Born to a carpenter and a housewife in a small barangay in Miagao town, Iloilo, George Wilson Escordial rose from days of having no ‘balon’ (money) and eating once a day to become the topnotcher of the November 2025 Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination (PNLE).
The 23-year-old student of West Visayas State University-College of Nursing (WVSU-CON) could not hold back his tears as he recalled how difficult life had been for him growing up in Barangay Kirayan Norte, Miagao.
In an interview on Friday, Escordial shared that he was raised by parents who were both high school graduates with limited income, but they never allowed their circumstances to stop them from giving their three children access to quality education.
He remembered going to school during his elementary years without money in his pocket.
In high school, when his father became ill, the family often ate only once a day, surviving on barnuts, patis (fish sauce), and chichirya (junk food) as their viand.
‘My family strived to make sure we could go to school. Life was hard. I had no money. During high school, when my father got sick, we would eat only once a day,’ he said in Ilonggo.
Proud of parents
Escordial said he was never ashamed of his upbringing because he knew his parents had done everything they could to provide for their family – and this inspired him to work even harder.
‘What I could give back to them was to study well, and at the end of the school year, let them walk up the stage to see me wearing a medal,’ he added.
To earn money, Escordial took on various tasks – applying for multiple scholarships, carrying sand, fetching water, and doing whatever work he could find.
After securing the top spot in this year’s exam with a 93.80 percent rating, he vowed to lift his family out of poverty and give them a better life.
WVSU continued to earn recognition as one of the country’s best nursing schools, maintaining its six-year streak of a 100 percent PNLE passing rate.
This year, it produced 36 topnotchers, two of whom tied for first place in the overall ranking.