The 24th Commencement Exercises and 1st Virtual Graduation of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) pushed through on 5 December 2020, after being moved from 21 November to unite with the country in recovering from the typhoons that ravaged the country.
UPOU’s 1st Virtual Graduation carried the theme, “Revolutionizing Disruptions for Excellence and Equity,” which was a point clearly made by the Commencement Speaker, Hon. Joel Villanueva, Senator of the Philippines.
Hon. Villanueva addressed the graduates with a challenge — “Your learning gains will serve as your unfair advantage in life amidst COVID-19. In this chaotic and fast changing world, you can be one of two possibilities — to disrupt or be disrupted.”
According to Sen. Villanueva, “To survive the shift, one must revolutionize disruptions and aspire for excellence without disregarding empathy and without disregard for mental well-being.” The challenge also came with a reminder that “as we revolutionize disruption in our environments, let us not forget to revolutionize our hearts and minds.”
Senator Villanueva is the Chair of the Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, and the Chair of Senate Committee on Labor, Employment and Human Resource Development.
The message from President Danilo L. Concepcion was a call to wisely and correctly use the skills and knowledge gained from the university, and be Filipinos with a mind and heart for the nation.
Chancellor Melinda dela Pena Bandalaria, in her welcome message, emphasized that UPOU’s first virtual graduation was a move towards inclusion, like UPOU’s efforts in open and distance elearning. Unlike previous graduation ceremonies where only 70% of the graduating class are able to attend physically due to distance and various circumstances, UPOU’s 24th commencement exercises allowed all graduates from different parts of the country and the world to participate as well as their families based in different locations to witness the momentous event.
The top graduate of the Bachelor of Education Studies (BES) program, Mariebelle Balazuela, delivered the speech as the representative of the graduating class. In her speech, she shared her life story which was appropriately mirrored in the event’s theme. As an Overseas Filipino Worker who left the Philippines 26 years ago, completion of her undergraduate degree was not an easy feat. But she calls on the UPOU students who feel overwhelmed not to lose heart, especially amidst the challenges of global pandemic. Her encouragement to her fellow graduates was to “Keep focused. Don’t falter. Show resilience and determination; just like everything else, this too shall pass. Be open to failures in life, but stand back up, dust yourself off, and do everything all over again with dignity, honor, and excellence because if one is worth doing, it is worth doing it well.”
UPOU conferred 412 graduate and undergraduate degrees, with 11 graduates on the Chancellor’s List, 22 graduates on the Dean’s List, and seven candidates with latin honors. Watch UPOU’s 24th Commencement Exercises and 1st Virtual Graduation on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8x_lI0kEdA.
Written by Anna Cañas-Llamas
Edited by Joane V. Serrano
Screenshots by Anna Cañas-Llamas
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