THE RECOGNITION given to the support staff of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters (AB) during graduation rites made them feel closer to students who view them as the unsung heroes of their college life.
The faculty started including non-academic and support staff in the graduation march last year to honor those who provide immediate assistance to students in need
According to the ates and kuyas of the Artlets, the simple gesture makes them feel seen and included and affirms the vital role they play in the University.
For maintenance staff Christopher Cayetano, the practice brings them closer to the Thomasian community.
“Before, we felt as if we were distant to the students. But now, it’s as if we have become a part of you (students) like a family,” Cayetano, who has been working for more than a decade in UST, told The Flame in Filipino.
“We feel like we are not just janitors, but your companions and a part of UST with these types of traditions.”
Joseph Conrad Marillo, also a maintenance staff, echoed the sentiment, saying his marching in the solemn investiture gives him a sense of belonging in the University.
The first graduation march of the AB support staff at the Quadricentennial Pavilion was held in the first year of Prof. Melanie Turingan as Artlets dean.
A video of the march posted by The Flame garnered over 5.2 million views, 152,000 reactions, 1,900 comments and 21,000 shares on Facebook. The march gained nationwide attention when the video, which was lifted from the UST Communications Bureau livestream, became the subject of several mainstream media reports and social media posts.
Before this, only students, faculty members and administrative officials were recognized during graduation rites.
Security guard Roann Quiton, who also took part in the gesture of gratitude last year, said her feeling while marching for the second time was “indescribable.”
“We are really happy to be recognized in the University as the ones who work behind the scenes in UST. We are also thankful to Dean Turingan as she was the one who allowed us to be a part in the graduation,” Quiton said in Filipino.
“I was really happy, especially when we were walking towards the stage. Like I had mixed emotions, I was both glad and emotional at the same time.”
For the support staff, seeing graduates march in their togas and celebrate their milestone is a form of happiness they will always share with students.
“We congratulate them because they graduated from UST, and hopefully they find good jobs immediately,” Mamaril said.
“It makes us happy seeing the students we know graduate. It also makes us glad to witness them finish their studies and become professionals. Someday, they may even become the University’s next professors,” Cayetano said. F – Veancy Palad
