Markus Castro
Manila, Philippines — A student who finished two degrees from two well-respected universities in the Philippines — both with honors — has recently become viral on the Web. Timothy Jason “TJ” Simeon was among the 54 summa cum laude graduates from the University of the Philippines (UP) – Diliman this year which is deemed the first time in the history of the school.
In the past, he graduated as magna cum laude.
Simeon graduated from UP with a degree in BS Civil Engineering while he graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in BS in Management Engineering.
Graduated Valedictorian of Xavier School
Back when he was still in high school, Simeon graduated as valedictorian of his batch. It is interesting to note that Simeon passed the UP College Admission Test. On top of that, he also successfully hurdled the Ateneo Junior Summer Seminar program.
He then grabbed the opportunity to be offered a full scholarship at Ateneo as he graduated on top of his class at Xavier School.
Another reason why he chose Ateneo over UP during the time is because Xavier and Ateneo are both Jesuit schools. Thus, he believed it was easy for him to adjust from high school to college, “especially in terms of culture and values.”
After graduating magna cum laude from Ateneo and spending the next five years working, his father — who is an engineer — encouraged him to earn a second degree.
He then chose UP as his next school as he have always wondered how different his college would be if he had picked UP over Ateneo.
Simeon did not only graduate with magna cum laude honors this time, but with summa cum laude honors.
The Key to His Success
According to him, the key to his success is time management and knowing when to take breaks. As much as possible, he would avoid cramming or studying the night prior to his exam.
“I study as early as one week before an exam and do projects as early as I can,” he said.
He also advised students to find time to relax and pamper themselves.
In fact, he said that he turns to mobile games to relax himself, particularly when he is overwhelmed with a lot of stress and pressure because of deadlines.
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