REDIRECTION can sometimes feel like failure, but for Francis Kenneth Araya, it led him to something bigger.
Rejected from his first-choice program and waitlisted in his second, Araya still climbed to the top and graduated as valedictorian of the UST Class of 2025.
A Bicol native, Araya graduated with a general weighted average of 1.083, completing his degree in biochemistry under the Faculty of Pharmacy — his second choice program, which he picked on a whim.
“Ang first choice ko was medical technology,” he told the Varsitarian. “Tapos, nakita ko yung biochemistry, and I thought at first, 50/50 siyang biology and chemistry. ‘Di kasi siya kilalang course. So sabi ko, ‘Sige, piliin ko na lang ‘yong biochemistry.’ Second choice lang naman.”
“When results came out, rejected ako sa medical technology, tapos ‘di pa ako pasado sa biochemistry; waitlisted lang talaga ako.”
Determined to leave his hometown for greater opportunities, Araya emailed the department every night for two weeks until he secured a slot in the biochemistry program, even though the course required two subjects, physics and calculus, which intimidated him.
“Takot na takot talaga ako no’n, kasi I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “Hindi pala siya half-bio, half-chem; hindi ko alam kung ano ‘yong pinasok ko pala.”
Still, it only took a week for Araya to fall in love with the program and the opportunities it offered.
“What seemed to be impossible for me as an above-average high school student before, hindi pala talaga siya imposible, as long as i-try mo siyang i-pursue,” he said.
“You need to exhaust all your options, all the possible routes na papunta doon sa patutunguhan na gusto mo.”
In 2024, Araya won first place at the 7th International Symposium and 14th Annual Scientific Conference for his research on chemical risks in traditional vapor rub liniments. This earned him and his groupmates the UST Albertus Magnus Award, which recognizes outstanding research presentations at national and international conferences.
He also served as president of the UST Biochemistry Society.
As a Department of Science and Technology Junior Level Science Scholar, Araya will now serve a two-year return service as a research assistant before pursuing a direct Ph.D. program overseas.
From initial rejection to becoming UST’s valedictorian, Araya believes redirections don’t mean failure — they can lead to greater opportunities.
“‘Yong redirections na nakuha ko, destiny was just saying na I’m not meant for things at this level. I was meant for bigger things,” he said.
“Hindi ibig sabihin na-redirect ka, parang nag-fail ka na or over na yung buhay mo. There will always be doors that are going to open for you, that will lead to bigger things.” with reports from Billy Andrei P. Ramos
