Behind Asia’s Soul Supreme is a mother who spent much of her life prioritizing her children. At 56, Marites Lobrigas Tandingan has finally completed a dream she placed on hold for decades, becoming a registered nurse.
KZ Tandingan has performed at major venues such as the Smart Araneta Coliseum, built a successful music career across Asia, and earned the title Asia’s Soul Supreme along with multiple Awit Awards. But none of these milestones matched the moment she learned her mother had passed the Nursing Licensure Examination.
“Today, 18 days after the results came out, I’m so proud to share that my mom, 56-year-old Marites Lobrigas Tandingan, is now a registered nurse,” KZ wrote in a post that showed her mother surrounded by nursing books, notes, and long hours of preparation.
Marites first earned her license as a midwife at 18 and later worked as a clinical instructor. After marrying and starting a family, she stepped away from her career to focus on raising her children.
In later years, she returned to school to pursue nursing, but her studies were interrupted again when she became pregnant with her youngest child. She eventually completed her degree but failed her first attempt at the Nursing Licensure Examination, a setback shaped by years of divided time between family and study.
For more than a decade, she set the goal aside.
At 56, she tried once more.
For nearly six months, she reviewed quietly at home, often studying late into the night. Her preparation remained private, shared only with immediate family, as she did not want expectations to build in case of another setback.
The Nursing Licensure Examination is among the most rigorous professional board exams in the Philippines, administered by the Professional Regulation Commission. Passing it requires sustained preparation, regardless of age or circumstance.
Marites’ story mirrors a reality familiar to many Filipino women: education and careers paused for family responsibilities, then revisited years later when time allows.
KZ has often credited her mother for shaping her resilience. Born in Digos, Davao del Sur, she grew up witnessing her mother’s discipline and persistence while balancing work, study, and motherhood.
Those values later surfaced in KZ’s own career, from her breakout win on The X Factor Asia in 2015 to sold-out concerts and major performances across the region.
In a message to her mother, KZ wrote, “Mommy, I can’t thank you enough for loving us so much that you sacrificed your career just to give us a better future. Today is a reminder that God sees everything and rewards in His perfect time. I’m so proud of you. I love you.”
From midwife to instructor, from student to mother, and finally to registered nurse, Marites’ journey spans decades of interrupted but never abandoned ambition.
At 56, she has finally completed what she once set aside, not as a return to the past, but as a long-delayed arrival at a goal that never truly disappeared.
This milestone happened in 2022 following the release of the Nursing Licensure Examination results.