Departing from Wasteland: 2011 college graduation

The college held the recognition rites for its 2011 OT, PT and SP graduates at the Philam Life Auditorium this morning. As Ma'am Mia said, the ceremony was "heartwarming, sincere and precious."

For the benefit of those who, like me, did not experience a separate college graduation apart from a university graduation, the recognition rites is a ceremony held by the college to honor its graduates. The graduates are presented with their certificates of completion (which is different from the official university diploma). It is during the college graduation when the college recognizes the outstanding students: the merit awardees (those with GWA 2.0 to 1.76), the laudes, the best interns, and the best thesis presenters. The graduates also get to wear their sablays during the event. They get to wear their academic togas during the university graduation when they are conferred their respective degrees.

This is different during my time. Back then, the awards were given during the Seniors Over At last Party (SOAP) and the scholastic awards were presented during the university graduation. As of present, there are no more official graduation parties except those organized by the students themselves.

The college graduation has a more "homey" feel because the graduates of the college are really the center of attention. For some, they consider the recognition rites as more meaningful and memorable compared to the university grad.

This year, we had the very engaging Ms. Alexandra "Sandy" Prieto Romualdez as our guest speaker. She is the president and CEO of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and a high school batchmate of Ma'am Mia.

It was quite the event! The university officials commended the college for a very organized and efficient(!) recognition ceremony. But more importantly, the students were very satisfied and happy. And they should be! Graduating from the college is bragging right. Haha. But a right one should use in moderation.

There are THREE PT cum laudes this year: Kevin Arao, Jess Daet, and Diana Que. Nicole Prieto was awarded the Best PT Clinican (welcome to the club - haha. yabang!). Dean Polly's thesis group composed of Jess Daet, Albert Pagdato, Danica Dalmacion, Allain Lou P. Padlan, Gem Robis, and Luika Watanabe, bagged the Best Thesis Presentation Award.

Congratulations to all the awardees and congratulations to the graduating batch of 2011!

Up next: Board Exam. Good luck!