Before their awaited virtual graduation wrapped up another milestone for them on Friday, July 30, Loreta Arroyo and Miguel Punzalan were struck with nostalgia as they approached the end of their stay in the University to become newly declared Thomasian graduates.
Although a myriad of degree holders share the same story annually, the two went beyond the pursuit of academic learning.
Arroyo and Punzalan, two recent graduates from the Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB), upheld extracurricular duties as organization executives while enduring academic responsibilities as students. In the end, they did not only graduate with flying colors, but they also became holders of cherished memories beyond the four corners of the classroom.
Arroyo, UST Journalism Society’s former president, reminisced on her memorable experiences as a student leader, especially on her first leadership training seminar in July 2019.
“I got to meet a lot of [student leaders] [and] marami pala sa kanila [ang] kagaya ko na aligaga [at] loka-loka […] yung mga taong may ugali na talagang nag l-lead because of the passion to lead, not because of the titles,” Arroyo, who is also a Cum Laude graduate, told TomasinoWeb.
She also shared a touching reminiscence of her time with AB’s Board of Majors. She defined their relationship as something that is “united above everything.”
“These are the people na sobrang mahal ko talaga, na sobrang grabe yung wholesomeness nila,” she said.
Apart from the memories they’ve made over their four-year stay at the institution, they’ve established a great attachment to it and its people, prompting them to serve not for themselves but for the sake of their promised oath.
Punzalan, the former president of the Tomasian Media Circle of Talents (TOMCAT), admitted that serving an organization is not always convenient as students have to endure academic and organizational responsibilities simultaneously.
Despite these, the communication graduate said that an organization’s established rapport helps students ease the pressure and distress.
“With the help of the organization, you can at least somehow relieve the stress by doing the stuff you like,” Punzalan, who is also the Benavides Outstanding Award recipient of the academic year, said in an interview with TomasinoWeb. “I usually work for TOMCAT lang, and everything just goes in place,” he added.
Conquering the difficulties
Arroyo found it challenging to juggle all of her obligations at the same time in senior year, making it the most challenging phase in her university life.
Apart from managing her thesis and internship, she also had to look out for her constituency as a student leader.
Last August 2020, she met with her co-members in the UST Journalism Society to prepare for the freshmen week event, all while having to comply with a meeting with her internship supervisors later that day.
“Imagine how hard I have to multitask, halos mangiyak-ngiyak ako nung mga panahon na yun kasi sobrang hirap talaga,” Arroyo said.
Like what Arroyo experienced, Punzalan also acknowledged that he faced difficulties during his presidency in TOMCAT. The difference was that students had to transition from face-to-face to online learning, which limited the number of events the organization could host.
“The shift [from on-site] to digital is really something else [and] we came in unprepared,” he said.
Arroyo echoed this sentiment, who found that the lack of personal communication affected her relationship with her colleagues. According to her, sincerity through online messages is not always conveyed or translated well.
“[S]a online na not everyone is available all the time, it sounds so robotic,” Arroyo said.
To prevent that from happening, she had to make herself available all the time, not only for her org mates but also to other students who see her as an ‘ate.’
Concurrently, Punzalan’s way to connect with his members is by conducting frequent online kumustahans or kulitans, a monthly or weekly meeting for the organization to check each other’s well-being.
“I think that it’s really an effective way of bridging the gap of what the digital setup did during this term,” he said.
From rookies to leaders
Punzalan said a key element to achieving his goals is to “never start what you cannot finish.”
“It’s cliché as it seems, but it’s a process. You don’t just get something nang basta-basta lang,” he said.
Likewise, Arroyo asserted there will always be failures and disappointments, which is fine in the long run. For her, it is essential to detach oneself from the fear of being a rookie.
“You will be a rookie, and you have to learn how to be a master in whatever comes your way, tsaka ka pa lang gagaling, tsaka ka pa lang makaka-achieve ng perfection,” she added.
Now that she already graduated, she wondered if she made enough memories as a Thomasian.
“I-enjoy niyo ang bawat araw or bawat month na nasa UST kayo, ‘wag kayong magmadali kasi sobrang bilis lang ng mga pangyayari, and if mamadaliin niyo, you won’t create as much memories as you would like,” she said.
As a last piece of advice from Punzalan to aspiring Thomasian student leaders, he said that they should serve for the sake of the University.
“Mahalin niyo rin yung UST,” he said. “It really starts [with] your love for the university and for its people.”
With their degrees, the two AB graduates are currently employed in their respective fields. Punzalan now works as a Performance Marketing Specialist at the Universal McCann, while Arroyo is employed as a Multimedia Specialist and writer for Edukasyon.ph.
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