Yarn beyond the spotlight

PASSING board exams has always been the goal of most aspiring professionals. Belonging to the topnotchers is just a “great bonus” to the examinees; the spotlight has always been directed at the best of the best. But what about those who made it to the top for...wait for it...two times?

(Vincent Gullas, the topnotcher at the 2017 Physician Licensure Examinations (Photo taken from Cong. Samsam Gullas’ Facebook account.)

Vincent Eduoard Anthony “Dandan” Gullas at the age of 27 already knows the answer.

Gullas ranked number one among the 3,340 passers in the September 2017 Physician Licensure Examination with the rating of 90.50%.

But five years ago, the spotlight has already been directed at him. Gullas could wow you twice as he was also the cream-of-the-crop of the 2012 Medical Technologist Licensure Examination after graduating as magna cum laude from Velez College in Cebu City.

“He made the family proud when he was number 1 and topped the Med Tech Board Exam 5 years ago,” First District of Cebu Rep. Samsam Gullas, his brother, said in a viral Facebook post.

Gullas earned his medical degree at the University of Santo Tomas with the highest latin honor, summa cum laude. His records gave him “a healthy kind of pressure, enough to fuel [his] drive to do better and study harder.”

Coming from a well-known family in Cebu City, Gullas affirmed that his family helped in boosting his morale for they were very supportive and they understood him whenever he needed to devote his time to studying. In fact, his mother was the one who pushed him to become a doctor.

“I was torn between going into business or to study medicine.  However, my mom wanted me to be a doctor, and it wasn't until I studied medicine when I learned to love it,” Gullas told The Dapitan Post.

Gullas is inspired to do everything that will make his parents, family and friends proud. He is still humbly aiming to improve himself as he is planning to go into residency training for Internal Medicine.

As a Thomasian doctor, Gullas is also a God-fearing millennial.

“Always God. Everything is for God’s greater glory,” he said when asked about what inspired him.

Gullas has also experienced a bumpy road in his journey, but he emphasized the importance of never giving up.

"There will always be times when [I] feel so tired and drained from studying, but I just [take] a step back, relax a bit, and dive right back in,” he added.

Gullas is an inspiration not just to aspiring doctors but also to those who are aiming to finish their degree.

“Just give your all, study hard, do your best, pray hard and God will do the rest.”