Optometrist Licensure Examination topnotcher Justin Guzman Divinagracia of Centro Escolar University (CEU) said on Friday there was no “special secret” to scoring high in the state board exams other than careful preparation and overcoming one’s nerves.

“Nothing beats the hard work and dedication in achieving goals,” said the 25-year-old Divinagracia who rated 88.81 percent in the exams given by the Board of Optometry in Manila this month.

He led the 50 examinees who passed, based on the list released on Thursday by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Eight out of the Top 10 were from CEU. The other topnotchers are: Angela Czarina Tardecilla Villalobos, 88.32; Trina Sabrina Tiongson Allas, 87.55; Roden Evangelista Natnat, 87.42; Fortunato Iv Bayani Arevalo, 86.26; Clint Aldean Keh Almendral, 85.88; Amapola Malicdem Oropilla, 85.81; and Razel Rose Uy Palmera, 84.94.

The other two topnotchers were John Paul Chua Lam of Cebu Doctors University with 86.11 and Laurence Myles Bacay Fabros of Central Colleges of the Philippines with 85.48.

In an interview, Divinagracia said he found out the result of the exams when CEU Optometry Department Dean Jessica Torre sent him a text message.

“I did not know that I was No. 1 in the exams until I got a message saying I was No. 1,” said Divinagracia.

During the review and while taking the examination, Divinagracia did not expect that he will emerge as the No. 1 optometrist for the exams. “For me, being included in the top 10 is already a great thing.”

In fact, passing the exams was enough. “When we were reviewing, I told myself that if I can just pass the exams, I’m okay with that already,” he said. However, he admitted that he tried to set a goal for himself when they were reviewing. “I want to be included in the top 10 that is why I studied really hard.”

He said the review for the examinations started in April. “It was an everyday review about the lectures and lessons we discussed during classes,” he said.

At home, he would still read books and review his notes to prepare for the examinations. “I make it a point that I would really review what we have reviewed in school so the information would be retained in my mind,” he said.

Aside from attending the daily review in school, Divinagracia would gather his friends and classmates to conduct a group review.

“Along with my other classmates, we would review and ask each other about the possible questions in the exams,” he said.

Divinagracia said that contrary to what others say, there is no special secret to passing the exam. “You just have to study your lessons, attend lectures, and review everything that you have learned,” he said.

He also added that having faith in one’s skills would also help a lot. “You have to believe that you can pass it so you won’t be nervous when the day of the examinations comes.” He also added: “When you know in yourself that you have prepared very well, there is nothing that you should be afraid or nervous of.”

After graduating and emerging as the top optometrist for the year, Divinagracia plans to assist in their family’s business which is an optical shop. “I would like to train first and hopefully, I could come up with my very own shop eventually,” he said.

He also commended CEU for having excellent lecturers who helped him a lot to pass the exam. “They have very good lecturers and professors who assisted us while taking the course until the review of the examinations,” he said.

Dean Torre said producing topnotchers in the field of optometry has been a long-standing tradition of excellence in CEU. “We’re proud and honored that are graduates consistently obtain goof passing marks in various examinations,” she said.

Dean Torre said that the consistent excellent performance of their graduates in licensure examinations can be attributed to the commitment and dedication of the administration, faculty and staff members to “encourage and motivate our students to be the best that they can be.”