John Kerwin Enriquez, a proud son of San Nicolas, Batangas, lives a simple life with a simple dream of passing the mechanical engineers board exam– no more no less. He admits he wasn’t always the brightest in class, an irregular student who also needed remedial exams for survival.  

But in August, the Batangas State University alumnus solo-topped the MELE– besting all other 1553 passers out of 3,808 who tried– to become the first-ever engineer in his family. 

Kerwin’s feat, amazing as it already seems, is made more notable by the simplicity of his ways, where the focus is only on fundamentals; setbacks are secondary; and faith is a buttress amid pressure. 

SIMPLE LIFE, SIMPLE DREAM

When John Kerwin Enriquez, 24, emerged as the solo topnotcher in the August 2025 Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination (MELE), it came as a wild surprise. 

“Hindi ko po talaga inexpect, as in kahit sa pagisisimba ko, hindi ko hiniling na mag-top. Ang gusto ko lang ay makapasa, kasi yun talaga lang ang goal ko,” Enriquez told GMA Regional TV News.

Let that sink in for a moment: the national topnotcher was at one point doubtful if he would at all crack the list of passers, even sharing that he felt iffy with his performance after the three-day exam. 

“Kada tapos ng exam nagtatanugan kami ng mga kasama ko, napapakinggan ko po na ganito mga sagot nila and yung akin parang iba mga sagot ko eh. Kaya medyo nag-doubt ako na baka ako yung hindi makapasok,” he shared.

Born and raised in San Nicholas, Batangas, Kerwin comes from a humble background. Both his parents are into livestock breeding, raising chickens and hogs for a living. 

He is a proud product of the public education system, having graduated from Maabud National High School and Lemery Senior High School before making an inspired decision to pursue his engineering dreams at the Batangas State University.

“Simple lang po ang buhay namin, hindi kami mayaman, halos lahat ng ginagastos ko sa aking pag-aaral lalo sa college is from scholarships na natatanggap ko.”

What he had, which served as his driving force, was an impassioned desire to one day bear the title of ‘Engineer‘ before his name,

“Gusto ko lang din talaga magkaron ng ‘engineer’ sa pangalan. Kaya ako nag mechanical kasi sobrang na-inspire ako sa Batangas State U, kasi nung time na nagde-decide ako kung ano ang aking pipiliin, yung BatStateU ang top performing school. Nainspire po ako na tahakin yun, sumama dun, at ngayon kasama na ako don,” he said. 

Batangas State University, after all, is dubbed the National Engineering University for a good reason. Well-known for being a powerhouse in engineering licensure examinations, BatStateU often boasts topnotchers and high passing rates.

Asked for advice to the future generation of engineering aspirants, he said it’s all about believing in oneself, staying the course, and enduring the process.

“Tao lang din po ako– naiiyak, nahihirapan– pero during those times inisip ko na laging may naniniwala at nagtitiwala. Yung struggles and sacrifices, para sakin pansamantala. Iniiisip ko yung benefits after ng lahat ng sacrifices, yung ‘engineer’ sa unahan ng pangalan natin, ‘yan ay panghabambuhay.”

BASICS MASTERED TO PERFECTION

Kerwin’s gameplan was simple as it was effective, a no-nonsense approach that puts premium on basic building blocks found in simple college notes and self-made reviewers. 

“Sa totoo lang po, balance lang ng consistency at disiplina. Halos six months yung duration ng pagrereview ko. Sa first three months, naging main focus ko is pagpapatibay ng fundamentals sa bawat core subject. Instead of memorizing, I made sure na naiintindihan ko yung mga topics at konseptong kalakip non,” he explained. 

Kerwin dedicated the first half of his review season to ensuring that his foundational knowledge was intact, “para sa remaining months ay pagre-recall na lang ng formula ang gagawin.”

He found this as an apt solution to a prior self-diagnosis on what his strengths and weaknesses were, and another facet that fortified his review were peer discussions. 

“Sobrang laki ng tulong ng pagtuturo at pagpapaturo. Kapag may topics ka na nahihirapan, magpaturo talaga sa mga kilala mong kaya magturo non, tapos kapag meron namang nangangailangan ng tulong, turuan nyo rin po,” said Kerwin, who holds a firm belief in having a solid retention capacity through knowledge sharing. 

“Hindi lang yung nakakatulong ako ang benefit sa akin, kasi mas nare-retain talaga yung idea kapag nakukwento ko yung lessons at lapses,” he added.

In addition, he made good use of the fondness of jotting down notes and keeping them for future reference.

“Kini-keep ko yung notes ko talaga. Six months before taking the board exams, cinompile ko talaga lahat ng notes ko sa inaral ko. Kaya nung time na ng review, pag may mga formula, parang hindi na sya bago sa akin. Yun talaga yung nakatulong sa akin, yung pag-keep ko ng notes nung college days,” he pointed out.  

Though unintentional, Kerwin’s impressive feat of topping a national exam has inevitably left no doubt that the straightforward style of focusing on the basics and sharing insights is a template future aspirants can model after.  

“Despite all the pressure and expectations, pinili kong maniwala at magtiwala. Trust and believe. Suki po ako ng removals at remedial exams. Hindi ako regular student. Delayed ako for a sem kasi may subject ako na hindi agad naipasa. Pero iniisip ko na lahat ng yun, nangyari for a reason. At eto ako, unang engineer sa pamilya namin.”