33 Davao City STEP grantees graduate with 'Latin honors'

Ruth Palo

Editor

posted on 3 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The Davao City government lauded its 33 educational grantees of the Scholarship on Tertiary Education Program (STEP) for completing their college education with the highest honors.

Two of the 33 scholars have graduated Summa Cum Laude.

City’s Educational Benefit System Unit (EBSU) Technical Assistant Emilio Domingo Jr., said this is the first time that the city government produced scholars who graduated with the highest Latin Honor.

“We are happy because this is the first time that we have Summa Cum Laude,”Domingo said.

For the 2021-2022 school year, the city government's scholarship programs have two Summa Cum Laude, ten Magna Cum Laude, and 21 Cum Laude.

“These are just the initial number of students who manifested that they have Latin Honor as of June 28,” Domingo said.

Domingo said that the scholars' success sparks hope for each and every scholar to excel in their studies.

The two students who earned Summa Cum Laude honors and confirmed their academic standing to EBSU graduated from the Holy Cross College of Calinan. They are Joeville Royce A. Barato, a graduate of Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in Social Studies, and Kimberly B. Diapana, a graduate of Bachelor of Secondary Education Major in English.

Barato in an interview with the City Information Office (CIO) said he is grateful to the city government for the opportunity that opened doors for him.

He said the EBSU Step really helped him a lot to finance his college years.

“A big thanks to the City Government of Davao because it did not really stop empowering students like me and that those who are having financial difficulties are given the opportunity to ignite their life’s dream,” he said.

Barato, who is a student leader of their school, has to do many jobs such as tutoring, hosting, and content writing to help his parents to finish his college education on top of the financial assistance given by the city.

Diapana, on the other hand, said that the scholarship helped her to focus more on her studies without having to worry about tuition.

“I am really thankful for the help of the EBSU Step because it is a different experience when you do not worry about financial responsibilities during your exams the next day. You only need to study to answer the exam,”Diapana said.