The College of Education (COED) of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University (CHMSU) gathered to give thanks for a season of achievements in a thanksgiving celebration at the Roy’s Convention Center and Hotel in Bacolod City recently.
The event honored the college’s topnotchers and passers in the September 2025 and March 2026 Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT), as well as challenged the takers of the upcoming board exam next month.
Between the two examinations, CHMSU produced four topnotcher placements and earned national recognition from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Professional Regulatory Board for Professional Teachers, after the COED placed 7th nationally in the March 2026 LEPT Elementary Level category for schools with 50 to 99 examinees achieving at least a 90 percent passing rate.
President Norberto Mangulabnan set the tone for the celebration with a message of congratulations to the college’s topnotchers, board passers, professors, program chairpersons, mentors, and instructors, a CHMSU press release said Sept. 1.
“Your success reminds us that excellence is possible when talent is nurtured and matched with hard work,” he said.
Beyond its graduates, COED dean Ophelia Duayan used the occasion to recognize the university’s partners in the field: stakeholders from the Department of Education’s Schools Division Offices of Negros Occidental, Silay City, and Talisay City, as well as partner private schools in Bacolod City – Tay Tung High School, Happy Beginners School of Learning, and St. Joseph School-La Salle.
That spirit of gratitude carried through the testimonies of the topnotchers.
Kim Patricia Espinosa, a magna cum laude graduate of Bachelor of Secondary Education major in Science program of Class 2025, and Top 5 placer in the Secondary Level in the March 2026 LEPT, urged her fellow educators to look past the exam itself.
“This is not where our story ends, this is where our purpose begins,” she said. “Let’s go forward not just chasing titles, but chasing purpose.”
Nera Andre Quinto, Bachelor of Elementary Education Class 2025, and Top 8 in the Elementary Level in the same examination, spoke about facing down doubt during her review. “Do not let fear make you believe that you are not ready.”
From the September 2025 LEPT, Mark Steven Moncada, Bachelor of Special Needs Education Class 2025 and Top 10 placer in the Elementary Level, framed the college’s results as a shared responsibility rather than an individual feat.
“Excellence is not an act but a habit,” he said, challenging the batch of examinees set to take the LEPT this September to carry that standard forward.
Alexander Jacob Cortez, a magna cum laude graduate of BSED Science of Class 2026, accepted the challenge on behalf of the CHMSU graduates preparing for next month’s exam.
A second challenge came from Charlene Makilan, also a magna cum laude graduate of the BSED Science of Class 2025 and Top 9 placer in the September 2025 LEPT, who called on the college’s fourth-year education students to uphold its legacy.
“Your success will not be measured by a board rating — you will find it beyond graduation, in the students you will teach,” Makilan said. Christian Jutis, a fourth-year student majoring in Mathematics under the Bachelor of Secondary Education program, accepted her challenge on behalf of his batch.
Also present to celebrate the passers were vice president for Academic Affairs Engr. Russel Dela Torre and assistant VPAA Noralyn Esona.
The celebration began with a thanksgiving prayer, led by Prof. Elmer Gumban, COED faculty. ||
