After two years of conducting virtual ceremonies due to the quarantine measures brought by the pandemic, De La Salle Lipa (DLSL) held the 34th Commencement Exercises at the DLSL Sentrum honoring 1,201 graduates, Aug. 31.
Two commencement exercises were held in the morning and afternoon, dividing the six colleges – with the first batch accommodating the students from the College of Business, Economics, Accountancy, and Management (CBEAM), College of International Hospitality and Tourism Management (CIHTM), and College of Law (COL).
Graduates from the College of Education, Arts, and Sciences (CEAS), College of Nursing (CON) and College Information, Technology, and Engineering (CITE) were included in the second batch.
There were 397 and 118 graduates from the CBEAM and CIHTM respectively, 22 acclaimed Juris Doctors, 77 graduates with a Masters degree in Business Administration, and six culinary students presented with the Certificate in Cookery NCII (Culinary Arts) in the morning batch.
For the afternoon batch, 195 CEAS students, 98 CON students, and 288 CITE students walked up the stage and received their diplomas.
In an effort to give the students a sense of normalcy without risking health and safety, graduating students wore customized batch masks and social distancing measures between the graduates and the guests were observed inside the venue.
To start off the formalities of the ceremony, Peter Garrucho, a De La Salle University alumni with a degree in BS Business Administration and an award-winning businessman, welcomed the first batch with a message urging all graduating seniors to seek and empower their own success.
Referencing his own experience of dramatic changes after formal education, Garrucho said, “[You] should carefully think out a personal program of life-long growth, solid finances with a life-long investing program, and continued personal growth with a life-long learning program.”
(Screenshot from DLSL College Graduation livestream).
During the welcoming remarks for the second batch of graduates, Dr. Michiko Takemori, a DLSL graduate of BS Biology, addressed the students by noting their extraordinary experience of being the pioneers of the K-12 curriculum all while going through a global pandemic.
“Your batch has been through a lot and has suffered enough. You literally experienced all kinds of setbacks, and yet, you did not give up. You are one of the most tenacious and resilient batch of graduates in history, ” Dr. Takemori said.
The welcoming address was followed by the petition for graduation and the confirmation of degrees by the institution’s president, Br. Edmundo Fernandez FSC, while the awarding of diplomas was given by the administrators and respective college deans.
After the distribution of diplomas, select students received prestigious academic awards, namely the Cum Laude and Magna Cum Laude, along with their equivalents in graduate studies, the Silver Medal, Gold Medal, and Diamond Medal.
BS Entrepreneurship Magna Cum Laude Lileth Mortanez and BS Multimedia Arts Magna Cum Laude Francheska Kyla Malabanan delivered the thanksgiving address for their respective batches, both sharing stories of getting discouraged and lost in college, but being able to persevere with the help of friends and family.
To formally end the ceremony, the graduates sang an original graduation song composed by BS Accountancy graduate Melanie Alyssa Mabalot and BS Accounting Information System graduate Meilin Denise Medrano, entitled ‘Reimagine on your own’, followed by the DLSL Alma Mater Hymn.
