arCH. KaTHerIne roSe C. CaSTronueVo the girl Who defied the nuMbers
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the rest was history
coming from a department that’s not known for having a large population, katherine rose cabrera castronuevo proved that strength does not depend on numbers- especially when it comes to taking the board exams.
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bop to the top in an interview with katherine, she shares some of her memorable experiences and strategies in maximizing the little time that they had to prepare for the architecture licensure examination. “My classmates and i were living in the same house the whole time we were reviewing. it was like a very long slumber party,” she shared jokingly. “i go out and disappear someplace quiet... i also developed a habit of reading whenever and wherever i can.” as for those infamous secret formulas, katherine shared that she will be disappointing a lot of people by saying that there is no secret formula to success. “one thing i did, though, was to really understand and analyze what i was reading - quality over quantity.”
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really feels like they have prepared enough for the board exam. as for the now-architect katherine, she was one of the twenty-six augustinian architecture graduates who took the January 2014 architecture licensure exam. she doesn’t deny the fact that she was “nervous” while taking the board; she accepted it as an “obvious” thing to feeling. this is probably why the news of her topping the exam came as a big surprise. “it was big because i wasn’t the conscious achiever-type, that much-coveted license is enough to make me cry.”
Looking Up having bagged the second spot in the 2014 architecture licensure examination, with an average score of 84.30%, gave the then-ordinary-student-turned-professionalarchitect’s life a new perspective in life. consequently, opportunities are popping-up in front of the architect like wild daisies. “it’s all overwhelming and tempting, of course. i had a fair share of sleepless nights thinking about what i would do with my life, but i think i’ll stick to the original plan, every purist architect’s dream - private practice,” she concludes. architect katherine accepted the challenge, worked hard, and is now on to bigger and better things.
One thing I did, though, was to really understand and analyze what I was reading – quality over quantity
Confidence in taking the exam served as a vital factor. katherine shares that nobody
MAy 2014 Volume 80, Number 2
THE AUGUSTINIAN MIRROR
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