Photos courtesy of Kyla Jane Purcil
IT WAS eight in the morning, and Kyla Jane Purcil had just woken up when she received an e-mail from the Rector’s office. “Rector’s Awardee 2024,” the e-mail’s subject read.
Her heart momentarily stopped. Making sure that she read it right, Purcil, who came to be the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters’ (AB) class 2024 valedictorian, stared at the e-mail on her screen before tears began to stream down her face.
Her sole goal for college was to be consistently part of the dean’s list, so she pushed herself to be one all those years.
“Being the valedictorian was always just a dream that I never thought possible,” Purcil told The Flame.
“However, I can’t deny that there was a small part of me that hoped I had a chance — kahit konti lang (even just a little),” she said, recalling the sacrifices she made for improvement in those four years.
The English Language Studies major finished strong with a 1.083 general weighted average, the highest academic rating among the graduating AB batch. She also received the Rector’s Academic Award, a medal given by the University for academic excellence.
With these accolades, one inevitably imagines her to be a perfect student with an overachiever, no-nonsense attitude. Yet, believe it or not, this was not the case for Purcil.
Back row
During high school, Purcil struggled with the reserved personality that she grew up with. She preferred sitting in the back row and hesitated to participate in her classes.
“When it came to recitations, I was too scared to raise my hand. I was also bad at public speaking, like, nginig level yung takot (Public speaking made me tremble),” she said.
“Makakalimutin din ako (I was also a forgetful student) — I quickly forgot what we were studying.”
Though Purcil was a constant part of the honors roll, it was far from being an effortless feat for her.
“Growing up, I felt like I had to work twice as hard to get a good result,” Purcil said.
“I had to work twice as hard not only because I was losing motivation, but also because I was pressuring myself to do better.”
After finishing senior high school, it became clear to Purcil that she needed to break out of her shell.
“I saw my college years as my final chance to improve. If hindi mo gagalingan ngayon, then kailan pa? (If you don’t do your best now, then when?)”
Last chance
Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. As she was among the many students left grasping for direction in the dark, she had to force herself to keep up as the burden of the unknown weighed upon her.
Although she was in the comfort of her home in Camarines Sur, Bicol, regular power interruptions, which lasted from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a weak wifi connection only fueled her frustration with the online learning environment.
It was during this time that Purcil clung to her family the most. Purcil said her grandfather never got tired of reminding her of one simple quote: “Never give up.”
Her mother, Janel, who was “strong-willed and outspoken” and whom Purcil saw as her opposite, inspired her to be fearless in pursuing her dreams.
Yet she was still well within her comfort zone, and the return of onsite classes in 2022 meant leaving that cocoon.
“Having lived in Bicol all my life, that familiar space was all I’ve ever known,” she said.
At one point, she knew she had to be there, alone in Manila, and the only thing she could do was grapple with the sudden changes that time offered, setting her foot out on another journey.
“This is our only chance to experience college. Even though we feel like we’ve lost more than two years of our lives online, we can still make up for it by living the following years to the fullest,” she said.
“This became my motivation to keep going once I accepted the fact that we can’t go back in time.”
Out there
True enough, Purcil found herself carrying out her goal when she stepped onto the campus as a junior. She continued her membership with the English Language Studies Society (ELSSoc) — having joined the organization in her freshman year — and became its treasurer in her senior year.
Inside the classroom, Purcil was still the soft-spoken student that she had always been.
“To be honest, the first thing I noticed about her is that she was very shy,” Joram Kim Corcuera, Purcil’s instructor in two of her courses, said.
“In fact, during the first days of our class, I remember, Kyla was someone you really wouldn’t notice at first. But her brilliance would, of course, quickly become apparent,” he added.
“Her strong intellect and her modest confidence truly earned her respect from both her peers and also her teachers. She has a unique ability to communicate with others and bring out the best in them.”
To Purcil’s friends, she was the “nangunguna-sa-gala (leader-of-going-out)” member of the group.
“I don’t think she has shown this side of hers to a lot of people,” Kiszhi Bernice Pagaduan, her friend and blockmate, said, smiling. “She would always encourage us to do new things. G na g siya (She was always game).”
Pagaduan recalled that whenever their group of five — all of the reserved kind, she said — were looking for a place to study or eat, “Kyla would always say, ‘Kumain na tayo diyan last week, sa iba naman tayo’ (We’ve already eaten there, let’s go somewhere new).”
An avid K-pop fan, Purcil used this interest to connect with her blockmates who were birds of a feather. She rooted for K-pop groups BTS and Seventeen and was also enamored with NCT, Enhypen and the singer and actress IU.
Attending events and watching her favorite artists’ videos with friends gave her a break from college responsibilities, allowing Purcil to find happiness on tough days.
“In times when I needed comfort or motivation, I got to find them in their music,” Purcil said.
Remembering all of these moments made her smile. “I really tried my best to set myself out there, even though natatakot ako (even though I was afraid),” she said.
“Looking back at it now, I don’t regret it. It did help me a lot to improve and grow.”
Commitment and consistency
Two same words came up from her friend and her instructor when they were asked to describe Purcil: committed and consistent.
“She always made sure that everything she did was done in an excellent manner,” Corcuera said.
Pagaduan shared that she was drawn to Kyla “like a moth to the flame” because of her academic discipline.
One wonders: what underpinned Purcil’s approach to studying, enough to make her the best?
“I think some of the best qualities to have when it comes to your studies are effective time management, motivation and consistency,” Purcil said.
She did not have a strict study habit throughout college, but she made sure that she had planned out her day ahead, with her tasks listed down the night before.
“You don’t always have to follow your schedule strictly, but it’s always helpful to have a guide on what you need to do, so you won’t forget them and you won’t be overwhelmed in the process,” Purcil said.
As disciplined as she may be, Purcil still had her fair share of sleepless nights and bouts of procrastination. On some occasions, she shared, she would go to her classes without an hour of sleep, having crammed a task the night before.
“I really don’t recommend it,” she said, laughing.
“It was really difficult at first to follow a set schedule for doing my tasks, but it was something I had to do even though I really wanted to scroll through TikTok.”
For Purcil, the most helpful thing that she had given herself was taking breaks. Contrary to what her guilt would say, she allowed breaks whenever she studied, as she considered this a part of the process.
“Taking breaks also means that you’re helping yourself function better, so you can absorb and retain information better and do your tasks effectively,” she said.
Indeed, Purcil had succeeded in adopting a kinder approach to academics and life at large.
“Progress is progress. Even if we make mistakes along the way, we’re still improving. And that’s what matters,” she said.
Before reaching the end of her four-year journey with flying colors, Purcil was confronted by the hurdles of a pandemic and a personality that held her back from maximizing her capabilities. She only bravely took the first few steps outside her shell and made up for the lost time in her life.
Indeed, Purcil had achieved something deeper than academic excellence: she grew into the self that she had willed to become.
Her plans for the months to come are not absolute — she said she plans to take the Licensure Examination for Teachers and venture into the field of education. She is also open to taking up Law.
But while there are many possibilities for the path she will take, one thing is for sure: she wants to share what she learned with other people.
“That’s my current goal for the next few months,” she said. F
