The UPLB Learning Resource Center (LRC) held its first face-to-face luncheon on Aug. 6 to honor the graduating student-grantees of the Agricultural and Rural Development Scholarship (ARDS).

The luncheon, with the theme “REAP: Reinforcing and Ensuring Agricultural Development,” honored the graduating scholars and their parents.

Dr. Janette H. Malata-Silva, vice chancellor for student affairs, opened the event through a video message where she thanked students for their resilience in the face of the pandemic. She congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to give back to their country. 

“Ito ang simula ng higit pang paglilikod. Humayo kayo at panglingkuran ang samabayanan.”

(This is the first step toward more excellent service. Go out into the world and serve the people.)

Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr., an ARDS alumnus, recognized students’ difficulties while studying at UPLB because he was once a student. 

He said, however, that the students’ anxieties, challenges, and uncertainties over the last two years due to remote learning and the pandemic should not be underestimated.

He then congratulated the students and reminded them to be grateful to those who assisted them, including the LRC, ARDS, OVCSA families, and most of all, their own families.

He cautioned them that there is no guarantee that life after graduation will be easy but also assured them that UP had equipped them to handle these challenges. “As graduates of the country’s only national university, you are capable of much and are called to serve,” Chancellor Camacho said.

“Remember, what you have learned here and what you have become so far have the potential not only to help you and your loved ones but also to improve communities to contribute to the development of our country and to build a better society, he added.”

The four scholars who graduated in 2022 testified that their ARD scholarships had made it easier for them to get through university.

Angelica Marie G. Canete remembered how difficult her first semester at UPLB was because she did not receive a scholarship and had to rely on the SLB Program for assistance. Fortunately, she applied for ARDS during her second semester and was awarded the scholarship. She thanked the LRC staff and ARDS alumni members and expressed her desire to pay it forward.

Roniela F. Ferrrer said that ARDS and LRC provided her with more than just financial assistance. She also discovered a family and a support system, who gave her hope that she, like other students, could succeed. 

“Dito sa ARDS at sa LRC, hindi lang ako nakahanap ng mga taong tumulong sa akin sa pinansyal at academically. I found people who became my support system. Yung tipong may pupuntahan ako every lunch para sa libreng pakain.”

(At ARDS and LRC, I did not only find people to help me financially and academically. I found people who became my support system and where you can get free food every day for lunch.)

Angelo C. Hernandez thanked ARDS and LRC for providing him with an internet allowance and a laptop during the pandemic, which made his transition to online learning easier. As a result, he completed his thesis and became the first member of his family to graduate from UPLB.

Maria Elaine L. Sumo thanked the former LRC director Mark Lester M. Chico for always addressing her as “Doktora,” inspiring her to complete her veterinary medicine degree despite the obstacles. 

Sumo also thanked former LRC director Benjamina Paula G. Flor, who became the center’s “mother,” for providing free meals, laptops, and internet access during the pandemic. She also thanked current LRC director John Mervin L. Embate and the LRC staff for constantly checking on her progress with her thesis.

Joshua A. Chua, Gelyzza Marie R. Diaz, John Louie L. Educado, Almira L. Zulueta, and Christian R. Libang, beneficiaries of ARDS who graduated in  2020 and 2021, also gave testimonials to thank ARDS, LRC, and its staff.

The parents of the graduates also gave their messages to LRC, and most of them could not hold back their tears as they expressed their gratitude toward LRC.

To close the program, Embate congratulated and reminded the graduates that they are not pandemic graduates who earned a degree out of compassion but independent learners with skills in online technology and social media needed in a global work environment where work-from-home may be the future. 

“You’re survivors. You did not only survive UP education. You survived it at the time of a global crisis… and that is enough. You are enough. Do not let anyone take that away from you.”

Embate further reminded the graduates that the phrase “there’s no way but up” or “UP” no longer applies to them—but their calling now is “there’s no way but to give back” to advance agricultural and rural development.

Sheryl Edd P. Hermosa-Ebron, the ARDS coordinator, was also honored for completing her MS in Development Communication in 2019.

Among those who joined the virtual luncheon were Professor Emeritus Virginia Cuevas, former ARDS coordinator; Dahlia Aspillera, ARDS benefactor; Brian Carlo Hipolito, a human resource officer at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; Asst. Professor Jickerson P. Lado, assistant to the vice chancellor for student affairs and director of the Office of the Scholarships and Grants; Dr. Jea Agnes T. Buera, director of the Office of Counselling and Guidance; Maria Rowena Beatriz I. Quizon, director of the Office of Student Activities; Engr. Marc Immanuel G. Isip, director of the Office of Student Housing; Marcelina Miranda, RECOMMIT coordinator; Joyce Hernandez-Siena, International Student Relations coordinator, LRC interns and student assistants. (Sheryl Edd P. Hermosa-Ebron)