Student Dad JC Lasam Of Cagayan Valley Goes Home With P100,000 For His Smart Parenting Story!

• Last month, we revealed the top 10 finalists of My Smart Parenting Story, featuring seven moms and three dads with their unique entries that represent the courage, tenacity, and unconditional love of parents. We then asked our readers to vote for the story that touched them the most and choose who they thought deserved to win Php100,000.

  After a grueling three weeks and with all the votes tallied, a clear winner emerged: Jose Chrisanto “JC” Lasam, the student dad from Cagayan Valley. He got a total of 2,520 unique votes, almost 25% of all the votes cast!

  ‘I left a stable career for a happy family’

  

  JC with wife, Joerel, and son, Juancho.

  PHOTO BY Allan Nacpil Courtesy of JC Lasam

  Many of our readers now know JC as the first-time dad who went from being a seafarer to Dentistry student. According to JC, he always wanted to be a doctor but was enticed to enter the seafaring industry because he wanted to travel the world for free and earn dollars at the same time.

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  His perspective changed when he met Dr. Joerel Yague, a dentist who would eventually become his wife. Before their wedding, the couple talked about their future plans, and JC realized how important it was for him to be physically present for his family.

  “I came from a family of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) — both my mother and father worked abroad. I never knew the feeling of having my parents come up on stage to pin my ribbons and hang medals. When I am sick, they are not around to comfort me,” JC recalls in an email interview with SmartParenting.com.ph.

  “It’s something that I do not want my future children to experience. My greatest fear is my children not feeling close to me because of being a physically absent father,” he adds,

  The student dad admits quitting the world of OFW was risky financially. But he could not have done it without the full support of his wife.

  “I left a stable career for a happy family and that is a decision I am always grateful for,” he shares.

  Balancing act

  

  Since they do not have a helper, JC and Joerel juggle their work and parenting responsibilities.

  PHOTO BY courtesy of JC Lasam

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  Raising a 4-month-old baby in the middle of the pandemic is no easy feat, but JC and Joerel manage because of their great teamwork.

  “My wife and I take turns taking care of our baby. When baby is asleep, I do my school requirements, wash and sterilize the baby bottles and my wife’s breast pump. I am in charge of bathing Juancho and putting him to sleep,” JC shares.

  Both he and Joerel are busy juggling work and parenting. But JC says it is his wife who has done a lot of the work. She was hospitalized due to premature labor, breastfeeds their son, and continues to be a working mom.

  He hopes to return all her hard work by making sure to fulfill her needs. “A happy and healthy wife makes a happy and healthy household,” JC muses.

  “Don’t forget that she is also recovering from childbirth. See to it that all her needs, especially the physical and emotional aspects, are met,” he adds.

  Winning big

  

  JC has no regrets leaving his career as a seafarer to be a student again if it means being present and witnessing all of Juancho’s milestones.

  PHOTO BY Courtesy of JC Lasam

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  From the start of the contest, JC knew that should he win, the full amount of the prize money would go to Juancho’s educational fund.

  “We want to give our children the best education. We want to give them the wings they need to fly high. We work hard every day to achieve that dream for them,” he shares.

  Apart from the money, JC shares that what he appreciated the most about the My Smart Parenting Story contest was having the platform to inspire fellow dads and show them that fathers also play a special role in the family.

  “Gender is not a basis for taking on parental responsibilities. I learned to always put family first no matter what,” he shares.

  Click here to read JC’s entry in the My Smart Parenting Story contest.

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