Top UP graduate Vincent Yu’s smile is as bright as his future as he shares the stage with his proud parents at Sunday’s commencement exercises. RICHARD A. REYES
We can all be heroes in our own small way.
In his valedictory address, Vincent Yu, one of this year’s 15 summa cum laude graduates from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman called on his peers to choose action over apathy to change lives and ultimately transform the country.
Paying homage to the Great Plebeian Andres Bonifacio, Yu likened the hero to a typical “Iskolar ng Bayan.”
“Like many of us, he was full of dreams and potential and despite his poverty, he was able to master three languages and learn works of literature. He is the founding president of an org [organization] and like some dormers, he also belongs in Katipunan. If we are like Bonifacio in so many ordinary ways, can we hope to emulate his heroism?” he said.
Yu went on to say that in searching for heroes, one need not look far. “In UP, I realized that we do not have to look back on our lessons or even history to meet heroes, because they are here. They [are] your classmates, your election rivals, they are sitting beside you. The nation’s scholars (iskolar ng bayan). We are the heroes.”
“They are here in the university. In UP, I saw Jose Rizal [staying] up late at night writing essays and studying for tests not for himself but for his loved ones. In UP, I saw Melchora Aquino sacrificing to help thousands [through] free UPCAT [College Admission Test] tutorials, scholarship funds and outreach projects. And it is in UP that I saw Andres Bonifacio walking every day for lack of fare money, in those wholeheartedly campaigning for their convictions, and in those who courageously fight for their principles.
“Heroism is when we sacrifice our time, utilize our talents and choose inconvenience over comfort to respond to the cries of society. It is when we put the wellbeing of others ahead of our own. And it is when we choose action over apathy to transform lives and, ultimately, transform our nation,” Yu said.
“With the sacrifices we have made to this day, we have proven that we can do all these, that we are capable of becoming heroes. Now, whether or not we do become heroes is up to us,” he added.
Yu, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from the UP Cesar Virata School of Business, was chosen to represent this year’s graduates who numbered 4,365 in rites held on Sunday at the Quezon Hall amphitheater.
Charles Michael Herrera, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, topped this year’s batch by earning a weighted average grade of 1.065.
Out of the 4,365 graduates, the batch also produced 218 magna cum laude and 813 cum laude.
UP Chancellor Caesar Saloma said this meant that one in every four graduates, or roughly 25 percent, earned their degrees with distinction. He noted in his speech that in the 1990s, only 13 percent graduated with honors.