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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Binay urges UMak graduates to excel

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Mayor Abigail Binay exhorted some 1,029 new graduates of the city-run University of Makati or UMak to value discipline and make the city proud by excelling in their chosen careers.

Speaking at the 44th Commencement Exercises of UMak held at the Philippine International Convention Center Plenary Hall in Pasay City, Binay also asked the graduates not to hold a grudge against their strict professors, but should instead be grateful. 

She shared her own personal experience with a strict teacher, which drove her and her classmates to be diligent in their studies.

“We learned discipline, we learned to study hard because we cannot cheat. That is what is good about strict teaching. So, let us honor and appreciate our teachers because we are indebted to them,” Binay said.

The mayor also urged the graduates to make their city and alma mater proud by working hard to succeed in their chosen fields.

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“After today, your goal is to come back to the University as alumni, and be able to proudly tell your former professors and fellow alumni, ‘This is what I am now,’” Mayor Binay said.

“That is your goal—not just to make your parents proud, but to make your city and your alma mater proud,” she added.

Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay

Binay also reminded the new graduates to be thankful for the opportunity to study at the university, noting its modern amenities rarely found in other local or state-run universities. 

She recalled her college days at a state university, where she and her fellow students had to make do with dilapidated chairs and facilities, among other discomforts.

The mayor said Makati students need only to compare the city’s standards of education with neighboring localities to realize how fortunate they are to be Makatizens.

Through UMak, the country’s first ISO-certified local university, quality tertiary education has been made accessible to all, including children from poor families in the city. 

The city government has invested billions in modernizing its facilities and expanding its course offerings to keep abreast of prevailing trends in the workplace.

This year, the city has allocated 53 percent, or around P825 million, for UMak programs and operations, out of its total budget of P1.56 billion for education.

Out of the 1,029 graduates, 100 are honor graduates. These include 10 graduates with high academic distinction from the university’s graduate programs. 

Under the Baccalaureate programs, five graduated magna cum laude and 17 graduated cum laude. The non-Baccalaureate degrees produced eight graduates with high honors, and 54 with honors.

UMak Batch 2017 is composed of graduates from the 12 colleges and centers of the university, with the most number coming from the College of Computer Science with 220 graduates. It is followed by the School of Continuing Education, which offers graduate degree programs, with 183 graduates.

Other members of Batch 2017 included 118 graduates from College of Allied Health Studies; College of Business Administration, 89; College of Technology Management, 85; College of Education, 82; College of Maritime Leadership Innovation, 65; and College of Engineering, 60.

Completing the list of graduates were 53 graduates from the Center for Broadcast and Digital Arts; College of Governance and Public Policy, 43; College of Arts and Sciences, 26; and Center of Human Kinestetics, five graduates.

Themed “Developing Competitive Young Filipino Professionals through Transformative and Innovative Education,” the ceremony was also attended by Makati Vice Mayor Monique Lagdameo and Reps. Luis Campos and Monsour Del Rosario.

Among UMak officials present were university president Tomas Lopez, Jr., vice president for academic affairs Dr. Elyxzur Ramos, university registrar Ellen Ruth Punzalan, and the respective deans and executive directors of its academic colleges and centers.

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