THE PATH to graduating as valedictorian of UST’s Class of 2026 began not with perfect grades but with a decision to leave a degree program that no longer matched her aspirations.
College of Commerce and Business Administration graduate Allyah Amboy said shifting from Financial Management to Marketing Management allowed her to pursue work that she found both meaningful and sustainable, a decision that led her to graduate with a class-leading 1.058 general weighted average.
Coming from a family of engineers and health professionals, Amboy initially expected to follow a more conventional career path.
She entered senior high school under the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) strand before realizing her interests lay in business, entrepreneurship and creativity.
“A lot of my family members also pursued a medicine or health career path, so baka doon din ako,” she told the Varsitarian. “But during my time in STEM, na-realize ko na, since bata ako, I had this creative entrepreneurial inclination. So I figured, why not try to go for business administration in Commerce?”
(A lot of my family members also pursued medicine or other health professions, so I thought I might end up there as well. But during my time in STEM, I realized that ever since I was young, I had a creative and entrepreneurial inclination. So I decided to pursue business administration.)
She enrolled in UST’s Financial Management program in 2022 but soon realized that although she performed well academically, she could not see herself building a long-term career in the field.
Instead of choosing what seemed to offer greater job security, Amboy shifted to Marketing Management, saying fulfillment mattered more than simply pursuing a stable career.
“Even though finance felt like a stereotypically safer path… I think sustainability eventually became more important to me,” she said. “Could I genuinely see myself doing the work for years? Or will I thrive there and not just survive it?”
The transition was not without challenges. Catching up with the new curriculum meant taking additional subjects, carrying heavier academic loads and adjusting to unfamiliar classmates.
She said the support of her new blockmates and the department eased the transition and reinforced the importance of community throughout college.
Outside the classroom, Amboy remained active in student leadership. She joined the Commerce student council in 2022 and served as its vice president for Academic Year 2025-2026.
She also became a member of the UST Central Student Council’s Campaigns and Advocacies Committee and represented the college in the 45th Pautakan, the Varsitarian’s intercollegiate quiz competition, which she described as one of the highlights of her college experience.
Her achievements extended beyond the University. Amboy placed second nationwide in the Registered Marketing Professional certification examinations, earned the Certified Digital Marketing Professional credential from the Digital Marketing Association of the Philippines and participated in the 2025 European Summer Program at the Université Catholique de Lille in France.
Despite graduating at the top of her class, Amboy said recognition was never her primary objective.
Looking back, she said college should be viewed as an opportunity for growth rather than simply a means of accumulating awards or high grades.
“Be more than just a student,” she said. “Really focus on how to learn, how to apply yourself.”
