Message from the
University Secretary
Congratulations, Batch 2022!
You will be remembered as the Golden Batch as you graduated in the same year the university celebrates its 50th Foundation. But more than that, you have stories to tell worth retelling.
You started your college life pretty normal but midway through your journey, the pandemic hit us. Suddenly, you had to contend with learning in a virtual world and be stuck in your home for months because of health protocols. The uncertainty, the health risks, and strain from academic demands took their toll on students’ mental health. Surely, the pandemic has been tough for all of us. Many lost jobs as small businesses folded up, while some of us have lost a loved one to this dreadful virus.
Such is the nature of life – unpredictable, uncertain. Murphy’s Law is real – things do go wrong, and they go wrong when you least expect it. One minute, things are fine; the next minute, things just go south, and it is total pandemonium. The world you knew, the life you knew just crumbles. The pandemic nudged us out of our comfort zone.
Possibly the most important lesson this pandemic taught us is the value of resilience. In every life experience, we can remember the pain, or choose to remember the lesson. Wherever life will bring you, we hope you will always choose the latter – remember the lesson. Padayon lang, Tagak! Life is not a bed of roses. You will experience struggles and pain. But they will make you grow. So, whenever it feels like life is wearing you down, pause and find yourself a roof. As the song goes, up on the roof, it is peaceful, the world below cannot bother you. Then get up and keep going. Never give up. Hold on to your dream and work hard to achieve them.
This graduation is a temporary goodbye. The University of Makati is your nest. The ties from home can never be broken. We bid you farewell for now and wish you luck in your journey. We wish you success. But we hope you will return, pay it forward and help the next generations of Herons. I look forward to the day at least one of you will be recognized as a Remarkable Heron!
