The university holds its 37th Commencement Exercises today, April 10, at the sprawling 1,500 square-meter Sunken Garden whose blossoming sunflowers at this time of the year have come to symbolize the bright prospects that await the emerging professionals, this year numbering 2,001.

Set at 7:30 a.m. at the MMSU Covered Court, the Baccalaureate Program was led by religious leaders from various churches. It was followed by the hooding ceremonies for those from the College of Law and the Graduate School, and the pinning of medals for honor graduates.

At 3 p.m., the candidates for graduation will follow the MMSU colors as they march from the lawn of the University Main Library to the Sunken Garden. Philippine Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is the guest of honor and speaker.

Breakdown of graduates
Of the 2,001 members of Class 2015, 1,864 finished their studies in the second semester while 104 and 33 completed their degrees in the first semester and summer term, respectively.

The College of Business, Economics, and Accountancy (CBEA) had the biggest number with 551; followed by the College of Teacher Education (CTE), 374; College of Engineering (CoE), 267; College of Industrial Technology (CIT), 257; College of Health Sciences (CHS), 198; College of Agriculture, Food, and Sustainable Development (CAFSD), 163; College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), 140; Graduate School, 37; College of Aquatic Sciences and Applied Technology, 11 (CASAT); and College of Law, 3.

Among the undergraduate programs, the Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) has the biggest number of graduates with 208. It is followed by BS Industrial Technology (BSIT), 172; Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSE),166; BS Business Administration-Marketing Management (BSBA-MM), 107; BS Accounting Technology, 92; and BS Pharmacy and BS Agriculture, both with 91 graduates.

Honor graduates
MMSU Class of 2015 is led by 129 honor graduates: 3 magna cum laude and 126 cum laude.

The highest general weighted average (GWA) of 1.3338 was obtained by Jude Patrick F. Cabading who graduates magna cum laude under the BSE program. Julio, his father, is employed in the university as a plumber, while his mother Rosalyn is a teacher. Their family is from Badoc, Ilocos Norte. Jude’s sister Jureya was also the MMSU class valedictorian in 2012. A graduate of BS Accountancy, magna cum laude, she is now a senior associate at SGV and Co., Makati City.

Second in rank is Jestoni Olivo (1.3807) who is graduating magna cum laude under the BS Economics program. This lad from Marcos, Ilocos Norte is the incumbent president of the University Student Council. The third magna cum laude is Allan Dave S. Patubo (1.3867) from the Bachelor in Technical Teacher Education (BTTE) program. He hails from Laoag City.

The CBEA produced the most number of honor graduates with 49, followed by CTE, 42; CIT, 14; CoE and CAS, 8 each; CAFSD and CASAT, 3 each, and CHS, 2.

The programs with the most number of honor graduates are BS Accountancy with 30, BSE, 23; BEEd, 19; and BTTE, 11.

The following programs also produced cum laude graduates: BS Tourism Management, 6; BA English Studies, 4; B Agricultural Technology, BS Accounting Technology, BS Chemical Engineering, BS Economics, BS Fisheries, BS Hospitality Management, BSIT, and BSBA-Human Resource Development Management, 3 each; BS Biology, BS Civil Engineering, and BS Electrical Engineering, 2 each; and BA Sociology, BS Computer Engineering, BS Mathematics, BS Nursing, BS Pharmacy, and BSBA-MM, 1 each.

An innovation this year is the singing of the MMSU Hymn while the graduates are holding candles. A beautiful sea of light is expected to be witnessed as the long day is capped. The ceremonies are expected to finish earlier than usual as two school officials will be simultaneously handing diplomas to graduates.