MANILA, Philippines – Long before he became a two-time PRC board topnotcher, Jhaymar Lazara Garcia—known simply as Jhay—was a working student determined not to let hardship write the ending of his story, a journey he exclusively shared with The Summit Express.
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| Photo courtesy: Jhaymar Garcia |
Growing up in a broken family in Olongapo City, Jhay was raised by his grandmother, whose Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2013 inspired him to study Psychology.
He entered Holy Angel University (HAU) in 2014 as a BS Psychology freshman, recalling that learning of his acceptance felt like “the universe, or perhaps God, was quietly saying, ‘Try.’”
His first semester tested him academically, emotionally, and financially, yet he survived through the compassion of professors, administrators, and classmates who became his “silent pillars of support.”
Financial hardship eventually forced him to stop studying, a painful moment he remembered vividly.
“I remember sitting inside the finance and scholarship offices, asking administrators if there was any way I could stay, I remember crying in front of the city hall, begging for a government scholarship—because I did not want to give up on my dream, I did not want my story to end there,” he recalled.
During a year away from school, Jhay worked as a bartender and waiter in Olongapo City to survive.
In his second year, just one week before enrollment closed, Jhay received a call from the HAU Scholarship Office granting him a 100 percent student assistant scholarship, a moment he described as “coming back home.”
Even with tuition covered, daily survival remained difficult, so he took on multiple side jobs, cleaning roofs and backyards of HAU administrators, collecting bottles and cans to sell at a junk shop, and gathering unreturned plates to earn extra money.
Those experiences taught him grit, discipline, and survival, showing that dreams do not disappear simply because one pauses, but wait to be pursued again.
By his third and fourth year, Jhay assisted in research and data analysis, experiences that eventually led to his graduation as Cum Laude in April 2019.
In October 2019, he ranked 9th in the Psychometrician Licensure Examination.
“To be honest, topping the board exam was never my goal—becoming a better version of myself every day was,” Jhay said.
Six years later, in September 2025, he again ranked 9th nationwide in the Psychologist Licensure Examination.
There was pressure—being a lecturer and a former topnotcher while preparing for the boards—and Jhay took a short hiatus, answering 7,833 board-type questions in four months while closely monitoring his progress.
“After both board exams, I called everyone who helped me, crying as I kept saying thank you—even if they didn’t know why,” he shared.
Jhay loves watching movies about quests, games, and survival, hobbies that echo the perseverance he practiced in real life.
Reflecting on his journey, he shared a realization that guided his success: “Consistency and interest should co-exist.”
For students still struggling, he offered a reminder shaped by experience: “Sometimes, the journey that almost breaks you is the same journey that prepares you for greatness.”
— The Summit Express