Siblings from Dumaguete Top 1 in their respective licensure exams


MANILA, Philippines – Siblings from Dumaguete proved that maybe intelligence is indeed hereditary, as they both topped their respective licensure exams.

Abigail Ramirez top 1 November NLE, brother top 1 geologist exam 2017
Abigail Ramirez is top 1 in the November NLE while her brother, Alec Benjamin is top 1 in Geologist Licensure Examination in November 2017 | Photo Courtesy: Facebook

Abigail Ramirez and Alec Benjamin’s parents, the late Bienvenido Jr. and Lily Ramirez, are overjoyed because both of their children scored first in their respective licensure exams.

Abigail clinched top spot in the November 2022 Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE), the results of which were released on November 29. She’s from St. Paul University Dumaguete (SPUD) and scored a rating of 90 percent.

According to Abigail, her performance was inspired by her brother’s achievement. Alec Benjamin also ranked No. 1 in the Geologist Licensure Examination in November 2017.

“I made him as my role model. I wanted to be like him, so talagang sumikap ako in my own way. Inspirasyon ko rin naman iyong ibang mga kapatid ko, pero dahil kami yung mas magkakalapit ng edad, siya ang mas nakita kong motivation.”

Abigail’s achievement should come as no surprise, as the siblings were consistent achievers while growing up. She graduated magna cum laude in SPUD, while Alec is a professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) of the University of the Philippines (UP) Dilliman.

Abigail shared that faith contributed greatly to her success. She said she prayed with the rest of their batch. She said, “Non-negotiable po talaga ang prayer. So even after the examinations, while waiting, we still continued to pray as a group via Discord.”

Abigail plans to be a Clinic Instructor at SPUD and wants to inspire other nursing students to continue pursuing the profession, despite many hardships.

“Nursing is really a hard profession. It may break you a couple of times. But just the process, trust the hardships that you are going to face, because these will help you become stronger,” she said.

“Have faith in God and trust in God. Offer everything to Him. Whenever you’re down, whenever you feel like giving up, just pray. God will answer all your prayers in one way or another,” she added.

On Facebook, Abigail thanked her parents and offered his achievement to the Lord. She wrote, “Lord, you are truly amazing!! This success is not mine alone but should be shared with all the people around [and above kay sa heaven ba] me. Thank you kayo ninyo tanan!!! Ma, Pa, I made it! Back to back top 1 sa inyo youngest son and daughter, char murag nay laing son.”

— Sally, The Summit Express