From OFW to Board Topnotcher: Engr. Enuario Tesio's ETEEAP Story Comes Full Circle at USJ-R

When the University of San Jose-Recoletos welcomed its Class of 2026, one name on the program stood out to anyone who follows the ETEEAP world closely. Engr. Enuario R. Tesio, a graduate of the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation Program, stepped up to the podium not as a stranger but as one of their own. A few years earlier, he had walked the same stage to receive his own degree. This time, he came back as the June 2025 Electronics Engineers Special Professional Licensure Examination Top 1 placer, and as living proof that a late start is still a start worth taking.

If you are weighing whether your years of work experience could ever translate into a real, board-exam-ready degree, his story answers that question better than any brochure could.

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A Josenian returns, this time as an inspiration

USJ-R has a habit of producing ETEEAP graduates whose names get people talking. Actor Matteo Guidicelli, for one, earned his Marketing Management degree through the same program at the same school, a story we covered in our piece on Beyond the Camera: Matteo Guidicelli Graduates with a Marketing Degree. Engr. Tesio’s story runs on a different track entirely, but it lands with the same weight. He did not have the spotlight of showbiz behind him. What he had was years of hands-on electronics work, much of it earned while employed overseas, and the discipline to turn that experience into academic credit through ETEEAP.

Being invited back as a commencement speaker is not a small gesture. It is USJ-R telling its newest graduates, in the clearest way possible, that the person who once sat where they are sitting now went on to top a national licensure exam. That is not a coincidence the school wanted to leave unspoken.

The message he brought back to campus

Engr. Tesio kept his message simple, and that simplicity is exactly why it worked. He reminded the Class of 2026 that dreams are not measured by age, by circumstances, or by the particular path a person took to reach them. They are measured by the courage to keep moving forward when every reasonable excuse says to stop.

That is not a throwaway line for someone whose own path zigzagged between overseas work and a classroom he was told, at some point, he might never see again. Coming from someone who lived it, the words carry a different kind of proof. He told the graduates plainly that their beginnings do not define their future, and that determination, discipline, and faith can still add up to something extraordinary, even when the odds looked stacked the other way for years.

From humble beginnings to board topnotcher while working abroad

The part of his story that tends to stop people mid-scroll is the timeline. Engr. Tesio did not finish an electronics engineering degree the traditional way, then sit for the boards a year or two later like most fresh graduates do. He built his technical foundation on the job, much of it while working abroad, far from a lecture hall and far from the kind of study schedule a full-time student enjoys.

ETEEAP exists precisely for professionals in that position. Under Republic Act No. 12124, the law that institutionalized the program nationwide, a deputized higher education institution can assess a candidate’s real-world knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values, and convert that demonstrated competence into equivalency credits toward an actual bachelor’s degree. Engr. Tesio went through that process at USJ-R, earned his degree, then did something a great many traditional graduates never manage. He topped the Electronics Engineers Special Professional Licensure Examination in June 2025.

Landing Top 1 is remarkable for anyone. Landing it as an ETEEAP graduate, whose academic journey started from work experience rather than four consecutive years of classroom instruction, sends an unmistakable signal to every skeptic who assumes equivalency degrees are somehow a lesser path. They are not. The learning outcomes, the licensure eligibility, and the standard behind the diploma are the same ones a traditional graduate has to meet.

Why his story matters for every working Filipino weighing ETEEAP

There is a particular kind of doubt that follows a lot of ETEEAP hopefuls. It sounds something like, “I have been out of school too long,” or “I already missed my chance.” Engr. Tesio’s story is a direct answer to that doubt, and it is not a soft one. It is proof, printed in an official examination result, that a professional who spent years working before finishing a degree can still outperform graduates who never left the traditional track.

His journey also underlines something the ETEEAP framework was built around from the start. Under the program’s implementing rules, candidates are assessed through portfolio evaluation, written examinations, practical demonstrations, and an oral defense before a panel of assessors, not simply handed a diploma for showing up. Whatever credential comes out the other end has been earned through genuine scrutiny of a candidate’s competence. That is part of why an ETEEAP graduate can walk straight into a licensure exam room and, in Engr. Tesio’s case, walk out at the very top of the results.

What this means if you are considering ETEEAP yourself

If you are an OFW, a returning worker, or simply someone who has spent years building expertise without the paper to show for it, Engr. Tesio’s path is worth sitting with for a moment. He met the same basic requirements every ETEEAP applicant has to meet, including the minimum age of 23 and at least five aggregate years of relevant work experience, and he built a genuine academic credential out of what he already knew how to do.

If you want to see whether your own background lines up with those requirements, our full breakdown at Who May Apply? ETEEAP Eligibility & Requirements walks through the qualifications, the documentary checklist, and the assessment process step by step. And if USJ-R’s track record with ETEEAP graduates has you curious about which other schools offer the program, our Accredited Schools Directory is a good place to start comparing options.

Congratulations again to Engr. Enuario R. Tesio. Between the degree, the Top 1 licensure result, and now a graduation speech that will stick with an entire batch of Josenians, he has given the ETEEAP community one more reason to believe the program does exactly what it was designed to do.

Thinking about turning your own work experience into a college degree? Browse real graduate journeys in our Success Stories section, or check your eligibility today at Get Started.

Photo Credit: University of San Jose-Recoletos