The top two honor graduates and the commencement speaker of the Class of 2026 nudged graduates to be “persons for and with others” as they confront the realities beyond university life.

Dr. Jayeel Cornelio, a director of the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) and a development studies professor at Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), stressed in his commencement address that the renewed mission of Ateneans is to prioritize being with the people over trying to change society.

“Our primary mission as Ateneans is no longer to change things. Instead, I now believe our mission is to first and foremost journey, be with people.”

Quoting AdMU psychology professor Dr. Cristina Montiel, Cornelio further noted the risk of isolation in the pursuit of integrity and social justice and encouraged the graduates to remain firm in holding onto their ideals.

“In my experience, there’s a risk of being isolated as a result of doing your work and choosing to fight, for example, for people who, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t be able to speak for themselves… Go through it and find consolation in the fact that you stood for what was right and what was just.”

He, however, reminded them that regardless of numerous heartbreaks and cases of isolation in a largely volatile society, they should “choose to care anyway.”

“Heartbreak and abandonment, if you’re not careful, can lead to indifference. This is why it’s so important to be mindful of your hopes and dreams, not just for yourself, but for other people as well. To care is not just an emotional major reaction. If done right, to care can be, must be, should be, a powerful political statement.”

Vale and salu say cura personalis is a ‘practiced discipline’

In his opening remarks, BS Biology major in Medical Biology graduate and Class Salutatorian Sung Goon Acosta accentuated that their learning experiences are shaped by the ongoing “challenges that tested our communities socially, economically, environmentally, and politically.”

“We did not learn resilience, solidarity, and service from lectures alone, but also by witnessing and being part of communities that come together in times of crisis.”

After years of studies, Acosta asserted that the value of education is translated to the kind of person they choose to be, not only in measurable results.

“With the hundreds of lessons we have gathered through the years, and the final lessons we will receive today as undergraduates, may we remember that education is not measured by what we know, but by who we choose to become. And hopefully, that is to become human, to hope, and to care.” 

B Public Management graduate and Class Valedictorian Hannah Aquino likewise described in her valedictory address that cura personalis is “a discipline we practice, especially when it is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or costly.”

“…When it was safer to stay silent we choose to speak… we choose to act… We do not become comfortable with what is broken. We do not become silent in the face of injustice. We do not become indifferent to the lives that will never stand where we stand today. Because the measure of our lives will not be in the titles we hold, but in the lives we choose to stand for.”

Aquino also narrated her encounter with an indigenous youth from the Tagakolu community in Sta. Maria, Davao Occidental, who inspired her to move together with the communities who have it less. 

“Being here today means we were given opportunities that millions of Filipinos never had, and that transforms our education from privilege into obligation. As the value of education is not how far it takes us, but how many people we refuse to leave behind when we move forward.”

However, she criticized the recurring instances of Filipinos being required to be resilient, asserting that it is the ordinary Filipinos who bear the worst consequences. 

“Because resilience, when constantly demanded, is no longer a virtue. It becomes a burden carried by those who have the least capacity to bear it. Time and again, it is ordinary Filipinos who endure the consequences first and the longest.”

It is in these circumstances, along with political tensions and corruption scandals, that Aquino noted why graduating transcends the meaning of personal victory. 

“But if this is the world we are entering, then graduation cannot simply mean personal success. It must mean refusing to normalize what should never have been acceptable.”

The 74th Higher Education Commencement Exercises were held at 4F Martin Hall on June 20.