“Graduating as valedictorian this year seems to be anticlimactic due to the pandemic, nevertheless it is still a blessing for me to receive this distinction. It is quite sad for me since we were not able to march this year and celebrate with our families and friends. As we will be joining the graduation rites of our friends who are graduating next year, I am hopeful that things will be better by then.
These are the thoughts of Elizalde Miguel S. Flores, UPV’s valedictorian of Class 2020. Flores earned this distinction by graduating with the highest GWA of 1.329, magna cum laude, among his peers. His grades were numerical. The BS Chemical in Engineering graduate is also the first valedictorian of the School of Technology.
He added that being a valedictorian is a blessing because all the efforts and sacrifices that he made bore fruit and led him to this achievement.
Looking back at how the semester was abruptly interrupted by COVID19 wherein face-to-face classes had to hastily moved to online learning, Flores said that the hardest part “enduring the slow internet connection” as he complied with his online requirements, in addition to having to buy data load to go online.
“There were some connectivity issues which hindered me to search for academic websites and to communicate with my groupmates. However, I overcame these problems by doing my tasks one step at a time and fortunately I was able to comply all my requirements,” he added.
Flores said that he wants to be in the teaching profession. “Since I was in third year college, I have this vision of becoming a teacher. As a graduate in the midst of the pandemic that hit our country and the world, I am still looking forward to entering the workforce. In the midst the COVID-19 pandemic, the challenge for us future teachers, is to be adaptable and compassionate; adaptable to new methods of learning and compassionate to those who will find it difficult to access these new methods.”
Lastly, we should always be reminded to live by the motto, ‘serve the people.’ This is what UP taught me, to use my skills to help our country in continuing on the path to progress particularly in improving the life of our people. But for now, I think the first order of business is to help our country recover from this pandemic.”
