Vice President Leni Robredo congratulated a Filipino who graduated with a perfect grade point average at a prestigious university in the United States.
Farrell Eldrian Wu graduated with an impressive GPA of 5.0, the highest grade, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
In a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon, Robredo also shared that the new graduate Wu used to be a friend of her daughter Jillian.
She also attached screenshots of the report where she got the news and an old post with a photo of them back in May 2015.
“I know Farrell Wu personally. He was Jillian’s friend since they were in grade school. They trained for International Math Competitions and competed together,” she said.
“It was Farrell who would always bag the GOLD for the Philippines. He brought a lot of honor for the country from grade school and high school,” she added.
The vice president also recalled when Wu visited her office back when she was still in Congress and donated it to the Jesse M. Robredo Foundation.
“When I was in Congress, he visited me in the office to donate money he earned from his tutoring work to the Jesse M. Robredo Foundation because, at that time, we were building schools in remote areas,” she said.
Robredo also expressed confidence that the student would excel in his educational endeavor.
“It was no surprise that he got into the best Ivy League schools in the US when he applied for college. Also no surprise that he chose MIT, which is one of the most difficult to enter into. I knew he would excel even in MIT but to have a perfect GPA is no mean feat,” she said.
Wu earned two degrees from the MIT:
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Business Analytics with a minor in Economics
Wu was recognized as a math wizard back when he was attending high school in the Philippines. He won awards at the International Mathematics Olympiad in 2017.
He attended Olympiad trainings at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and Ateneo de Manila University.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Wu said that he dedicated his accomplishment to the Filipino community and his loved ones who helped him along the way.
“I feel blessed and grateful for surviving MIT! The African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ is absolutely true as I would not be graduating from MIT if it wasn’t for the loving and nurturing individuals’ guidance and encouragement,” Wu was quoted as saying.
“To this end, this accomplishment is largely dedicated to my family, teachers, mentors, friends, and the Filipino community who gave me countless opportunities to discover and develop my quantitative talents. Hanggang sa muli, para sa bayan!” he added.
