University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi
The Premier Dominican University of Bicol
The Premier Dominican University of Bicol
“Ever since I was a kid, like at 6 or 7 years old I always admired my Mom who is also a Registered Nurse,” she shared.
From a young girl watching her mother prepare for hospital duty to becoming Top 7 in the November 2025 Nurses Licensure Examination, Noeh Francheska D. Arnaldo, RN’s journey was guided by faith, calling, and Thomasian formation. Nursing had already begun to take root in her heart. She would often ask to accompany her mother to the hospital.
“Ma, puwede sumama?” she would ask. Though her mother would remind her of the risks inside the hospital, in her heart she simply wanted to say, “Kasi mommy gusto kita makita mag alaga ng pasyente, gusto kita makita mag work.”
Her childhood was marked by experiences that quietly prepared her for the profession she would later embrace. At nine years old, she was already assisting in the care of her grandfather who had suffered a stroke and required a nasogastric tube for feeding. Taught carefully by her mother, she was entrusted with checking if the tube was properly in place before feeding him. At eleven, she found herself calling for help when her grandmother showed signs of a stroke. “With nothing else to do, I opened our gate and shouted help to our neighbours,” she recalled. Days later, her aunt told her, “Ang laking bagay nung ginawa mo, alam mo ang gagawin mo sa ganung sitwasyon.” Even as a child who cried in fear, she had acted.
Looking back, she reflects, “All those things that I am remembering right now were really pointing me in to pursuing nursing, I could not envision myself wearing any other color other than white, or I could not even see myself not tending to the needs of other people.”
Her calling was further solidified during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a Grade 12 student in 2020, she witnessed firsthand the psychological and physical toll on healthcare workers, especially her mother. “The pandemic once again strengthened my admiration for my Mom,” she said. Despite her mother encouraging her to consider another path due to the profession’s hardships, she stood firm. “No, muya ko ini, muya ko mag nurse, Ma.” (No, I want this. I want to be a Nurse, Ma.) In that moment, she knew she was on the right path.
During her years at the University of Santo Tomas–Legazpi, she encountered subjects and experiences that shaped her deeply. Pediatrics and Obstetrics left a lasting impression on her. “It just amazes me how a woman’s body can generate new life, and how lucky we are as nurses to witness how patients develop starting from womb to tomb.” She also vividly remembers the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE), which tested their clinical competence under time pressure. “That really challenged me to work and move under pressure while still making sure that the nursing intervention I’m performing is still safe for the patient.” Even in simulations, she understood that these exercises were preparing her for real lives she would one day handle.
Review season for the licensure examination was marked by sacrifice and surrender. Staying in a dorm to avoid distractions and being away from her family, she wrestled with doubt and fear. “Imagine trying to recall what you have learned in four years of nursing school in just 4 months of review proper,” she said. As the eldest daughter, she felt the weight of expectations. During overwhelming nights, she would pray,
“Papa God, this heaviness is not mine, it’s Yours, I can’t handle it, so please take it, and help me get through.”
When she once asked God, “Papa God, Will I pass?” she opened the Bible and was reminded: “why are you afraid? Do you have no faith?” For her, it was God telling her to “just be still and know that I am God.”
When the results were released at three in the morning of November 27, she did not immediately check the official list. Instead, congratulatory messages flooded her phone. “Grabe Noeh Top 7.” She ran out of her room shouting, “Auntie! Topnotcher ako!” With shaking hands, they confirmed her name on the roster.
“You are truly faithful, You have never forsaken me,” she whispered to God. “The weight of the cross finally was relieved.”
Throughout her journey, UST–Legazpi’s formation remained central.
“You are a nurse from UST, you are a Thomasian Nurse, wherever you may go, wherever life takes you, your branding will always be remembered,” she recalled her professors saying.
For her, what distinguishes a Legazpi Thomasian Nurse is not only skill or intelligence but compassion and holistic care. Now serving as a Nurse 1 at Bicol Regional Hospital and Medical Center (BRHMC), she carries this deeply. “I always keep in mind what UST-Legazpi taught us about looking at your patients as the image and likeness of God,” she said. “Despite being tired, I always remember that I am doing God’s work to His people.”
Her exposure to marginalized communities, particularly during their community duty in Dita, also shaped her perspective. She remembers the patients who required greater attention due to poverty, malnutrition, and limited access to healthcare. These encounters strengthened her commitment to serve those most in need.
At the core of her success was her family and support system. “My family has nothing been less than supportive in this journey,” she shared. Her friends helped her navigate anxiety and fear, making her laugh and offering comfort when needed.
Inside the examination room, she carried three values: Faith, Wisdom, and Confidence. “When all else feels like it’s failing, Faith will never fail.” She prayed the rosary before and during breaks in the examination. She prayed for wisdom to recall what she studied and for calmness when faced with uncertainty. And she held on to confidence — “that Prayer and Study is enough, just like what USTL continues to instill in their students. A life of Prayer and Study is a life worth living and achieving.”
In summary, she said, “I offered my exam and license to Him.”
As a Thomasian nurse, she envisions contributing to healthcare by providing quality, safe, and holistic care, ensuring that patients feel important and cared for, encouraging them to become proactive about their health.
To future UST–Legazpi Nursing students preparing for the licensure examinations, her message is both firm and faith-filled: “Study your smartest, pray your hardest. You did not pass through nursing school just to give up now.”
She reminds them that their goal is not merely to pass, but to become safe nurses who provide the care their patients deserve. “Pray and study, offer everything to Him, your license, your review, your anxieties, and even your burdens, God is there for you, you are never alone, and you will truly push through that’s His promise to you. I am a witness to His faithfullness, and now you are too.”
In her story, excellence is not merely measured by rank, but by faithfulness to a calling — a calling that began in childhood, was strengthened by trials, and now shines brightly in service to others.