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The graduation season is upon us. Yet it is not cheers we hear in the air but the resounding clamor of disappointment from the many graduates deprived of their commencement due to COVID-19 pandemic. Livestreamed graduation ceremonies have sprouted like mushrooms everywhere, with students attending services through wheeled robots or drive-in. Though admitting the shift to virtual was necessary, graduates and their families were nonetheless devastated learning about the news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was honestly angry, sad, and discouraged,\u201d Alyssa Jacelyn Acob said. She was supposed to graduate at Hawaii Pacific University on May 9, with a double major in Integrated Multimedia and Mass Communication, but was told the event was postponed indefinitely. Graduating for her is a momentous academic achievement. \u201cFrom the sound of air horns and clappers when your name is called,\u201d she said, \u201cto the mountain of leis you receive when people come to find you in your assigned section, with a grad photo being waved in the air to signal where you are in the sea of people\u2026it is what everyone works hard for and looks forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Krishna Taroc, finishing her bachelor\u2019s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Hawaii Manoa, it was a shock she felt. For her virtual graduation seemed unrealistic. \u201cI was praying that somehow the pandemic will be over soon so that I\u2019d be able to walk the line,\u201d she said, noting that walking through the graduation ceremony is both \u201can honor and pride.\u201d College graduation, especially among Filipino households, is given great importance because \u201cnot many of us are given the chance to go to university and to be one of those who can finish school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sentiment is shared by high-school twins Christine and Christian Alonzo of Maui High School, who said that \u201ccoming from a Filipino family, graduation is a nice way to show that all of our hard work did pay off.\u201d They added that high school graduation is particularly important to teen graduates as it will give them \u201cthe time and space to celebrate 13-plus years of education\u201d for the first time. But for Vea Aubrey Bumatay, graduating with an associate\u2019s degree in Liberal Arts with a focus on Medical Assisting at Kapiolani Community College, it meant she could accomplish anything. \u201cTwo of my brothers were not able to graduate\u201d she said, \u201cso being the last sibling, it meant great importance that I walk down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenny Domingo Quibilan, a graduate student at the UH Manoa with a master\u2019s degree in Educational Administration, also believes in the value of graduation ceremonies. He said they are \u201cnot just for the graduates but also for the families.\u201d From a young age Quibilan\u2019s family had always instilled in him the importance of education. For his family and many Filipinos, \u201cgetting an education means a better opportunity; therefore, having a ceremony is not just for me but it\u2019s also for them and acknowledging the hard work they put in to raising the graduate.\u201d Virtual commencement, then, did not make sense. \u201cIf I can\u2019t physically be there and have my family there screaming my name,\u201d he said, \u201cthen I don\u2019t know what is the point of a virtual graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the FilGrad Manoa, a student-led organization recognizing Filipino American graduates at UH Manoa, the hype mentality towards this life ritual is innate. \u201cAs Filipinxs, we come from a collectivist culture,\u201d they said\u2014\u201cwhen one eats, we all eat; when one wins, we all win.\u201d Each year the FilGrad recognition ceremony gives the community a special way to celebrate how far \u201cour Filipinx community here in Hawai\u02bbi has come since our first waves of migration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, in a letter sent to all UH graduates, UH President David Lassner says that \u201ccommencement is one of the most time-honored traditions in our society\u2026 [that] unites us across age, gender, ethnicity and personal background…mark[ing] the end of one period of our lives and the beginning of the next.\u201d Though he believes that \u201ceven in the midst of this present crisis, every student who graduates…should be very proud of everything that they have accomplished. Nothing should eclipse the feelings of well-earned pride of our graduates and everyone who has worked hard to help them achieve this important goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 8,600 UH undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees and certificates were virtually awarded this spring, with graduates given the option to participate in the next semester or May 2021\u2019s commencement ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the disheartening change, graduates are still hopeful of the future. \u201cThere\u2019s now a lot of uncertainty especially for our new graduates when it comes to the economy and finding a job,\u201d said Quibilan, \u201cbut we have been through hard times before and we will get through this uncertainty together as a community again.\u201d As for Bumatay, challenges today will only make her stronger for tomorrow. \u201cI just hope that in the future everything will become brighter and will make me see the bigger picture of the struggles I\u2019m going through,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Mark Lester E. Ranchez The graduation season is upon us. Yet it is not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920",2560,1920,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C225",300,225,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C480",640,480,true],"large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=640%2C480",640,480,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=1536%2C1152",1536,1152,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C1536",2048,1536,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C800",1200,800,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=870%2C570",870,570,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C900",600,900,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C600",600,600,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=1115%2C715",1115,715,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C500",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=1024%2C768",1024,768,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=540%2C340",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C250",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Features<\/a>","tag_info":"Features","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/IMG_3808-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2352,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350\/revisions\/2352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}