Text by Grace Bondad Nicolas
The 40th commencement exercises of the University of the Philippines at Los Banos (UPLB), held last April 28 at the Freedom Park grounds, celebrated the achievements of the university’s hardworking graduates. Presidential Scholar Iandycel Mijares was recognized as one of the best and brightest, achieving sole summa cum laude status for the 2012 batch. Her achievement singled her out from the 1744 scholars and the 191 students under the College of Agriculture.
Mijares, a Calamba City resident, shared her thoughts during her speech at the commencement exercises. She said that being true is the most important way to become an inspiration, and that being a scholar from UPLB, it is appropriate to discuss how to strengthen our love for our country. “Confusion is the usual problem in decision making,” she explained. “There are some situations that we cannot solve. Because there are many things in our minds to accomplish, we get confused if those things are still our objectives.”
Mijares could still recall that because of poverty and her parents’ rejection of her enrollment at UPLB, she had to insist and find ways to get a scholarship. She asked politicians for the scholarship, and applied to different scholarship programs. She was eventually accepted to the UP Presidential Scholarship, and it pushed her harder to succeed. She added that the change in environment was hard for her, especially after her father had an accident while working as a driver. The family needed a lot of money for his medical needs, so she decided to work as a student assistant at UPLB.
Mijares added that having a relationship while was still studying did not hinder her dreams of graduating. She added in her valedictory address that, “walang masama sa pagluluto, kung yun ang tingin ng iba sa Food Technology. Pero ang kursong Ito ang tumutukoy sa mas malalim na aspeto ng mga prosesong pinagdaanan ng pagkain. Pangarap ko ang maging doctor. Sabi ng Nanay ko ay natupad naman ang aking pangarap, bilang doctor ng mga pagkain.
“Hindi ko rin ikinahihiya na nabibilang ako sa kolehiyo ng Agrikultura. Wala rin namang masama sa pagiging magsasaka, kung yun ang tingin ng iba sa amin. Pero isipin na lang natin, kung wala bang magbubungkal ng lupa at nagpalago ng mga halaman, nandito pa kaya tayo sa ating kinalalagyan? Hindi biro ang Agrikultura. Hindi lamang Ito simpleng pagtatanim ng palay, pagwiwisik ng kemikal o paggagatas ng baka. Wag nating kalimutan na agrikultura pa rin ang kauna unahang siyensa na kinailangan ng mga unang sibilisasyon. Mas kinakailangan ng ating bansa ang mga iskolar para sa bayan na magtataguyod ng Agrikultura ng Pilipinas at magpapayabong sa naghihingalong ekonomiya.
“Napatunayan ko na hindi talaga hadlang ang kahirapan sa ating mga magagandang layunin. Hindi hadlang ang org at ang boyfriend sa pagkamit ng karangalan. At hindi hadlang na minsan ay malito ka sa daang iyong tatahakin. Napagtanto ko na ang pagkalito ay ang sanhi ng pagiging maingat at kritikal sa pagtingin sa mga bagay-bagay. Ngayon ay naintindihan ko na kung bakit tayong mga estudyante ng UP ay litong-lito sa mga exams: sapagkat nag-iisip tayo. Sapagkat maingat tayo na hindi magkamali at bumagsak. Sapagkat tayo ay may mga pangarap.”