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(SPOT.ph) Getting an uno at the University of the Philippines in Diliman is not a walk in the park. You'll probably be licking your bruises come graduation day—that 5.0 from Math 17, embarrassing memories of that initiation day courtesy of your organization, a break up scene with the Sunken Garden as your background. We can't all be like the top-scoring University of the Philippines (UP) summa cum Llude Miguel Ricardo R. Leung who has an average of 1.0375, a girlfriend, and a degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. (Phew!) But, according to another summa cum laude and BS Molecular Biology and Biotechnology graduate, Isaiah Paolo A. Lee, "That's okay."
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Fondly known as Pao, Lee gave the valedictory address during the UP College of Science commencement exercises on Saturday, July 9 and it immediately "blew [the] socks off" award-winning writer and professor Butch Dalisay. It was penned as "The Best Student Speech Ever" on Dalisay's article in The Philippine Star and the whole transcript immediately went viral.
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Here are five memorable lines you can use in life, whether or not you graduated with honors.
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On Chem 16
"[...] I didn’t fail the class, I didn’t get dismissed from UP, and I didn’t jump off a bridge. I could have, but I didn’t. That might not sound a lot like honor and excellence to you, but that’s the point."
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On prodigies as hope of our nation
"The truth people have difficulty wrangling with is that not only do we not need a messiah, messiahs cannot solve our problems."
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On just about doing anything
"Whatever it is, do it well, and do it for the people."
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On serving the people, a lesson all Iskos and Iskas know
"Do it for the people whether the person in question is a drug addict in the emergency room or your waiter at UP Town Center or a stranger on the Internet or even just yourself, because it’s not about the gratitude, or the credit, or the reward, but about the people, and the work."
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On making your Mama proud
"You might not make it to the newspaper’s front page, but you can make it to your mom’s proud parent Facebook post."
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Transcript from the Philippine Star's website; photos from the University of the Philippines' website