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| From left: Dr. Macapado A. Muslim, Engr. Manuel I. Gloria and Dr. Sukarno D. Tanggol |
The MSU System President, Dr. Macapado A. Muslim conferred degrees on 411 graduates of this year’s Mid-Year Graduation, with the theme, “MSU-IIT… Going Beyond Borders,” on November 11, 2011 at the Institute Gymnasium.
The School of Engineering Technology had the most number of graduates at 112 while the College of Business Administration & Accountancy had only five. The rest of the graduates from the different schools and colleges were: College of Education (71); 48 each from the College of Engineering and the School of Computer Studies; College of Arts & Social Sciences (38); College of Science and Mathematics (36); School of Graduate Studies (27); and, College of Nursing (22). The Commencement Speaker was Wastewater Management expert, Engr. Manuel I. Gloria, Jr., President and Chief Design Engineer of Aquatreat Evironmental Systems, Inc.
Gloria addressed the appreciative graduates that humid morning at the Gymnasium. He spoke of taking courage in going beyond one’s borders whether these were physical, geographical, intellectual, linguistic or religious even as he recalled his excitement to work in the “real world” after his own graduation from college where immediately afterwards, he took the Philippine PRC Board Exam and finished in third place.
In his 15-minute commencement speech (click to read full text), Gloria narrated his own journey from leaving his hometown Dumaguete City to study for a BS Chemical Engineering degree at the St. Louis University in Baguio City where, he said, he was scared to live away from his home and family, did not understand the area’s lingua franca, Ilocano, and had to contend with different regional cultures and foods, to his studies in Belgium as a scholar of the Belgian Ministry of Education and Culture for his MS in Chemical Engineering and Public Health in 1976, and his Post Graduate Studies in Environmental Engineering in 1997 at the Katholieke Universiteit te Leuven.
While in Europe, he was exposed to “radically different cultures, languages, and peoples” and when, at the Institute where he was assigned, he found it “so technically advanced” that all he had to do for his research was “to submit samples” and the automated instruments would produce the analysis on print outs. But, in this technologically advanced institution, he could still rely on his ability to perform titration or volumetric analysis manually, a feat his classmates envied, because such skill was still effective when laboratory instruments became overloaded or when they broke down.
As an engineer working in Saudi Arabia, except for the difference in pay, he said, the Filipino engineer “could stand toe to toe” with his British or American counterparts. He later turned down the offer for him to stay on in Saudi Arabia after his contract ended because his wife, Fe had founded the now family-owned, Aquatreat Evironmental Systems, Inc. and she could afford to pay Gloria’s salary.
For his part, the MSU-IIT Chancellor Dr. Sukarno D. Tanggol challenged the graduates “to prove their worth” because on their shoulders are “placed the challenge of establishing better cross-cultural relations with other nations, of helping bring about peace and harmony among peoples, of developing more sensitivity to other people’s creeds, aspirations and beliefs, of showing more concern for the environment, of making the world a better one for generations to come” (click to read full text).
This year’s Mid-Year Graduation was led by the following academic and co-curricular awardees: Aiza P. Tangcaan, BSE Mathematics (1.59375); Julie Cristine Q. Doleguez, BSE Biology (1.62288); Sheenna L. Delfin, BSE Biology (1.67982), Marryshelle P. Alvarez, BEED Science and Health (1.72645), April Rose F. Flores, AB Sociology (1.73571); and, Ivan Jovir M. Encabo, IAMT, With Honors (1.71474).
There were five graduates who received the Institute Co-Curricular Leadership Awards. They were: Pets Gerald C. Umbac (CEd), Athletics; Marvin F. Manlangit (CASS), Dance; Ben Joseph R. Cuyacot (CSM), Music –Instrumental; Roxanne Dimple M. Gatab (CSM) Vocals; and Leonel S. Jumawid (CSM), Sikap.
The College/School Co-Curricular Leadership Awardees were: Jeralph B. Patayon (SET), Atheletics; Micah Vaniah B. Llanes (CEd), Debate; Karen Shiela T. Flores (CASS), Leadership; and Evmard T. Yoyongco (SET), Sikap. (News Release, MSU-IIT Office of the Chancellor)
Topics : alumni