Growing up in a rural area with no electricity or gadgets, I found joy in the simple pleasures of life. Exploring the farm and bushes fostered me to love our wonderful environment.

In 2004, I pursued a degree in BS Secondary Education with a major in Mathematics, which introduced me to the rapidly evolving world of technology. My fascination in technology grew, especially through playing MMORPG.

However in 2007, this interest turned into a gaming addiction, leading me to drop out of school and face significant personal challenges.

Leaving my home in the province, I ventured into Metro Manila, a bustling city that starkly contrasted with my rural hometown. The city's vast infrastructure and rapid development were overwhelming yet inspiring.

During my first year, I struggled to find my footing, experimenting with different paths but making little progress. Despite the initial setbacks, this experience was crucial in shaping my resilience and adaptability.

While experiencing hardship in Metro Manila and dealing with my father's disappointment, he gave me a second chance to redeem myself. I overcame my game addiction and attained self-discipline, transforming my passion for gaming into a drive to learn more about game development and web app development.

Around 2007, I dedicated my time in self learning of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript and built my first website from scratch, finding it incredibly fun and fulfilling. Embracing this opportunity, I decided to return to my studies, this time pursuing a degree in BS Information Technology in my hometown city.

Being a BS Information Technology student, I found that programming was not only fun but could also become an addiction. The challenges of solving problems quickly became my forte. I eagerly embraced new challenges in programming, enjoying Turbo C++, Visual Basic, MS Access, and MySQL.

My confidence grew as I completed projects on time and precisely. Even when problems took longer to solve, there was always space to learn and improve. I gained insights into how systems worked—like banking systems, ERP, chat systems, browsers, and the fundamentals of the internet and computers. Learning was fun and fulfilling.

My journey took a difficult turn in 2009 when my father suffered a heart stroke. As the family's breadwinner, I had to stop my studies in my second year and find a job to support my parents and siblings.

My first role was as a junkshop helper, offering a modest income, followed by driving a pedicab. Despite the grueling heat and hard work, I persevered and eventually secured a position as a salesman in a general hardware store in 2010.

There, I learned manual inventory, sales, promotion, logistics, and later accounting when I got promoted to become the store manager with a salary of ₱4,500 monthly. To supplement my income, I continued driving my pedicab part-time, earning an additional ₱200 daily. I also rented a PC in a shop to keep my programming skills updated. While driving the pedicab, I found inspiration and hope for future success.

In early 2011, a college buddy informed me about the TESDA Certification, specifically the National Certificate IV (NCIV) in Programming in STI-Calbayog. Seizing this opportunity, I left my job at the hardware store and continued to drive my pedicab part-time to support my family's financial needs.

This certification reignited my passion for programming and set me on a path toward a brighter future. I participated in a rigorous 252-hour programming training course, attending one class a week, covering Java, VB.Net, and Microsoft SQL Server.

In June 2011, out of 28 examinees—most of whom were graduating CS/IT students from various universities—only two passed the assessment. I was the only out-of-school youth among the examinees, and I was fortunate to pass. The examination consisted of a three-hour practical programming test, divided into two parts: Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) using Java in the console output, and Application Design and Development with VB.Net and Microsoft SQL Server.

In August 2011, armed with my TESDA NCIV certificate, STI-Calbayog helped me land a job at Wizzard Technologies Inc. (WTI) as a software developer. WTI, located in Ortigas, Pasig, Metro Manila, provided me with my first software development role. Thanks to them, I experienced my first flight travel to Manila, marking the beginning of a significant new chapter in my career. The rest is history.