𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝑹𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒂𝒓 𝑷𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒓: 𝑳𝑻𝑶-𝟔’𝒔 𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒚. 𝑴𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑪𝑷𝑼 𝑳𝒂𝒘 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒂𝒍

Everything else is “just noise,” Land Transportation Office — Region VI (LTO-6) Legal Officer Atty. Jehan Ulangkaya-Miranda told a packed Rose Memorial Auditorium during Central Philippine University’s College of Law orientation, urging new and returning law students to stay focused and persevere.

“Don’t get distracted. Believe me — I’ve been there, done that. I wasn’t the brightest student in class, but I was diligent,” Atty. Miranda said, drawing knowing smiles and nods from the audience of law students, faculty and school officials.

Her talk — part inspirational address, part personal confession — traced a four-year journey from a corporate career to the Bar, and the sacrifices and setbacks that accompanied it. Atty. Miranda thanked CPU officials, including Rev. Fr. Ernest Howard Dagohoy, Dean Aila Endonila and Assistant Dean Atty. Liza Lyn S. Lamason-Garcia for the invitation and for supporting students through an increasingly challenging legal education landscape.

Before entering law school, Atty. Miranda worked as a medical representative — a role she described with self-deprecating humor as being one of the profession’s “drug pushers.” Despite solid performance, industry upheavals and job insecurity prompted a midlife rethink.

“At 40, I literally calculated my age and thought, ‘Four years in law school — if everything goes well, I should be a lawyer by 45,’” she recalled. That calculation became her roadmap: take the PhilSAT, enroll, and balance family, work and study.

Atty. Miranda’s account highlighted the relentless juggling act of being a wife, mother, employee and student. “My son was clingy. Work demanded so much. The house didn’t clean itself,” she said, describing nights filled with readings, recitations and case briefs while trying to hold down a full-time job.

When COVID-19 forced classes online, Atty. Miranda faced a new hurdle: digital literacy. Platforms like Zoom and Google Meet, she said, were unfamiliar territory that compounded the strain of her already full schedule. Instead of slowing down, she loaded up on courses each semester to stay on track with her personal timeline.

Her anecdotes ranged from comic to chaotic: a class recitation interrupted by her young son’s cries; a multitasked evening where she delivered a medical product presentation to doctors while keeping up with an online recitation; and a professor’s teasing rebuke after a shaky performance in Constitutional Law. “I felt so embarrassed and exposed… But I reminded myself why I started,” she said.

𝑨 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆
By 2023, Atty. Miranda confronted a turning point: remain in the corporate world with its comforts and benefits, or resign and devote herself fully to law. She chose resignation, describing it as “temporary discomfort” necessary to pursue a long-term goal.

The Bar exams tested her resolve further. During the Political Law exam she experienced severe eye pain, later diagnosed as internal bleeding. Despite the medical scare and sleepless nights, she completed the exams. “It was one of the most surreal and terrifying experiences of my life,” she said, recounting the fear and uncertainty that accompanied the final stretch of preparation.

Atty. Miranda’s persistence was rewarded: her name appeared on the list of 2024 Bar passers on December 13, 2024. She attributed the achievement not to brilliance but to diligence and community.

“I didn’t always finish all the readings, but I had something just as valuable — a core group of classmates who shared the same dream,” she told the students. “We studied together, we pushed each other, and we never lost sight of our goal. And today, all four of us are lawyers.” She also acknowledged the emotional and logistical support of her husband, calling his role “key” to her success.

𝑨 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆
Atty. Miranda ended her inspirational message with a practical charge to the students: focus, cultivate a study community, and be ready to make sacrifices for long-term goals. “Be inspired, not expired,” she urged, drawing applause.

The college orientation — attended by faculty, student leaders and law staff — ended on a reflective note, setting a tone of resilience and commitment for the academic year as incoming law students prepare to navigate the rigors of legal education in an era of rapid social and technological change.