The university sent off a total of 8,794 graduates in this year’s Baccalaureate Mass wherein the Faculty of Arts and Letters attained the most number of graduates this year amounting to 1,187.
Graduating Tomasians from the different colleges and institutes started off the festivities with a boisterous march out of the historical Arch of the Centuries. Each college and institute had their own gimmicks owing to the nature and tradition of their college. As guiding symbol, graduating students were given mission crosses serving as their lifelong commitment to put their Tomasian education to good use outside UST. The Mass ended with the “ceremony of light” to remind the graduating students of their duty to spread the light of the Christian faith. A pyro-musical display accompanied by songs from a 2018 hit musical movie capped off the rites and lit up the night sky. This was followed by the recessional parade through the Arch of the Centuries signifying the end of the students’ college life.
Sociology graduate Alex Azul shared her insights about the Baccalaureate Mass, “Bacc Mass is my favorite event in UST. I’ve waited 4 years for it & when it was finally our turn, it just felt so overwhelming; the emotions, the grandness. I fell in love with UST all over again. Nandoon din yung pressure na you and your friends have to make the most out of what’s left in college.”
For Adam Laurena, who graduated Cum Laude, he described the festivities as “a bittersweet moment because, it was, indeed, an event of thanksgiving and a celebration of friendship and memories. It also served as a reminder that out time in the university is about to come to an end.”
For Kate Calalo, another Sociology graduate, the Bacc Mass will always be what graduating Thomasians anticipate because “it is… a sign that we are about to fulfill our dreams of having a degree after four years of hard work.”
One of the popular traditions in the annual Baccalaureate Mass is giving messages of thanksgiving and what-nots to friends (and foes) on their uniforms. AB students would usually parade those message-laden uniforms during the actual Baccalaureate celebration, but was prohibited recently for various reasons. But despite this downer, the graduating Tomasians, including undergraduates and outsiders, still enjoyed the treat.
The Baccalaureate Mass was held on May 25 at the UST Grand Stand Open grounds.
By Sheine Nicole C. Lim
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