LINGAYEN, Pangasinan: Felicitas Viray was full of excitement when she arrived at the Pangasinan Training Center here on Monday, September 19.

She woke up early that morning and traveled for one-and-a-half hours from her place in Barangay Tobor, Malasiqui town to this capital town to attend a graduation ceremony — her graduation from junior high school.

Viray, 68, was the oldest among the 1,667 junior high school graduates for school year 20212022 after passing the portfolio assessment in the Department of Education’s Alternative Learning System (ALS).

The ALS is a learning system that provides opportunities for out-ofschool youth and adult learners to develop basic and functional literacy skills to enable them to complete basic education.

“Sa wakas (finally),” Viray said as she wore a white graduation gown handed to her by one of the ALS teachers.

Viray, who is now a grandmother, could have just chosen to stay home and attended the graduation ceremonies online, just like half of the total number of graduates, who came from the province’s 22 towns comprising Pangasinan schools division one.

But she said she did not want to miss the opportunity to march and personally receive her diploma.

Viray said she should have finished high school when she was young. But at that time, she said, she had to give way to her older brother because of her family’s economic difficulties.

She missed going back to school when she got employed and, later, got married.

But she realized that it “is never too late to chase your dreams.”

“It was my husband and my children who encouraged me to attend ALS. They told me, “You can do it. Finish your high school,’” Viray said.

Ely Ubaldo, schools division superintendent, told the graduates that the ALS graduation day was the most special among the school graduations in her division.

“This is because each one of you has a story of struggle, of facing and overcoming challenges before you received your diploma today,” said Ubaldo.

“I hope that your diploma will serve as an inspiration for you to work harder to achieve your goals in life,” she added.

Gov. Ramon “Mon-Mon” Guico 3rd, the ceremony’s guest speaker, urged the graduates to continue studying until they earn a college diploma or a certificate from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

“As long as we still breathe, let us not waste the time. Let us grab the opportunity,” Guico said.

Guico said that when he was mayor of Binalonan town, he supported ALS because he believed that education is a great equalizer.

Guico said that to provide free college education to his townmates in Binalonan at that time, he established the University of Eastern Pangasinan (UEP), which is run by the town’s government.

“Now, more local government units (LGU) in the province want to establish their own community college or university,” he said.

Aside from the UE P, the other LGU-run colleges are the Urdaneta City University in Urdaneta City, and the newly opened Bayambang Polytechnic College in Bayambang town.