Catherine Martinez Adille
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology)
College of Social Sciences and Philosophy | 2019-XXXXX
“Simulain”
Simulain: Service Does Not Ask for Grand Gestures

To our Commencement Speaker, Former Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan,

Chair of the Board of Regents, Hon. J Prospero De Vera III,

Members of the Board of Regents,

UP President Hon. Angelo Jimenez,

UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan II,

Vice Chancellors, Directors, Deans, and other officials of UP Diliman and of the UP System,

Professor Emeriti, Mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, Mga Pambansang Alagad ng Agham, Faculty and Staff members,

Our friends, families, and loved ones,

And finally, my fellow graduates, I greet you all a wonderful morning!

It is an amazing feat that we’ve accomplished to finally stand here after wrestling through sleepless nights and piles of academic requirements. And to top it all off, juggling our way through a global pandemic. Dasurv natin ang araw na ito, fellow graduates!

I failed to graduate with my batchmates last year and while I was accepting this growing reality that I would be held back for at least a semester, I found myself aimless and losing purpose. What have I been working and studying so hard for these past four years? In the midst of this burnout, I was given the opportunity by the UP DIliman Ugnayan ng Pahinungod to be part of the Peer Support Volunteers and help provide psychosocial support to distressed individuals.

The UPD Pahinungod connected me with people who offer their time and effort to serve others. From other UPD Pahinungod volunteers, I learned their stories and passion for volunteerism that made me realize what it truly means to be an Iskolar ng Bayan.

At the heart of being a UP student is not only honor and excellence but equally important is service. So, earlier this year, I continued volunteering and was able to become a volunteer responder for a mental health support hotline that gives aid to people in crisis and at risk.

Through my humble experience, I realized that service does not ask of us grand gestures but rather it requires empathy, commitment, and community. 

Empathy allows us to understand and become one with others in their pain and struggles. We support them because our minds have the ability to vicariously share in their experiences. We give aid to refugees. We stand with jeepney drivers and UP vendors because we understand their struggle. But empathy also comes to us in our small, mundane interactions.

There was once a time I lost my umbrella and I proceed to the lost and found area to ask the security guard there. Unexpectedly, I ended up chatting with him. When he found out I was a psychology major, he told me of his recent experience of handling a crisis situation of an at-risk student. With the help of another staff custodian, they were able to de-escalate the situation. He conversed with the student and listened to her worries and anxieties. He gave her the space she needs to be heard and validated. But I could see that this experience was burdening his mind, and this is not an experience that someone can always process on their own. I told him, “Naligtas mo ang buhay niya, kuya. Malaking bagay ang ginawa ninyo at mabuti naabutan mo siya.” Those words helped him open up and share with me his story and future plans to continue his education. Those simple words and the space I gave him to tell me his story as I listened was able to provide him a bit of comfort. 

In the simple act of giving our time and listening ear, we now come to my second point which is commitment. To offer one’s time and effort to further a cause or provide service without force or pressure is indeed noble. Through commitment we offer ourselves freely, it pushes us to act, and we are able to say that our stances and beliefs are not merely empty words.

 When I was a freshie, I would write essays upon essays of mental health accessibility and decolonizing Filipino psychology, yet I remained within the ivory tower and in between the tabs of my Google classroom and UVLê submission bins. It was only after taking the courage to go through my volunteer training did I feel I was finally doing something, effecting change despite how small. Dedicating some time to reply to emails or answer calls of people who need emotional support made me feel that I was doing my part to further mental health accessibility. However, I would not have been able to push through with the training without the friends and people who supported me to continue on.

With the connections and friends I’ve made, I found myself with a community that empowers each other. Given the importance of community, one cannot serve alone. It is the collective action of regular individuals like you and  me to achieve monumental change whether that be through protest, lobbying reforms, or setting up programs or services.

It is also through the volunteer communities I am in that helped me solidify my convictions in advocating for mental health. Though it may seem simple to answer and converse with callers in distress, it takes a mental and emotional toll on me and on my fellow volunteers. At times, we absorb the negative energy of people in need of support, but because of my close bond with my fellow volunteers, I am able to debrief and feel that I am not alone in my experiences and feelings.

My fellow graduates, we are not only shaped by UP to have the principles of honor and excellence but to serve as well. Yet we are faced with the question, how does one serve the people, ang masa, ang ating kapwa in the reality in which we operate?

Serving others is often seen as idealistic when we are finally faced with the harsh realities of working adult life. There are expectations of looking for work, growing our careers, becoming financially stable, and eventually the pressure to marry and settle down. And yet even in the growing tower of responsibilities and expectations, may we find time to serve others in our own ways and use the abilities that we have. Let us give ourselves the space to reflect on what we can do as UP students whose guiding principle is not merely to be the standard of honor and excellence but to also be in service of others.

Let me conclude my speech using a quote by Raphael Perpetuo Lotilla from the 1993 article, “Has UP Lost its Soul?”: “Students are not limiting themselves to one particular form of political expression (i.e., the protest movement) but are exploring a greater variety of solutions and visions.” 

After our graduation, wherever we may find ourselves and whether our service takes the form of protest, research work, community service, etc. let us always be reminded that we are called to serve our kapwa, whoever they may be, without discrimination or judgment, and provide them with our genuine empathy, commitment, and community. Ito ang simulaing gumagabay sa ating mga Iskolar ng Bayan. Muli, hindi lamang dangal at husay, kundi pati na rin ang paglilingkod sa sambayanan sa abot ng ating makakaya. 

Mabuhay ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan!