Senior High School Graduate Shares His Ingredients to Success

(PNA) — Poverty is not a hindrance to success. These are the words Rendel Mancera Cortez lives by as he attempts to break from the cycle of poverty through education.

Mancera is just one of many who took advantage of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Senior High School Program (SHS) pilot program at Lamon Bay School of Fisheries to better his situation.

“Buti na lamang at naisipan ko at ng aking mga magulang na sumubok sa SHS program, malaking kaluwagan ito para sa kanila (It’s a good thing that my parents and I decided to give the SHS program a try; it’s a big help for my parents,)” he said.

Hailing from Gumaca, Quezon, Mancera is the eldest son of a tricycle driver among five siblings.

He wanted to go to college but his family could not afford it, so he took Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) track at Lamon Bay School of Fisheries, where he studied Commercial Cooking, Cookery, and Bread and Pastry.

With these subjects he learned to prepare, cook and serve a variety of foods. These foods are commonly sold to students and teachers in the school.

The sales income is then used to finance their other projects and other hands-on activities.

Mancera said they also provided catering service for the National Association of Principals of Philippine Secondary Schools (NAPPSHI) and Skills Training and Vocational Education (STAVE) conferences.

The proceeds from these services are used by the students in financing their Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) National Assessment Exam. He took and passed the exams and is now a Commercial Cooking NC II and Bread and Pastry Production NCII holder.

After SHS, Mancera decided to pursue a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education Major in English where he is now a third year college student and enjoying a full scholarship courtesy of Eastern Quezon College, Gumaca, Quezon (a Higher Education Institution partner of Lamon Bay School of Fisheries).

He is now on his way of fulfilling his dreams of getting a good education and to help his family. (PNA) RMA/PR/FMC