The world seems so unfair to Kevin Villanueva but he successfully proved himself that with great courage, determination, perseverance, and inspiration, ones dream can be easily achieved.

Kevin bravely faced the tragic death of his mom in 2002--the year when his mother committed suicide. The courageous Kevin met another challenge during his freshman year when his father died. But despite all the odds, Kevin Villanueva became victorious in his quest in getting his own college diploma.

"Mahirap isipin na wala na sila. But then ang ginawa ko na lang is that I did not think of it as a burden but as an inspiration for me to finish my studies," he said.

With both his parents gone, Villanueva said his friends served as parental figures. "They are the ones who saw my four years of hardship sa Letran," he said. His aunts, Maria Teresa C. Jalbuena and Jacqueline V. Calumba, were the ones who put him through college.

"Without them hindi po siguro ako nakapagtapos," he said.

When asked about the viral graduation photo, Kevin replied:

"I just want to express my love to my parents, pero grabe, grabe ang naging reaksyon ng mga tao na sobrang nakakatuwa. If there are problems, convert it as your inspiration to reach your goals in life. Determinasyon, tiyaga at inspiration ang kailangan natin to be a successful person. One person has a choice to go the bad way or good way, but in my choice I do it in the good way, kaya nararanasan ko itong pagmamahal na to," he said, adding that he did not expect his photo to reach so many people.

While composing this article, I suddenly thought of Kristel Tejada. If only Kevin met her, I guess things would be a lot better for Kristel and her family.