OSA inducts 7th batch of UPLB’s global ‘ambassadors’
A new batch of new international alumni has been commissioned to promote UPLB in their respective countries at a ceremony organized by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) on June 18 at the Makiling Hall, SU Building.
Zienu Vamba Kanneh and Emmanuel Temitope Olatunji from Liberia; Seng Kai, Yin Myat Myat Min, and Win Soe from Myanmar; Deasy Fitriati from Indonesia; Armando Bau Mau Afonso from Timor-Leste; and Nguyen Thi Huyen from Vietnam are the new additions to UPLB ‘ambassadors’ worldwide.
All of them have received their graduate degrees during UPLB’s 47th Commencement Exercises on June 22.
According to Atty. Eleno O. Peralta, director of OSA, UPLB has already commissioned over 50 ambassadors for the past years. The new batch, he said, signify the strengthening ties of UPLB with international universities.
OSA’s International Students Division, headed by Dr. Erick Vernon Y. Dy, facilitated the selection of the new ambassadors.
Dr. Portia G. Lapitan, vice chancellor for academic affairs, was present during the event, representing Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez, Jr.
“We encourage you to use the knowledge, skills, and insights that you have gained here to serve your country, to become active and conscientious members of the international community, and above all, [to become] engaged global citizens,” Dr. Lapitan said.
Dr. Lapitan also expressed her gratitude to the inductees for choosing UPLB as the university where they took their postgraduate studies, and her hopes that their stay has made them more aware of their goals and place in the world.
Among the commissioned ambassadors are three recipients of the Service and Leadership Award – Kanneh, Olatunji, and Gotarkar. Imelda Grace Siregar from Indonesia, who was also commissioned in an earlier batch, also received the said distinction.
Liberia’s Kanneh, along Vietnam’s Huyen, were also recognized as academic excellence awardees for their outstanding General Weighted Average. (Lysette Nadine B. Sigua)
