Carrie Faith B. Magannon: First Cordilleran woman to graduate at the Royal Military College of Canada

Photo Courtesy || Ensign Carrie Faith Banglag Magannon

Cordillera - A proud Cordilleran woman from Kalinga graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMCC).

Ensign Carrie Faith Banglag Magannon who hails from Sumadel, Tinglayan, Kalinga is the first Cordilleran and first PMA female cadet to have graduated from RMCC.

The Royal Military College of Canada is the military college of the Canadian Armed Forces which prepares officer cadets for a career in the profession of arms and continues the development of other Canadian Armed Forces members and civilians with an interest on defense issues.

ENS Magannon was among the chosen cadets by the Philippine Military Academy to study in RMCC.

In an interview by Mr. Eisenhower Bucalen of the Kalinga Journal, she said that nothing really prompted her to pursue foreign schooling. She just go with the flow. 

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However, she believed that this opportunity was God’s plan for her. Foreign schooling was mentioned to her when she reported back to PMA in March 2016 to join the class 2020. 

Photo Courtesy || Ensign Carrie Faith Banglag Magannon

She further said that the registrar in PMA told her and her mother at that time that foreign schooling is possible because she was still young. “I just took it as a joke “ang-angaw” and smiled. I never expected that someday it would be true, she added.

“I doubted myself several times if I am good enough to be sent to study abroad, but the thought that PMA will not send me if they don’t have confidence in me strengthen my spirit. To motivate myself more, I always tell myself, “If others can, why can’t I” and with God’s grace, I graduated”, she added. 

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She finished her studies and training in Canada last December 2020. There was no graduation ceremony during that time so she was included in the RMCC’s May Convocation held last May 20, 2021. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, this convocation was held virtually.