“Every race has its finish line. Every journey has its destination. Every performance has its grand finale. And every story has its ending, just like today, our college life story.”
Mabalacat City– With a grade point average of 95.05, Abigail Gramonte of Barangay San Francisco here recently graduated as Summa Cum Laude at the nine-year-old Mabalacat City College.
A daughter of a tricycle driver, Gramonte is one of the 709 graduates of the MCC chaired by President Dr. Carmelita P. Sotto in Barangay Dolores here last May 11.
Gramonte, 25, a resident of Barangay San Francisco, has acquired a bachelor’s degree on Secondary Education Major in English.
She highlighted ‘Faith in God, dedication, determination, hardwork and thankfulness’ as the keys behind her success. His father has been a tricycle driver for 12 long years.
In her speech, Gramonte said she stopped studying for five years and decided to work to help her father earn for a living.
“For those years, I tried saving money for my education. I experienced working as a food attendant, secretary and a call center agent but these were never enough. Until Mabalacat City College offered a 100 percent scholarship to all Mabalacat residents, without a single thought, I grabbed it and my sister did the same,” she said.
“There were countless times when I and my sister would go to school without taking our breakfast or lunch because our priority was to accomplish our classroom tasks on time,” she added.
“To the kindest and coolest father, Noel Gramonte, thank you for you never gave up on sending us (her sister Angelica who also finished BSED Major in English) to college. Congratulations Pa, for this is also your graduation day. I know if Mama were still alive, she will be very proud of you,” said Gramonte.
Gramonte has challenged the graduates to ‘Make Mabalacat City College, our Alma Mater, proud of you!’.
Mam Abigail Gramonte idol kita! 🙂