GENERAL SANTOS CITY — UST Rector Fr. Richard Ang, O.P. on Thursday called on the pioneering students of UST General Santos (GenSan) to summon their courage as they start a historic journey as the first-ever students of UST’s first branch campus.
In his homily during the Welcome Mass, Ang acknowledged the daunting challenges the pioneering students faced, especially as they entered a fledgling institution in GenSan while transitioning from basic education to the tertiary level.
“Our welcome rites serve as signposts indicating that you are empowered to make changes and take your life into an exciting new direction,” he said during the Mass celebrated at the Main Building, the first completed structure in the Mindanao campus.
“So, my dear students, do not be afraid to take the first step,” he continued. “Your true destiny will await you the moment you decisively commit yourselves to your newfound academic endeavor.”
As the UST GenSan freshmen commenced their Thomasian journey, the rector encouraged them to embody resilience, faith, and humility, attitudes that he said would guide the students along the way.
Ang also assured the students that they were not alone in this journey.
“Just like you — although, in a different manner — the newly assigned priests, faculty, and staff, are also embarking on their first Thomasian journey in a Mindanaoan UST,” he emphasized. “We are in this all together.”
“You are now part of the UST story, and you will be making history beginning today,” he said. “The world is at your feet, and the sky is the limit.”
During the Welcome Mass, Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P., presented the inaugural batch of UST GenSan freshmen to Fr. Ang. The batch is composed of 126 students across five programs:
- BS Medical Technology – 60
- BS Pharmacy – 28
- BS Industrial Engineering – 18
- BS Entrepreneurship – 14
- BS Accounting Information System – 6
There were also four Graduate School of Law freshmen based in Mindanao.
UST GenSan was initially projected to admit over 400 students in its maiden academic year, during which it was allowed to offer five programs that are also being offered in UST Manila.
‘No one left behind’
In his homily, Ang also emphasized that while UST is the Catholic University of the Philippines, its branch campus in GenSan would be receptive to students from other religions, most especially Islam.
GenSan houses the fifth largest Muslim population among cities in Mindanao. Seventy percent of its population is Roman Catholic.
“While UST is Catholic, we respect and welcome people from other religions, most especially our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao,” he said. “It is very unchristian to disregard someone just because he is different from the rest of us.”
“On this campus, no one will be left behind — we are one single family.”
Faith, no matter the religion, is a hallmark of the Thomasian identity according to Ang.
“Thomasian identity deals with faith, among other things,” he said. “If you have faith, no matter what your religion is, you are embracing the Thomasian spirit.”
The Welcome Mass was concelebrated by Secretary General Fr. Louie Coronel, O.P., Fr. Edmund Nantes, O.P., associate vice rector for finance of the Mindanao campus, Fr. Gerard Zabala, O.P., associate vice rector for religious affairs, and other Dominican fathers.
Select administrators and Thomasian performers, such as the UST Yellow Jackets and the Salinggawi Dance Troupe, from UST Manila also trooped to GenSan for the welcome rites.
The Mass was followed by the first-ever ROARientation and Welcome Walk at UST GenSan, wherein students entered the front gates of the Mindanao campus, similar to the traditional passing through the Arch of the Centuries at the Sampaloc campus.
UST GenSan is the largest UST campus to date, being twice the size of the 40-hectare UST Santa Rosa, the research hub in Laguna where the first building was inaugurated last year, and four times the size of the 21-hectare main campus in Manila. with reports from Fernando Pierre Marcel B. Dela Cruz, Sydney Venice V. Berba, and Carlo Jose H. Ruga
