THE UNIVERSITY capped this year’s onboarding rites with the Thomasian Welcome Party on Thursday, Aug. 7, at the Quadricentennial Pavilion (QPav), with the concert headlined by Filipino indie band The Ridleys and various Thomasian artists.
During the concert, The Ridleys, composed of Benny Manaligod, Jan De Vera, Joric Canlas, and Bryant Ayes, performed their hit songs including “Aphrodite,” “Love Is,” and “Be With You.”
The band drummed up the excitement through a backstage video greeting posted on social media by the Varsitarian.
Faculty of Engineering freshman Lance Pascua felt a “burst of happiness” upon seeing The Ridleys perform live.
“I felt very happy and excited since it’s my first time seeing The Ridleys in person and the opportunity that I took na makita sila made me feel happy,” he said.
The event also featured performances by Thomasian artists such as Miktinig, JYVE!, and College of Fine Arts and Design’s OneSHADE.
UST Prime kicked off the welcome party with a dance number, followed by a performance of this year’s batch dance “Daleng Dale” led by OneSHADE.
JYVE! performed original songs “Lila” and “Who Knew?” as well as a cover of IV of Spades hit songs “Aura ” and “Mundo.”
Miktinig rocked the stage with covers of “Multo” by Cup of Joe, “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry, “Love Story” by Taylor Swift, and their original song “Huwag Kang Mag-Alala.”
For Allan Belino, a freshman attendee from the College of Education, watching the Thomasian Welcome Party felt like reliving the days when he was preparing for the entrance exam.
“Sobrang saya lalo na ‘yong UST hymn, kasi dati pinapakinggan ko lang ‘yun bago mag-review for USTET (University of Santo Tomas Entrance Test), and ngayon napapanood ko na siya sa mismong QPav ng UST,” he said.
Frances Havana, executive producer and officer in charge of this year’s welcome party, shared the same excitement with the freshmen as she took charge of the program.
“Seeing the new breed of Thomasians feel ecstatic towards an event that aims to celebrate their entrance to the University makes me emotional, honestly. I was once a dreamer like the freshmen inside the arena, and in my senior year, it felt right to pay it forward,” she said.
Havana said coordination and trust among team members were important as they were also involved in preparing for a separate event, the “ROARientation” held the previous day.
The event was organized by TOMCAT – UST, the UST Central Student Council, and the Student Organizations Coordinating Council.
Event tickets were distributed to first-year students through their local academic units.
The Thomasian Welcome Party was part of onboarding activities for first-year students, which also included the Misa y Discurso de Apertura or the Mass of the Holy Spirit and Inaugural Lecture on Aug. 5, and the ROARientation and Welcome Walk on Aug. 6.
UST welcomed a total of 10,381 freshmen at the beginning of Academic Year 2025-2026, based on Aug. 5 data. Louisse Raye Shara C. Santos
