TV personality and host Joyce Pring is set to graduate with a communication degree , marking the end of a 15-year journey that began when she paused her studies at 18.
In a lengthy post on Facebook, Joyce shared how she has always loved learning, citing she has graduated salutatorian and was one of the two students from her batch who got into Quezon City Science High School, a school she described as “competitive.”
She also enrolled in her dream university, University of the Philippines-Diliman, where she took Fine Arts Major in Visual Communication.
However, financial struggles and family instability forced her to put her studies on hold.
“Then, right after graduation, I was enrolled in my dream university, an Iska set to take on the world. But, as life often goes, things didn’t happen according to plan,” Joyce wrote.
“A few semesters into what should have been my university years, financial and family instability made it apparent that I could no longer continue my schooling- I had to immediately start working,” she added.
The former Myx VJ and radio DJ also shared the pain she carried as she bumped off her dreams of finishing school to work and earn.
“This crushed me. I had big dreams, and I wanted to finish school. I was tired of constantly having to grow up fast, in order to cope with the constant chaos that enveloped my life… but I had to adapt in order to survive,” Joyce said.
“I carried that pain and shame well into my young adulthood. I used to think about my ‘wasted’ potential—what I could’ve become if I had been given the chance to finish. But in my mid-20s, I began to realize: even though I didn’t follow the traditional path, God still made much of my life,” she added.
Joyce, however, said that despite this, the Lord opened many doors for her ongoing 13-year media career including being able “to anchor a radio show, host daily on TV, travel, create, have an expansive career in media that I would have never imagined was possible, given what I had and where I came from.”
“Truly, it’s only by God’s grace that I ever made it out of that storm-dropping out of college, financial instability, family chaos-let alone get to enjoy the success and blessings I have today,” she said.
In 2023, she said her manager Mama Betchay, advised her to finish her studies and she later obeyed.
She shared how she did not understand what her manager saw in her but later realized she ” saw the dream I had buried.”
“God’s blessings through diskarte never erased my desire for a diploma,” Joyce said, saying she quietly pursued her studies.
“I didn’t tell many people when I started this journey. I needed to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons to close a chapter I’d left open 15 years ago. Not for applause. Just for me,” she said.
“I wanted to fulfill this dream, because diploma o diskarte is a false dichotomy; one can do both, even if it’s a long and arduous journey. I wanted to graduate so I can finally tell my 18 year old self, crushed and dejected and forced to grow up fast that, despite everything she had to go through to get here, God has always been good, and He has always meant it all for good,” Joyce said.
Joyce pursued her Bachelor of Arts in Communication degreed at the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA pursuing Bachelor of Arts in Communication, sharing she is now about to graduate.
“As I wait to cross the stage and claim my diploma, having finally defended my thesis and passed all of my requirements, I am in awe of this journey God has allowed me to embark on,” Joyce said.
The podcaster thanked everyone who helped her in her journey, including her babies, Eliam and Aggie, as well as her husband, Kapuso actor Juancho Triviño.
“Most of all, I want to honor my husband Juancho who has always been my constant encourager. He has been the one person who’s enabled me to do all these things that you see me do- he’s the current that drives me forward, the calm that I call home, and the steady strength that uplifts me when the waves of life become too overwhelming. Juancho, your love and leadership have radically transformed me; my greatest treasure, second only to Jesus, is to be called your beloved,” Joyce said.
“My joy and gratitude overflows, not only for this achievement, but for having had the privilege of learning just how capable, loved, supported, blessed, and believed in I am through this whole process- everything being a testament to God’s grace and faithfulness. All glory and honor belongs to Him,” she said.
Several online users congratulated Joyce for her latest feat, with her post earning 3,400 reactions, over 340 shares and more than 117 comments so far.
