Spark

This week and last marked graduation season for the University of the Philippines, the country's national university. These ceremonies are known not only for honoring academic achievement but also for their expression and notable speakers, who often try to make sense of what is happening in the country or even in the world. At their best, these speeches do more than send a message to the graduating class. They become statements meant for everyone to hear. The representatives of each batch also step into the spotlight, introducing themselves to the workforce that awaits them and declaring what they stand for before they begin their professional lives.

Last Sunday, comedian Vice Ganda spoke before the graduates of the College of Media and Communication. Unsurprisingly, the speech touched on corruption, accountability, and the responsibility of those who hold positions of power. Other constituent universities also invited remarkable individuals. At UP Visayas, for instance, a fisherfolk leader addressed the graduates, representing the very communities many students hope to serve in the future. These choices reflect what UP has always tried to emphasize: that learning does not exist in isolation and that education should remain connected to the realities of ordinary Filipinos. The ceremonies become even more iconic when students finally turn their coveted sablays to the other side and sing the university hymn, knowing that one chapter has come to an end.

To me, however, the most important part of the ceremony begins only after the applause fades. That final moment becomes the spark for a lifetime of commitment to the country. Like any great flame, it starts somewhere small. The years spent inside the university are expected to find their way back into society through the work its graduates choose to do. We look at leaders in major companies, government offices, classrooms, hospitals, newsrooms, and communities, and many of them came from state universities. These institutions are funded by the people, carrying the hope that they will produce generations who will love the country in different ways and never waste the investment made in them.

The greatest question will always come after the ceremonies are over: What now, and where do we go from here? Some graduates are fortunate enough to already know the path they want to take. Others will spend months or even years searching for the work that gives their lives meaning. There is nothing wrong with either journey. But whenever uncertainty arrives, perhaps the best place to return to is the same question that UP has quietly asked its students all along: How can you serve the country well?

The answers will differ from one person to another. Service can be found in journalism, medicine, engineering, business, science, the arts, or in communities that rarely make the headlines. It may happen at different levels and in different magnitudes. Not everyone will change the nation overnight but every meaningful contribution begins with a spark. Wherever life leads after graduation, may that spark continue to burn with one simple reminder: the Filipino people should always come first.