Angela Domingo, News, PUP Campus Journalists
1,488 graduates from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines marched during the Mid-year Commencement Exercises for the Academic Year 2023-2024 on Friday, March 22, at the PUP Oval.
Tanglaw ng Bayan Awardee, Hon. Philip A. Varilla, also the Assistant Secretary for the Infostructure Management Department of Information and Communications Technology, was the event’s guest speaker.
Varilla addressed his life after graduating, his hardships, and how he overcame the obstacles he encountered.
“Thirty-seven years ago, I was in the same place as you are about to graduate in my undergraduate course. We were happy and excited to enter the workforce”, he quipped.
“I failed and failed. But I believed that I just needed to try and try,” Varilla said.
Declaring fulfillment The honorable academic awardees and their parents received their medals and certificates distributed by the University’s President Dr. Manuel Muhi.
Leading the graduating batch, Paula Grace Ann Barrientos Belista, Bachelor of Science in Office Administration, left an aspiring speech for the graduates.
“These black gowns not only symbolize our academic pursuit, but also the personal growth and transformation we have undergone,” Belista said. “Sintang Paaralan, our beloved institution, has been the catalyst of growth, the harbor of our dreams, and the bedrock of our education.”
“Let us be torchbearers, lighting the way for the future generations of PUPians. Indeed, Mula sa ’yo, para sa Bayan,” the Magna Cum Laude graduate added.
This was followed by Muhi leading the conferment of diplomas to over (number) of graduates, assisted by the Executive Vice President, Vice Presidents, Deans and Directors, University Registrar, and Chairpersons of PUP.
Success amidst long-time struggle Belista, along with other graduates, expressed their sincere sentiments and overall experiences as an Iskolar ng Bayan who completed their college endeavor.
“I’ll quote, ’gamitin ’yong karunungan mula sa Sintang Paaralan para sa Bayan’, dahil tayo, as a scholar, hindi lang tayo nandito para tuparin ang mga pangarap natin, naririto tayo for a greater good,” Margarette Montejo stated.
(I’ll quote, ’use the knowledge from Sintang Paaralan for the Nation’, because us, as a scholar, we are not just here to accomplish our dreams, we are here for the greater good.)
Looking back on their lives as PUPians, the graduates wholeheartedly expressed their messages for those who are aspiring to be among the Iskolar ng Bayan.
“Sa mga gustong pumasok sa Sintang Paaralan, bukod sa mag-aral nang mabuti, maging mulat tayo sa sistema na nakapaloob sa pamantasan pati sa labas nito,” Paula Magpantay said.
(To those who want to enter Sintang Paaralan, aside from studying well, let us be open-minded to the systems instilled inside, and even outside, of the university.)
The midyear commencement event was concluded with a Thanksgiving Message from Dr. Edmond Fuertes Clemente, Doctor in Educational Management of the Open University System.
A community of accomplished graduates pledged their loyalty and sang the PUP Hymn that ended the ceremony.
ERRATUM: We have erroneously stated that the total of Mid-Year Commencement Exercises graduates was 1,488. The correct number of graduates according to the the Office of the University Registrar is 974, with 514 of them coming from PUP Sta. Mesa alone. We apologize for the oversight.
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