age of eight, leaving her mother as the sole breadwinner of their family. Although financially hard up, as a child she dreamed of going to a prestigious high school. This dream became a reality when she topped the qualifying exams for the state-funded U.P. High School Cebu and ranked 3rd among the passers. Still, her family struggled to put her through school, due to several financial difficulties. Until one day, when Dr. Elisa G. Lapa called her in the office to inform her that she had been awarded a scholarship for the rest of her high school years. Thankful, Jeziel says that the grant has inspired her to do her best in school and to make the school proud of her as a scholar.
Jeziel was the champion in the Pwede Pala Pinoy Oratorical contest, sponsored by Toastmasters International, held recently. Her speech was about love of God and of country.
Note: Full democratized access started in 1991, with its first batch graduating in 1995.