MANILA, Philippines – When life tested her in the most painful way, Joelle Dianne Venegas chose strength over surrender—holding on to courage and faith as she faced one of her darkest moments.
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| Photo courtesy: Joelle Dianne Venegas |
A 37-year-old college instructor from San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, Joelle is no stranger to perseverance; she was a 2023 Civil Service Exam topnotcher and has always been admired for her determination and brilliance.
In an exclusive interview, she shared her story with The Summit Express, hoping to inspire others who are fighting their own silent battles.
In September 2024, just five days before the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET), her world collapsed when her father passed away.
“My father died a few days before the test,” she recalled softly. “I unfortunately had to take the exam during his wake while grieving.”
There were moments she wanted to give up, but her father’s memory and unwavering belief in her pushed her forward. Despite her heartbreak, Joelle still took the exam, carrying both sorrow and strength in equal measure.
“I still passed and I am now an LPT,” she said. “But people every once in a while would remind me I could have fared better if my circumstances during the test were different.”
For Joelle, success has never been about topping the rankings—it’s about finding the courage to continue even when life feels unbearable.
She revealed that during that time, she was also juggling law school at the University of the Philippines (UP), a new teaching career, motherhood, and her father’s hospitalization, which almost pushed her beyond her limits.
“Taking the LET in 2024 required superhuman strength,” she admitted. “I don’t know how I kept going.”
Long before that, Joelle was already fighting an internal battle. She shared how she struggled with depression and anxiety—times when she doubted she could finish anything she started. Those silent struggles, she said, shaped her into a more compassionate educator, someone who understands that excellence is not born from ease but from endurance.
Her father, who often recited the poem “Don’t Quit” by Edgar A. Guest, became her lifelong source of inspiration and strength. When she found out she passed, Joelle cried, knowing her father would have been so proud. “That moment was for him,” she said.
Now pursuing her MS in Psychology at Centro Escolar University (CEU) - Manila, Joelle continues to deepen her understanding of the human mind and dedicate herself to helping others overcome their own battles.
“I believe things happen for a reason,” she reflected. “Maybe things happened the way they did because there are people out there who are about to take their make-or-break exams while their worlds are falling apart—and here’s proof that things are still going to be okay.”
Through her journey of juggling dreams and grief, Joelle Dianne Venegas reminds us that resilience is not the absence of pain, but the choice to rise in the middle of it. Her story stands as a beacon of hope for anyone fighting their silent battles—a testament that even in our weakest moments, faith can still make the impossible possible.
— The Summit Express