Onward, alma mater !

Amidst heavy rains and several flooded areas accompanying the exit of a typhoon, a serene and touching ceremony was held in the FEU auditorium at Morayta, Manila, last June 11, 2018. The occasion was the conferment of the Far Eastern University Green and Gold Awards to twenty-eight (28) of its alumni who have distinguished themselves in their respective fields. The event is held every five years and this year’s ceremony was made significant because it coincided with the 90th Year of FEU’s foundation. Despite the inclement weather, there was 100% attendance of the awardees, several of whom travelled from abroad or distant places. Surely, no one wanted to miss this occasion of honor. I was fortunate to have been one of the awardees. Monetary Board Member Antonio S. Abacan Jr., himself a previous Green and Gold awardee, proudly congratulated me on the stage, saying that we are the contribution of our university to the country’s banking and financial system, as both of us presently sit in the policy-making Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The green and gold colors have their own history. They were selected by the university founder and first president, Dr. Nicanor Reyes, Sr. to embody these meanings: Green symbolizes the youth as the fair hope of the fatherland; and Gold represents the gold standard of service that the university always aspires to reach.

Tracing back one’s college roots is both nostalgic and joyful, as I recall my stay there for eight (8) years, for my Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees. And these feelings are doubled over when one returns for a conferment of recognition. About a third of the awardees were honor graduates, but what is common among all the awardees is that they all became special because of the exemplary accomplishments they achieved in their career. The message, therefore, is that success can be anybody’s accomplishment in our alma mater. What is important is to have a good and solid foundation in learning and, for me, I owe that foundation to FEU. As what the awardees’ representative, Dr. Rosalind Wee, said in her response, we were there not only to accept the honor, but also to express our gratitude to our university.

I am also very happy to note that under the leadership of Chairman Aurelio M. Montinola and President Dr. Michael M. Alba, FEU is pursuing with great vigor its objective of preparing the students today for the challenges of tomorrow. Thus, its vision is to be a university of choice in Asia, together with its mission of producing quality higher education and of producing globally competitive graduates with core values of fortitude, excellence and uprightness. We also feel to be very much a part of these goals and so I urge my coalumni to cheer with these words lifted from our hymn: “Onward, FEU!”

In alphabetical order, here are the 2018 Green and Gold awardees: Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso, Jamela M. Alindogan; Leah T. Armamento, Angel P. Bautista, Dominador D. Buhain, Jr., Jesson Ramil D. Cid, Rachel Anne L. Daquis, Juan D. De Zuñiga, Jr., Jessa Czaraina E. Dulay, Christopher M. Ferareza, Janelle Mae B. Frayna, Maria Rhodora P. Fresnedi, Romeo S. Fresnedi Jr., Jayson O. Gonzales, Eduard L. Lacanienta, Romulo B. Macalintal, Dennis E. Miranda, Teresita C. Moran, Corazon D. Ong, Fr. Anton C.T. Pascual, Karen Gracielles L. Remo, Arwind A. Santos, Josefina S. Sison, Marestella T. Sunang, Dexter Sy, Christopher T. Ulboc Jr., Rey Valera and Rosalind L. Wee. Congratulations to all the awardees! ***** The above comments are the personal views of the writer. His email address is jzuniga@bsp.gov.ph