One would be forgiven for thinking a student who has reached summa cum laude status twice for vastly different programs would find studying easy, but for Michelle Mariel Mariposa, it has not.

Mariposa who graduates summa cum laude this year as a BA Music major, had her first “summa” in 2016 when she graduated from the University’s BA Psychology program with a 1.1650 weighted average grade (WAG).

Mariposa said she had difficulty balancing her academics while being a working student.

“When I was in Psych, I was an insurance agent under my mom in Sunlife. In Music, I worked under Chancellor Tan as a research associate, taught private voice lessons, and took on different gigs as a singer,” she said.

The decision to not depend on her family for her education was a deliberate one, although her family was supportive and did not hesitate to help.

She shared she had difficulty “balancing when I would assert myself, and when I would stand down and give in, especially in an environment like UP where you encounter so many strong personalities.”

“Maybe I’m 20 percent better with my interactions because I have a clearer idea of what I want to do. I don’t think it’s something I will fully overcome, especially as I encounter more people in my lifetime,” she said.

The summa cum laude shared some of the time management strategies that worked for her.

“On busy days, I schedule my day in 30-minute increments. I base my scheduled tasks on my own energy levels. For example, I’m not a morning person, so I schedule easier tasks in the morning which allow me more breaks. The more time- and energy-consuming tasks, (e.g. studying new pieces, teaching), I schedule in the late afternoon, since that’s when I feel the most energetic. So for me, it’s about balancing and matching my energy levels with the difficulty of the task,” she said.

Mariposa said her knowledge of psychology greatly informs her performance as a musician.

“I’m a very academic performer, in that I really do my research when it comes to interpretation, performance practice, historical contexts, etc. Along with that, when I have to do character studies for certain roles, I also look into theories on personality and the like to help me better grasp the character,” she said.

Ultimately, the key to overcoming her obstacles was pursuing her passions.

“It wasn’t really my goal to graduate summa, even when I was in Psych. It just so happened that I really enjoyed what I studied, for both my Psych and Music degrees. I think that’s why whatever obstacles present were bearable, because I enjoyed what I was doing, and I had a good reason to pursue those two fields,” she said.

After this second graduation Mariposa will be pursuing graduate studies at Northwestern University at Evanston, Illinois, USA.