SLU grad tops board exams for architects

BAGUIO CITY – A graduate of the Saint Louis University (SLU) here topped the licensure examinations for architects, the third in the school’s history.

“Actually, it is hard to expect even to pass, much more making it to the top,” said 24-year-old topnotcher Ryan Mina Benaoe.

Benaoe duplicated the feat of SLU graduates Joel Manzano and Rodel Rosario in the 1983 and 1995 licensure exams, respectively.

The feat of Benaoe, who graduated in the top of his 2005 class, is yet another laurel in SLU’s cap, clearly showing the university’s efforts to deliver quality education, SLU officials said.

Graduates of SLU have also topped the board exams for certified public accountants thrice – Serrano in 1997, Reu Ildefonso in 1994, and Douglas Michael Mallilin in 1986. 

The SLU, founded by the CICM congregation in 1911, is the only autonomous higher education institution in Northern Luzon.

Also in 2007, SLU accountancy graduate Noel Malimban, who landed sixth place in the 2002 CPA board exams, topped the Bar. He took up law at the University of the Cordilleras, one of the bigger universities here.

In 1998, SLU accountancy graduate Janet Abuel also topped the Bar, marking the first time that a Baguio City university graduate snatched the limelight from topnotch law schools in Metro Manila.