Overcoming the challenges of remote learning was the thread that bound all performances at the Parangal sa Mag-aaral 2021, held on Jun. 22, 6 p.m. and—for the first time—virtually over the Facebook pages of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA) and the Diliman Interactive Learning Center (DILC) YouTube channel.

The over 2-hour program consisting mostly of prepared video segments tied together by a live program held at the UP Lagoon recognized the students and student organizations who best exemplify honor and excellence  through their academic excellence, service-oriented leadership, and various contributions to the university, to the community, and to the nation.

Some 7,000 University Scholars (US) were honored at the event, their names shown in a video accompanied by the UP Kontemporaryong Gamelan ng Pilipinas (Kontra-GaPi). It also contained creative video clips/photos from the US while going through their remote learning classes.

A US is a student who earned a General Weighted Average (GWA) of not lower than 1.25 in the first semester of AY 2020-2021.

The highlight of the night was the awarding of the 2021 Ignacio B. Gimenez Outstanding Award for UP Student Organizations’ Social Innovation Project to the winners in its six categories: the UP Association of Biology Majors UP for their “UP ABM Free Clinic Program” (Health, Sports and Wellness category); UP Volunteers for Children (“Bahay Eskuwela” program/Education and Literacy); UP Academic League of Chemical Engineering Students (“Cheer UP Pinoy [CUP]” project/Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction); UP Business Administration Council (“Adopt a Barangay Projects”/Entrepreneurship and Innovation); UP Association of Chemistry Majors and Enthusiasts (“Akapnayan: A Fundraising for COVID-19 Frontliners” project/Arts and Culture); and UP Katilingan sa mga Anak Mindanao (“Organization Launching: ‘Panday Kalinaw — Prospects for Just Peace in Mindanao’” project/Peace Building and Social Development).

Student Organization Community Animals Partners and Welfare Advocates UP received a special citation for their “CAPWA Grand Pakain” project which gathered funds and supplies to feed the stray and campus animals in UPD. The awardees each received a certificate and P20,000 cash prize.

Students who excelled in the arts were also honored at the ceremony.  Eight students received the Creative/Critical Thesis Grant in the Arts, Culture and the Humanities; 45 were recipients of the UPD-Performing Arts Scholarship Program and 32 were given the UPD Visual Arts and Cultural Studies Scholarship Program. All awards were administered by the UPD Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts.

The names and head shots of the student-artist awardees were shown in a video accompanied by the UP Singing Ambassadors singing Gary Granada’s “Tagumpay Nating Lahat.”

As a tribute to the students who managed to finish a whole year of remote learning, the UP Repertory Company performed the play “Isko Dimagiba and the Five Emotions,” a riff off the Pixar movie Inside Out, the play followed the titular Isko Dimagiba (played by Simon Lomibao) as he documents his remote learning journey through a vlog.

Representing the students who distinguished themselves in various national and international competitions was the team behind ALAMAT UP’s Team Cero, the Global Winner of Shell Eco-Marathon: Pitch the Future in the “Tracking and Reducing CO2 Emissions from Vehicles” challenge, who delivered a video message encouraging other UPD students to join competitions.

For their part, UPD’s student athletes, collectively known as the UP Fighting Maroons, and the College of Human Kinetics Student Council presented their own video documenting the various challenges they faced with the suspension of UAAP Season 83 and other competitions.

The usual segment of the Parangal sa Mag-aaral that would feature the various topnotchers from UPD only had two honorees that night: Megan Joyce Cruz and Jertz Ken Brillon, who earned Rank 2 (83.2%) and Rank 6 (82.5 %), respectively of the January 2020 Architect Licensure Examinations. Cruz delivered a solemn and heartfelt video message.

A special video segment was dedicated to the University Student Council 2019-2020 and Holdover Council 2020-2021 for their efforts throughout the various issues that affected the University in 2020.

Chancellor Fidel R. Nemenzo opened the ceremony while Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Louise Jashil Sonido delivered the closing message.