The Mariano Marcos State University will hold its 40th Commencement Exercises today at the sprawling 1,000 square-meter sunken garden that has become a witness to the growing pride of academic excellence.

The activity will start with a Baccalaureate Service at the covered court at 8:00 am with Pastor Garvic Garcia of the Heritage Christian Fellowship in Paco, Manila as speaker. 

His co-celebrants are Fr. June Caesar S. Ragonjan, Moderator of the Immaculate Conception Parish of the City of Batac; and Rev. Fr. Jonathan Salud, parish priest of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente of Sta. Monica, Sarrat, Ilocos Norte.

Ragonjan will officiate the offertory, say the prayer of thanksgiving, dedicate the offerings, bless the medals of graduates with honors, lead in the prayer of the faithful, and pronounce the benediction. Salud, on the other hand, will pronounce the greetings, assurance of pardon, and the reading of the Scriptures.

At 3:00 pm, the 2,553 graduates from the various colleges will follow the MMSU officials and the university colors as they march from the lawn of the University Library to the sunken garden.

Of the 2,553 candidates for graduation, 58 are mid-year graduates, while 79 and 2,416 are first and second semester 2017-2018 graduates, respectively.

Leading the candidates is Carl Kasten A. Cocson, a BS Pharmacy graduate from the College of Health Sciences (CHS) who garnered a general weighted average (GWA) of 1.2538, thus, qualifying him to graduate as magna cum laude. 

Aside from Cocson, there are 11 other magna cum laude graduates. Five are from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS),  four from the College of Business, Economics and Accountancy (CBEA), and two from the College of Engineering (COE). 

Maricon Gae Pastor, Ysabelle Valerine Saladino, Wensell Maeh Agbayani, and Jhelly Mhaey Sonico  from CBEA got 1.2824, 1.3766, 1.3831, and 1.3846 GWA, respectively; while Brett Andrew Rikke Bungcayao, Lloyd Anicier Barba, Ryan Roi Domingo, Adrienne Rica Abella, and Don Dexter Garvida from CAS got 1.2871, 1.2948, 1.2979, 1.3873, and 1.3903 GWA, respectively.

Jeric Paul R. Cadiz and Shala Lei Galinato from COE got 1.3789 and 1.4022 GWA, respectively.

There are also 158 cum laude this year, of which 61 are from CTE followed by CBEA (48), COE (20) CAS (13), CAFSD and CIT (7 each), and CASAT (2). CBEA has four graduates with high distinction, while CAS has one.  

The summary on the data of graduates as approved by the University Academic Council in its 124th regular meeting last May 18 is as follows: Graduate School, 62; College of Law, 5; CAFSD, 275; CASAT, 41; CAS, 243; CBEA, 646; COE, 398; CHS, 208; CIT, 298; and CTE, 377.

Addressing the graduates is Senator Loren B. Legarda, a topnotch broadcast journalist, lawmaker and public servant.

For the past three decades, Sen. Legarda has dedicated her work to promote the sustainable and equitable use of our natural resources; advancing programs on building community resilience; advocating for social justice, human rights, peace and cultural diversity; and initiating measures for quality and accessible education, decent employment and livelihood opportunities.

Sen. Legarda is expected to inspire graduates to pursue the ultimate milestone of their career as they are ripe for induction as official and full-fledged members of the Philippine labor force.

The Senator is supportive of all MMSU development projects and is one of the key persons in the establishment of the university’s National Bioenergy Research and Innovation Center (NBERIC).