![](https://lpubatangas.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/received_1312246805798281.jpeg)
Mariano Mendoza Pencil Jr.
BS Nursing 2008
Registered Nurse
Monash Health
Melbourne, Australia
It’s been an amazing 12 years since I graduated from LPU-B. Nursing was not my 1st choice but Engineering. However, my Mom suggested that since none in the family has a medical-related background, nursing could be the best option for me. We also considered LPU-B since it is a pioneer school in Nursing and has established a good reputation in honing students aspiring to become a nurse. So why still go to Manila when my birth city offers the same academic excellence and quality education? Lo and behold, I successfully earned my degree in Nursing in 2008 and passed my licensure exam months after. My impression and ambitious dream were that, since I am already a Registered Nurse, I will be able to land a good job quickly and easily. I was wrong. During my time, there was an oversupply of nurses competing to seek affiliation with hospitals and overcrowding a limited job slot; even volunteering at hospitals with no pay was even challenging. I remembered that I also experienced being required to pay “training fees” to provide my free labor to the hospitals. Crazy, right? The hospitals get manpower for a free cost and at the same time, earning additional revenues out of the fees we paid to volunteer! I still grabbed it to practice more and continuously learn. With perseverance and the right attitude that I was trained for when I was doing my studies at Lyceum, I managed to survive and never give up. My entire mindset then and until now is that “I am a Nurse and I will do the work of a nurse, not something else.” Gladly, an opportunity came knocking at my door to work in New Zealand where I also faced lots of struggles at the beginning of my career because our Nursing care and technologies are completely different as compared to other countries. With all those struggles, came lots of knowledge and new skills too for 8 years that I had worked as a Registered Nurse there. Fast forward to today, I am now based in Melbourne, Australia where I have spent so far, 3 years as a Surgical Registered Nurse in a busy colorectal and gastroenterology unit. Thanks to LPU-B professors and clinical instructors for perfecting not just my academic skills but also my personality. Better schools, resources, facilities, and competitive cost – they are all in one at Lyceum to where my loyalty and gratefulness will always belong. Salute my Alma Mater! #ButiNaLangNagLyceumAko