Like most pre-service teachers, Sherilyn Cordova, who ranked 5th in the March 2025 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers for Elementary Education, took the exam after a requisite review period following graduation. Her drive went beyond a simple wish for a license; for her, the exam was a chance at redemption.
Sherilyn enrolled in the Education course in 2019 under the Secondary program during her first year at Palawan State University.
It was an expected route for her—her consistent honor grades in elementary, a desire to stay inside the classroom, and the encouragement of Ma’am Amy, her Grade 5 adviser, led her to pursue teaching as a lifelong dream.
Above all else, Sherilyn wanted to pass on knowledge to others.
“I remember when I was in Grade 2, I would help my cousin in Grade 3 with her homework even though I hadn’t taken the lessons yet. I’d just read her textbook a bit, and then I would explain how to do it. Also, I’m the type of friend who loves sharing facts and trivia, and I would feel ecstatic seeing them learn something new,” she said in an interview with Palawan News.
However, she started becoming quiet and withdrawn in class since high school, due to overwhelming life changes and family conflicts.
Though she kept her grades up, she no longer stood out in class, keeping her knowledge and tutoring skills to herself.
When Sherilyn passed the grueling interview and exam process to get into Palawan State University’s English major program, she hoped for a fresh start in classroom performance.
“When I entered college, I tried to start anew. I took Secondary Education, major in English, and even landed a spot on the Dean’s List during the first semester. Yet, I realized I wasn’t fulfilled with my program, kasi mas gusto ko pala talaga ang mga bata. Kaya ni-let go ko ang good standing para sundin ang ‘calling’ kahit uncertain at takot,” she relayed in a public Facebook post.
Thus, she shifted mid-semester from the Secondary program to Elementary Education, which added more coursework to her load as she had to catch up with her classmates in major subjects with prerequisites.
She recalled a sense of demotivation from falling behind and misjudging which subjects to take first, leading her to extend her four-year course by another year.
“Pero eto na, nakita ko na ang TOR ko. Ang daming INCs kasi I chose to retake some subjects face-to-face para mas maganda ang performance ko. Pero napaisip ako, may school ba na maghihire sa akin kung ganito ang records ko? [Five] years sa college at may mga INCs pa. And so, I told myself na babawi ako sa board exam, para sa sarili ko at para sa mama ko.”
Sherilyn threw herself into months of review, recalling most of it as a blur of back-to-back studying and part-time work.
“One thing that I will always remember [from my reviewing period] is the time when I saw a book about Jose Rizal that stated he played a prank on Josephine Bracken which resulted to her miscarriage. That blew me out big time,” she said.
She was in an office with two of her college friends, refreshing the Civil Service Commission website to check for available slots, when the results came in.
In that moment, years of hard decisions and questioning her own judgment paid off—she earned a 93.60% rating in the board exam.
“It’s safe to say that I indeed redeemed myself with this satisfying result,” she concluded in her post.
Everything has come full circle for her now, as Sherilyn delightedly informed Palawan News that she was hired on the spot after a teaching demonstration months ago.
The little girl who once dreamed of teaching will now be teaching her own class of Grade 2 private school students in the upcoming school year, just weeks after her outstanding board exam results.
She hopes to address some of the challenges she observed during her time as a pre-service teacher in both private and public schools—including what she called an “alarming” lack of cultural literacy in younger children.
“To all the aspiring LPTs, I wish you prioritize finding your purpose in taking the LET. You might find yourself feeling burnout and demotivated from time to time and knowing your purpose shall ignite you again to push forward. I wish you all the best and just enjoy the moments of learning new things about our profession!”
