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| Dr. Luzyl Tan, proud UE homespun Dentist and Board Topnotcher |
It doesn't come easy to be on the top. It needs hard work, perseverance, skill and a whole lot of luck. When we heard that the latest board topnotcher was a lass from University of the East, we couldn't help but be proud of what she has accomplished. The Professional Regulation Commission released the results and announced that 278 out of 628 passed the May 2015 Dentist Licensure Examination for the Written Phase and 294 out of 295 passed the Dentist Licensure Examination for the Practical Phase. This was supervised and given by the Board of Dentistry in Manila last June 2015.
What's even great news is that we even had Dr. Klaudeen Arianne Rosales and Dr. Janine Kristel De Leon included in the top 10. UE has been consistently performing quite well as far as the medical science goes and what's funny is that people from our school tend to even treat it as a normal phenomenon when someone does land in the top spot. What does it take to get there? What do you think is special about the school? We got those questions answered by the Dr; Luzyl Tan herself, she's University of the East's latest board topnotcher.
Dr. Luzyl Tan's proud parents are Rafael and Luzvilla. He was a former manager of an oil company while her mom worked as a former supervisor for Fortune Tobacco. She's got an elder brother who works for DILG, an older sister who's a professor in UP Diliman (also studying Masters for Civil Engineering) and her younger sister just recently graduated BS Chemistry from the same school, all quite accomplished. Her Dad just wished to have a doctor in the family but Luzyl didn’t want to go through the long years of Medicine. That led her to choose dentistry instead. She wasn't sure about taking this course but when she excelled during her pre-dentistry years, she thought maybe this was her destiny. She also got free tuition fee because of the scholarships and that encouraged her a lot to give her best. She laments "I chose University of the East because I heard that it was the best dental school and with all honesty, I think the school really prepared me well to become a dentist, and it is because of the very difficult journey that every student will have to experience."
To whom do you attribute your success?
I attribute my utmost gratitude to our Almighty God for blessing me with knowledge, wisdom and technical skills that helped me all throughout this course, for comforting me whenever I’m anxious of the future, and for answering my prayers. Indeed, when we put our faith in Him, He will do the rest. I would also like to extend my appreciation to those who financially helped me finish dental school, namely, the University of the East Scholarship, the UE-Tan Yan Kee Foundation, the Lucio Tan Groups of Company and the Philippine Dental Association. May they continue to bless those, who are in need of financial support, and help each youth fulfill their greatest dream of attaining quality education. Unquestionably, my family did not only support me in my chosen career path but also made me who I am today. To all my friends, classmates, professors, fellow Achiever’s Council of Excellence and Dentistry Student Coucil, you have not only shared your instruments, materials, notes, logs and assistance to me but you have also believed that I can achieve this success.
What do you think is the reason why you got first place?
Graduating with honors is what I initially aimed for but graduating top of the class, more so, topping the recent board exam was beyond what I expected. The determination to do my best for the said board exam was influenced by people around me. The expectations from my professors, classmates and family pushed me to study hard. I believe that to be top 1, you need a lot of hard work and blessing from God since the board examination consists of the theoretical phase and practical phase. A good study habit really helps a student for reviewing the theoretical part while a lot of practice and God’s help for the practical phase.
What are your study habits? What do you think could help future board takers from our school?
I believe that diligence can get you to a lot of places. I always say to my friends, “di ako matalino, masipag lang.” (I am not smart, I just work really hard!) I always rewrite my notes and make handouts before every exam. It is very tedious and time consuming but it helps me in memorizing and remembering important topics. It also serves as a summary of all the lessons that I could eventually use for the final examination. I find it easier to understand and recall lessons by rewriting notes. Since dentistry needs a lot of memorization, I usually write the word of the disease or the muscle’s origin and insertion repeatedly. It indeed helped me survive dentistry.
What's the most difficult part of the exam?
The hardest part of the board exam for me was definitely the practical phase. I know for myself that complete denture on live patients is my waterloo. Complete denture is a prosthesis of the upper and lower teeth. I even had no patient a week before the exam due to external factors which greatly contributed to my anxiety. But by God’s grace, I was able to get a patient days just before the exam.
How do you think UE helped in getting you there?
I extend my deepest gratitude to the University of the East College of Dentistry for preparing me to become a dentist. We have a good set of professors who generously, unselfishly impart their knowledge and expertise. Their passion in teaching and meticulous evaluation motivated and at the same time challenged us to do better. Moreover, the school’s clinical requirements that we worked hard for, trained us to execute procedures quickly while ensuring refined quality work. In the process, it also honed us to be extremely patient and industrious. All of which, I believe are qualities that dentists must be equipped with.
In behalf of the Red Tribe, we would like to congratulate Dr. Luzyl Tan, Dr. Klaudeen Arianne Rodriguez Rosales, Dr. Janine Kristel Medina De Leon and the rest of the Dentists that have made University of the East proud. Your achievements are solid proof of what the warriors can achieve when they put hard work, diligence and their mind on it. We hope you would continue to inspire more people, students who are still in the university who will soon take the same path as you did. It's no ordinary feat and we only wish that you would all continue to make UE and the country proud. Thank you also to Dr. Luzyl Tan for allowing us to share her story so we could let others know how she achieved her dreams, and embolden more UEnians in the future.
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