25/06/2026
Read, reflect and be inspired by the story of one of our Magna Cum Laude from the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering (BSCpE) program entitled WHEN LIFE GAVE ME TANGERINES by MARK B. LAPURA, CpE.
Mark hopes that his story will inspire every student to believe, persevere, and continue chasing their dreams.
#𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞
"𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒑𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒈𝒈𝒍𝒆𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏
𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓."
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"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐒"
🖋️ 𝑀𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝐵𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑜 𝐿𝑎𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑎, 𝐶𝑝𝐸
Magna Cum Laude - Batch 2026
I came from a humble background in the province of Lanao, where life was simple, quiet, yet filled with genuine happiness. Back then, I could not fully fathom how difficult our situation was. My father worked as a security guard, and my mother was a skilled kakanin maker. Name it, p**o, kutsinta, palitaw, shakoy, cassava cake, pichi-pichi, butchi, pilipit, budbud, suman, and of course, the iconic balut paired with her homemade s**a. In the simplicity of our lives, my parents quietly carried the weight of our dreams.
I always find myself smiling when I look back on my childhood. I remember my kindergarten days so clearly watching my three older siblings walk to school not just with their bags, but also large containers filled with our mother’s paninda. When I stepped into elementary, I was welcomed by the club, I didn’t just carry books in my bag, I also carried Ma’am’s fragrant p**o, neatly packed ten pieces for thirty pesos. My teachers and classmates became my first customers. It may sound funny now, but I was eventually told to stop, as it wasn’t appropriate to sell in school.
Back then, five of us siblings were studying at the same time. Deep inside, I knew that our parents were doing everything they could, yet it still wasn’t enough to easily support all of us. And so, with heavy hearts, two of my eldest siblings set aside their college dreams, just so we, the younger ones, could continue ours.
As I moved forward to high school, I carried those sacrifices with me. I became a consistent honor student and was given the privilege to serve as the student president of my beloved Alma Mater, Spencers' Foundation School, Incorporated. But my story didn’t end in school achievements. Every day after classes, I would go straight to my mother’s small balut stand which is definitely near to our school gate. There, I helped her sell and attend to customers.From a proud Student President at day, to a humble balut vendor at night. And in those moments, standing beside my mother, I was reminded of where I came from, and why I needed to keep going.
Then the pandemic struck, and everything changed. My mother’s balut stand was forced to stop, and my father’s work was affected. In that moment, doubts and uncertainties filled my mind. I found myself asking, "should I also set aside my dreams?" But even in the hardest times, my parents chose to endure. And somehow, doors opened I was granted a scholarship, a chance to continue what we had all sacrificed for. In the middle of uncertainty, hope remained. And I held on.
I left our province to pursue my Senior High School and College journey, carrying with me not just my dreams, but the sacrifices of my family. From the very beginning, I made a promise to myself to make the most out of every opportunity, to give meaning to every effort, and to honor the people who believed in me and sent me here. I pushed myself to excel, striving to become a consistent honor student. I embraced every opportunity for growth, joining various school activities such as STI College Cotabato’s Tagisan ng Talino Locals, PRISAA 2025, and many more. By God’s grace and through perseverance, I was able to reach and compete in 2 national-level events, and about to compete 1 pending National event. Now, I am no longer called a student, but a proud degree holder an official Computer Engineer.
Like a tangerine, my journey has been a mix of sweetness and bitterness. There were times when life tasted sour moments of sacrifice, uncertainty, and doubt. Times when my family had to give up their own dreams so the younger ones could continue. Times when I questioned if I should keep going. But just like a tangerine, behind that bitterness is a sweetness worth discovering. Every sacrifice, every hardship, every tear slowly revealed something better, growth, strength, and hope. And in the end, I realized this: life may not always be sweet, but if you hold on long enough, if you keep peeling through the struggles, you will eventually taste the sweetness you have been waiting for. And now, as I stood here today, having reached this milestone, I offer my deepest thanks and heartfelt gratitude to every hands that brought me unto this very moment.To my Family, Teachers, Friends, Church mates, Relatives, to ICPEP.se - STI College Cotabato ,to STI College Cotabato .
I truly and humbly say "DAGHANG SALAMAT."
Above all, I offer all the glory and gratitude to God Almighty, who carried me through every trial, gave me strength in my weakest moments, and made this victory possible.
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May this story inspire every student to believe, persevere, and continue chasing their dreams.💪
