The campus slowly comes alive with footsteps echoing across the pavements. Some students hurry to their classrooms with coffee in hand, while others spend the morning catching up with friends before lectures begin. For many, university life is measured by class schedules, examinations, and deadlines.
For Jenbert however, every hour has always been measured differently.
A vacant afternoon was never simply free time—it was another opportunity to earn. A weekend was not reserved for rest but for delivering food, selling peanuts, pulling weeds from strangers' yards, giving massages to students and professors, or accepting any honest work that could help him survive another day in college.
Like every student, Jenbert carried a backpack. Unlike most, he also carried responsibilities.
For approximately sixteen years, he carried both without setting either down.
This is Jenbert
Graduating this year with a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness and The Endeavor Award during this year’s Pasidungog 2026, Jenbert's diploma and medal represents far more than academic achievement. It is the culmination of countless jobs, sleepless nights, empty stomachs, and a determination that refused to surrender despite life's relentless hardships. Long before college, independence had already become part of his childhood.
At only ten years old, while most children spent their afternoons playing, Jenbert was already helping his mother earn a living by selling goods in their hometown. It was his first encounter with responsibility—one that would quietly shape the years ahead. By the time he reached Grade 7, weekends were no longer reserved for rest. Every Saturday, he accompanied his mother as a working student, cleaning other people's houses from Grade 7 until Grade 10. On weekdays, he sold mani (peanuts) to help earn additional income. Responsibility came early. Childhood ended even earlier.
When Home wasn’t a Safe Place
For many people, home is where strength begins. For Jenbert, home became the place where he first learned endurance. As a child, he endured physical abuse from his stepfather, whose nights often disappeared into alcohol and gambling. Rarely did an evening pass without violence. The gambling addiction slowly consumed whatever little their family had. While Jenbert and his mother worked tirelessly to earn money, it often disappeared at the gambling table. Debts accumulated. Food became uncertain. Hope became expensive.
“There were days when we had absolutely nothing,”Jenbert recalled. There came a point when neither he nor his mother had money. His mother cried because they had no way of paying their debts or even buying food. Jenbert cried too—not because he feared hunger, but because he believed he would never finish college. For the first time, he seriously considered abandoning his dream and working full-time.
Yet amid despair, one thought refused to leave him. He remembered why he started. And so, he stood back up.
Work First, Dream Always
When Jenbert entered college, financial hardship did not disappear—it only demanded more from him. He decided that if opportunities would not come to him, he would create them himself. Throughout nearly seven years in college, he accepted almost every honest job available. During the COVID-19 pandemic, financial difficulties forced him to pause his studies for one semester as he worked as a houseboy in Manila. Later, he worked at a poultry farm. Moreover, he sold peanuts, graham bars, chicharon, snacks, and whatever food people needed.
When he finally returned to Visayas State University, he once again searched for ways to earn. Through VISKAD, he provided convenience services to students and instructors—delivering meals, medicines, and parcels across campus. When deliveries were scarce, he looked elsewhere. He offered massage services. He cleared overgrown yards. He accepted side jobs whenever they came. To many, these were simply odd jobs. But for him, every peso meant another day in school.
The Weight of Two Lives
Balancing work and academics became a daily test of endurance for him. After finishing work, lectures still had to be attended. Assignments still had to be submitted. Examinations still had to be passed. Sleep became a luxury and sometimes even food did.
“There were days when I had no meal at all,” he shared. “Walay kaon, moresulta nga walay gana sa trabaho ug pag-eskwela.”
The exhaustion was not only physical. It seeped into the mind. Into the heart. There were countless moments when giving up seemed easier than continuing. Yet every morning, he chose to continue. Not because it was easy, but because for Jenbert, quitting was never an option.
Thus, he learned to maximize every vacant hour. Assignments were finished whenever time allowed. Work hours were dedicated solely to work. Study time remained protected no matter how tired he became. He understood that success demanded more than intelligence. It required consistency and the willingness to keep moving even when nobody noticed.
The hands that lifted him
Although much of his journey required personal sacrifice, Jenbert never considers his success to be his alone. Above all, he credits God for giving him strength whenever he felt ready to surrender. He also remains deeply grateful to his family, friends, teachers, and the many people from his hometown who extended financial assistance whenever they saw him struggling.
Among them, one person holds a special place in his story—Sir Jeric Daguplo. Since senior high school, Sir Jeric consistently offered financial help whenever Jenbert reached out, becoming one of the many quiet blessings that reminded him he was never truly alone. Countless others also helped him along the way, proving that even small acts of kindness can become life-changing for someone determined to keep chasing a dream.
Dreams Within Reach
When Jenbert found out he is among the graduates and a recipient of The Endeavor Award for Pasidungog 2026, his answer was immediate.
“Salamat, Lord. Nahuman ra gyud.”
Years of exhaustion.
Years of hunger.
Years of tears.
Years of silent sacrifices.
All found their purpose in one moment. Yet for Jenbert, graduation is not the end of his story. It is only the beginning.
He dreams of finding stable employment, helping his family escape poverty, and someday building a business of his own. Looking back, if he could change one thing, he says it would be choosing his college course based on his own passion rather than other people's expectations. Yet he holds no regrets. His journey taught him that success is determined not by the title of a degree, but by the determination behind earning it.
Words that carried him
Years of hardship have transformed Jenbert into more than just a graduate—they have shaped him into someone whose story now speaks for countless working students chasing the same dream. Having reached a milestone he once feared was impossible, he now hopes that his journey can become a source of encouragement for those who are still finding their way.
Jenbert described his journey with three words.
Pagtuo, because faith carried him whenever his own strength failed. Paningkamot, because no dreams move forward without effort. Paglahutay, because every setback becomes another reason to keep going instead of another excuse to stop.
For him, working students deserve more recognition than they ever receive. Through his own lived experience, he wants to encourage everyone like him. “Kabalo ko nga lisod kaayo ang inyong giagian, apan ayaw gyud mo undang sa inyong damgo. Ang inyong kahago karon mahimong inyong kalampusan ugma.” He believes that every honest day's work, no matter how small, brings a person one step closer to the future they are fighting for.
One Job at a Time
For many, graduation marks the end of a long academic journey.
However for Jenbert, it is far more than that. It is a service he delivered beneath the afternoon sun. A handful of peanuts he sold between classes. A yard he cleared of weeds. A dormitory he cleaned before sunrise. A massage he offered to ease someone else's exhaustion while carrying his own. It is every honest day's work stitched together into one extraordinary story.
Long before the Endeavor Award found its place in his hands, the spirit of endeavor had already found its place in his life—the award simply gave a name to the years of perseverance, resilience and hope that had long defined him.
After all, he did not simply chase a dream.
He built it—one job at a time.