Ranking 7th and 9th in the October 2022 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT), Mark Anthony Sumpad and Camille Arquiola Casas excelled as topnotch educators with engineering backgrounds from Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU). 

Sumpad is a Chemical Engineering graduate who ranked 7th in the board exam for teachers with a 93% rating, while Casas is an Industrial Engineering graduate whose 92.6% rating placed in the Top 9.  

The engineers, now licensed teachers from the AdDU School of Education (SOE), are among the 15 graduates from schools in the Davao region who made the Top 10.

In an interview with Atenews, Casas shared that being part of the Top 10 was a dream. “I simply woke up that day, read congratulatory messages,… and found out from one of the messages from my friends that I am top 9.” 

Given their background as an Industrial Engineer, Casas said they never expected to top the board exam. 

They prepared for four months and studied in a review center while working full-time as a faculty of the Philippine Science High School – Southern Mindanao Campus (PSHS – SMC). 

Casas earned education units in AdDU through a scholarship provided by the PSHS – SMC System. 

“When I started my review, I had kept in mind that being a topnotcher was impossible, especially since I am only a unit earner,” they told Atenews. 

Casas later entertained the chance of topping the LEPT as review days went, and their performance in quizzes fared well. 

“The main challenge that I experienced during the review was fitting all my responsibilities on my plate,” they said.

“While I was preparing for my review, I was working full-time from 8AM to 5PM, and I was also attending classes on weekends.”

Casas advised future educators to look at life as a sea of opportunities, even when complaining or losing faith comes easily.  

“If we look at this challenge as an opportunity to be stronger, to be better, and to be wiser, we eventually rise above the occasion, and that’s how breakthroughs happen.” 

Atenews also reached out to Casas’ fellow engineer and topnotcher Mark Sumpad but didn’t get a response. 

AdDU garnered a passing rate of 92.06% in the exam, placing 6th in the Top 10 Performing Schools – Secondary Level.