Out of the 137 candidates for graduation under the Faculty of Education (FED), three students from the Bachelor of Education Studies (BES) program will graduate with Latin honors while three students from FED graduate programs will graduate with high honors at the 24th University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) Graduation on Saturday, 5 December 2020. The event will also be the university’s first virtual commencement exercises with the theme, “Revolutionizing Disruptions for Excellence and Equity.”
Leading the top honors is Mariebelle Balazuela, magna cum laude and this year’s class valedictorian, with a General Weighted Average (GWA) of 1.285, followed by Klaudette Zarah Leisibach, also magna cum laude, with a GWA of 1.406, and Paulo Reyes, cum laude, with a GWA of 1.750.
Although their individual journeys were not a walk in the park, the three graduates pushed through each challenge to get them where they are now. For Reyes, it was “a challenging but fulfilling path.” He reiterates, “The instructors I had, challenged me and pushed me to always do my best. I was never spoon-fed which helped in making me more independent. On the other hand, Balazuela recalls how the experience taught her to “look introspectively in my life and learn more about myself, my strengths, my limitations, my losses, and my successes.” She adds, “This has been, by far, one of the most rewarding experiences I have had to undergo.” Finally, Leisibach highlights “Flexibility and determination to complete the program are crucial as a BES student.”
When asked about how the BES program helped them, Leisibach pinpoints being flexible, critical, and open to changes as the major takeaways she learned from the program. As an Instructional Designer (ID), Reyes says that aside from BES serving as the foundation of his career, he still uses the basic concepts from his courses in UPOU on a daily basis. Lastly, Balazuela talks about the relevance of the program and online learning in general during this time of a global pandemic. As a teacher, she expressed gratitude for the skills and knowledge she acquired from the university, “UPOU has given me not just an armor, but an entire arsenal that would empower me to go wherever I could and do whatever I want,” she adds.
Meanwhile, with a GWA of 1.143, Diploma in Social Studies Education (DSSE) students, Mark Joseph Poyaoan and Pamela Gianan will be the recipients of the Chancellor’s List award–the highest honor given to graduate program students of UPOU. Along with Poyaoan and Gianan, Diploma in Language and Literacy Education (DLLE) student, Karen Chua, will be the recipient of the Dean’s List award with a GWA of 1.179. Both exemplary graduates complete a ladderized program.
A social studies teacher, Poyaoan described his UPOU journey as both “demanding and rewarding.” But he added, “Now I can be prouder as a social studies teacher. I will no longer doubt my eligibility to handle courses related to it and confidently mentor my younger colleagues who handle the same learning area.” Gianan, on the other hand, shared that she had to learn how to develop self-discipline navigating between her professional work and school requirements. “I would say that time management and self-motivation were my keys to finish and somehow succeed in this journey,” she said
The FED graduating class of 2020 is also invited to attend the Faculty Recognition and Fellowship Program to be held the same day as the graduation, from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM.
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