SOCIOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT REAPS MILLION PESO PRIZE IN TV QUIZ SHOW

Ano ang hindi kasama sa Schengen Visa?
A. France B. UK C. Finland D. Malta

Floramante Sir John Don King Howard Ponce III -- Howie for short – shut his eyes in prayer, faced host Vic Sotto, shot back the correct answer, B (UK), and won for himself one million pesos in “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?,” a popular quiz show aired over TV5 last Sunday, 24 August 2014.

Howie Ponce is an MA student in Sociology at the Loyola Schools. He is presently doing his master’s thesis on call center agents in Metro Manila. Howie auditioned to join the contest to help defray costs for thesis research and earn his master’s degree at the soonest possible time.

The degree will help him retain his position as at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) where he is currently on leave an Instructor in Sociology. He was confident he could win a prize, if not a million pesos, then a sum large enough to fund his research. An avid reader and hardworking student, Howie was class valedictorian of his batch, completing his Bachelor’s degree in sociology summa cum laude at PUP. Howie also believed God was one his side during the show, as He was when he, Howie, applied for an CHED-FDP scholarship to study at the Ateneo. He’s on a roll, it seems. Howie’s advice to those who wish to join the quiz show: Read more, keep calm, and believe in God.

Congratulations, Howard Ponce!