MANILA, Philippines – What would you do if, while you were focused on reviewing for the licensure exam, suddenly the person who gives you strength and inspiration passed away?
That’s what happened to Engr. Arexcin Ray C. Timbal, a 24-year-old from Poblacion, Pilar, Bohol, a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Bohol Island State University–Main Campus, and currently an instructor at the Gillesania Engineering Review and Training Center.
He placed 3rd in the Civil Engineering Licensure Examination in April 2024, earning a rating of 93.60%.
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| Photo courtesy: Arexcin Ray C. Timbal/Facebook |
In a Facebook post dated April 27, 2024, Engr. Timbal shared an appreciation post about his achievement, where he expressed gratitude to his family, friends, and other important individuals who served as his inspiration in reaching success. At the top of his list was his grandfather, Lolo Tatan.
“To my Grandfather Tatan, who [has] been my source of inspiration towards bringing out the best of my potential. Even though his presence may not physically be with us anymore, I know that his love and support is always there,” he said.
In an exclusive interview with The Summit Express, Engr. Timbal shared that becoming a civil engineer was not his original dream.
“At first, when I was in elementary school, I was keen on becoming an architect because I excelled at art and had a growing interest in math, even though I wasn’t the best at it yet,” he said.
“By junior high school, I took drafting as my major subject to build on my skills, keeping my options open between architecture and civil engineering. In senior high school, I chose the STEM strand, and that’s when my passion for math truly took off, where I excelled in all my math-related subjects, paving the way to graduate as the top 1 student in the STEM strand.”
“In the end, all these experiences led me to civil engineering, as it best suits all of my strengths,” he explained.
What challenges, struggles, or problems did he encounter during college days?
“During my college years, I was aiming to graduate with Latin honors, but, unfortunately, during my second year in college, there was a certain instructor that gave me a grade that disqualified me from graduating with honors,” he shared.
“I already knew that I would not be able to graduate with a Latin honor that early, but still, I did not care about it and continued to do my best in everything, hoping that there might still be a chance that they will change the Latin honors qualifications allowing a minimum of one grade beyond the cut-off grade.”
“All of these hopes were shattered during my fourth year in college, where the same instructor gave me two more grades that were beyond the cut-off grade, thus removing any possibility of graduating with Latin honors even though my GWA was still in range for a Latin honor.”
“I was really devastated during that time, especially during the graduation, as all of the other engineering programs the EE, CpE, and ME all had Latin honors, and only the Civil Engineering program had none”
“A quote that hit me hard during that time was, ‘How do we forgive ourselves for all the things we did not become?’ This was a necessary turning point that fueled my goal to top the board exam.”
How did he prepare for the board exam review? Does he have any tips or practices that helped pass the board exam and became a topnotcher?
“After our college graduation, which was in July, I have about 4 months of self-review until November 2023 before the start of our review center classes for the April 2024 CE Board Exam.”
“During my self-review, I prepared all the necessary books that I will try to study, referring to the recently provided program for the CE Board Exam posted by the PRC. At that time my initial book list contained 21 books, but I was not able to finish all of them, only the necessary ones.”
“When the review proper started, I was able to maintain a consistent top 1-5 place in every F2F weekly assessment and pre-board exam in GERTC, which helped me be at ease during the actual board exam itself.”
But while he was reviewing, that was when his grandfather—who had been his inspiration to become a civil engineer—passed away. He had even promised his grandfather that he would do his best in the board exam.
“I still remember during my self-review phase on August 8, 2023, I was still reviewing trigonometry at that time when my father, who is at the hospital, told me that my grandfather had passed away.”
“That was one of the struggles I faced reviewing while coping with the loss of a loved one.”
“My grandfather was one of my inspirations in becoming a civil engineer, as he was a very passionate carpenter.”
“I made a promise at the grave of my grandfather that I will do my very best in the board exam and make him proud,” he said.
And it seems he truly fulfilled his promise to his grandfather—not only did he pass the exam, he even became a topnotcher. Engr. Timbal also shared his future plans, even as he currently works as an instructor at a review center for engineering board exam takers.
“Now, I am currently an instructor at GERTC. The first reviewees I was able to handle were the Nov 2024 CE Board Exam takers, three of the reviewees whom I have personally led in group studies attained the Top 1, Top 4, and Top 7 spots in the November 2024 CE Board Exam (the board exam after ours).”
“The first placer was also one of my review friends whom I consistently competed against in the weekly preboards before the April 2024 review, but he decided to take the Nov 2024 to better prepare while I took the April 2024 CE Board Exam.”
His message for everyone, “Aim-Believe-Achieve, all journeys start with aiming for a destination, believing in your capabilities that you will definitely get there, and through consistent determination you will be able to reach and achieve your destination.”
"Pursue excellence, and success will follow,” he added.
Congratulations, Engr. Timbal!
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express