Roy Lawagan’s story has recently gone viral after it has inspired many about the value of education.
Lawagan, who works as a security guard the Commission on Audit office in La Trinidad, Benguet, is a fine example of perseverance as he did his best to balance his day job along with his law studies at night and being a family man at the same time.
Turning 27 years old this May 11, Lawagan made it his goal to pass the bar exam as a gift for himself. All the hard work eventually paid off as he was named one of the 1,731 new lawyers who successfully passed the exam.
So now he has his chance to fulfill his dream of working as a lawyer soon as he grabbed his cousin’s offer to be employed at a law firm in Manila. “I will go there to gain experience,” Lawagan said.
Lawagan is merely counting the days until May 15 when he can start with his new profession. Right now, however, he said he wants to continue working as a security guard.
Now a father of a 4-year-old girl, Lawagan said things didn’t come easy for him since his wife was pregnant during his first year as a law student. He really had to work hard so he can fund his studies and provide for his family at the same time. Regardless of the difficulties, he never gave up.
“Being a lawyer was my father’s dream,” said Lawagan. According to him, he is the fourth among nine children and while some of his sisters also graduated from political science, they eventually ended up not practicing law in the long run.
The security guard-turned lawyer took up criminology at the University of Baguio and later took up law at Saint Louis University. In 2014, he took the bar exam for the first time but failed despite having enrolled at a review center. For the 2015 bar exam, he decided to study by himself and he eventually passed.
Lawagan’s story has been picked up by several websites and has been heavily shared on social media. Truly, his persistence in life is an example worthy of emulation.
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