An Inspiring Message from Bryll: Cum Laude, Laking Marinduque

Before I went to college when I was 16 years old, I didn’t know what course and what institution I will pick to be the place that will mold me and will be my home for 5 years. As you may all know, I am not a star student during high school and elementary, I am always an average student contented in what he gets in every grading period. I never expected that destiny will lead me to this institution, to National University-Manila, the place that molded me to become a better person, the place that gave me the courage to dream. My father is an alumnus of this institution and as I can see, he made everyone proud. My father is a quiet yet a man of dignity, he is a great provider and he never fails to show me and my little brother how to respect a woman, a lady and a girl, he is my inspiration through all this success together with my mother who raised us, not in a luxurious way but in a way that we cannot be ignorant in certain important things.

I know this is a very long wall post, but I want to inspire people that they should never lose hope, I’ve been there, in the moments of doubt where I can’t see and envision myself growing. I just want to tell everyone that it is never too late to believe, it is never too late to have faith in God that He has something big for everyone, we are all equal in His eyes; start trusting your love ones, in my case, it is my family whom I trust more than anyone else, they are the ones that inspired me to believe in myself, they are the reason why I am doing all of this, I am a great dreamer and as much as possible I want to protect them from anyone, I want to make them happy all the time as they are the only one who had never lied to me, through thick and thin they had made me this person, I will never forget them, they are more than education and any treasure in the world, they are the best persons I had been with my whole life and the most perfect gift that God had given me, there is nothing in this world that can be compared to you my parents, Papa Bernard and Mama Edith, my siblings, Ate Bernadeth, Bernadine and Bryll Christian, my lolo, Amang Tomas Par, my lolo and lola’s in heaven, Inang Kinya, Amang Nano, and Inang Laling, my tito’s and tita’s and cousins in both sides of the family, Cruz and Par.

Don’t you ever feel that you can’t do anything to change your way of living. You are destined for something big and you just have to find it. In my 5 years of life at NU, I can say that I had found the best of friends that anyone could find, addition to the best support system that keeps me moving, I am happy to find you Viel and Wiljen, we started in the same ways, even if you are couple, you didn’t made me feel that I am not welcome but instead you had helped me to be a better person, I never expected that we will graduate in this way, all of us had achieved everything that we had wanted and I know that we will have more blessings to come, I am so proud that one of the best persons I met in the University is the best thesis in our batch and his girlfriend is at the number seven spot, I am so proud of you guys, you are awesome.

To the persons who keeps my alma matter moving forward to be on top, to the SM Group of Company, to Mr. Hans T. Sy and the whole Sy family, to President Teodoro Ocampo, to Sir Renato Carlos Ermita, Ma’am Rachel Edita Roxas, to Sir Nilo Ocampo, the whole Jhocson family and the other persons concerned, I would like to thank you that you had made this institution the best training ground for the aspiring professionals in the field, we may have an economy type tuition fee but you all never failed in bringing us the best facilities and education in the world, thank you to the SM advantage and to the industry partner of the College of Architecture, the SM Engineering Design and Development Corporation. I will never forget to thank the College of Architecture of National University Manila headed by our humbler Dean, Ar. Chona E. Ponce and our former dean, Arch. Ma. Lourdes Gaite, I will never be here in this position that I have now without the support that I gained since first year. I will never forget my professors that never stopped believing in my capabilities and created a certain confidence in me, I never had a doubt that you are the best set of educators that God had lined up for my career and personality development. I would also like to emphasize the two professors who had first discovered me and made me strive so hard, I would like to thank Ar. Gracie Ching-Salaya, the reason why I became a scholar, the person who inspired me to be true to myself and do my best, the person who continued believing in my capabilities, and Ar. Jun Rodriguez Maghirang, I will never forget the first day that you had made me motivated to do my best, it is in graphics class and you had seen my potential to be this person that I am now, I would like to thank each of you that continued inspiring me each time that I am having a hard time finding myself.

Thank you to the New Golden City Builders for making me your academic scholar, thank you that I graduated the University paying just 70 pesos every time that I will enroll, thank you that even if I just entered your scholarship grant at my second semester in first year, you believed in my capability and I am proudly treasuring all your hard works in providing me this privilege.

To my classmates from ARC 111 and ARC 113, I am proud of you and this may sound a bit dramatic but I will miss each one of you, you are all unique in your own different ways, you all have it in you and I am happy to meet you guys in my 5 years stay at this University, I hope we will lift our University by doing our very best in the architecture board exam in 2018, I aspire that we all pass the boards with pride and honor carrying the banner of National University. To my batchmates, batch 2016, you are the best, God bless you all and continue dreaming big, dreaming is free, don’t limit yourselves on just dreaming average, because I know that all of us has the capability to make a difference, we are equally deserving to graduate and I know we have a bright future ahead of us. To my fellow cum laude’s, Abegail Malubag and Angelica Mallillin, I am so proud of you, we are the three persons who made it to this award, we are the second architecture cum laude of National University and let us together inspire and do our best to create a better world.

To my bosses, Ar. Melba Abedes Baetiong from SM EDD Corp. I will never forget the things that you had thought me, thank you for believing in me, I am blessed to have you as my mentor back on my SM EDD days, thank you for trusting me in each time and for giving me a helping hand during the time that I needed some advice regarding matters at the workplace; Thank you Arch. Dan Lichauco, to be honest I never expected that you will be our professor, I only see you on magazines and admired you from all the achievements that you had, being at archion is one of the best summer experience that I had, thank you for giving me this once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of your life, it is very rare to meet a person like you but I would like to thank you for everything that you never stopped believing in my capability, I am proud that I will be starting my real world journey with Archion Architects, I hope that I can make you even more proud.

To the University Selection Committee headed by the committee chair, Dean Ricardo Ocampo, thank you for giving me the chance of being the recipient of the most prestigious award that a National University student can have, the Don Mariano Fortunato Jhocson Memorial Award, I hope that with this award I can enter the door of the real world with confidence and pride. I want to tell you that I am proud to be a National University student, I am proud to walk my whole day back then at the premises of the university and I am happy to see faces of fellow Nationalian’s whenever I enter the gates of the University each day. Thank you for this award and may God bless you together with the whole selection committee.

Thank you to the persons who had helped me in many different ways. Ar. Ainah Felice Galvez, for helping me in my thesis, for endorsing me and for believing in me, I will never forget your kind curtsy when you started helping me do this, I would like to thank Ar. Ashash Hernandez Arce with some advice also in my thesis, Ar. Runddy Ramilo regarding some advice in my entry for the Nippon Paint Young Designers Award, Ar. Perlas Borra, for endorsing me in the prestigious DMFJ award and Engr. Angelo Jerome Asia, I am so proud of you and your achievements, from a fellow student to a great professor at our University, thank you for the support and kindness that you gave.

Today, I dedicate this award to God, You are the best thing that happen to my life, thank you for not leaving me in times that I encounter defeats, you are there when I have success and also there in my hard times, my parents, my siblings, and National University. I hope that I will make you proud as I continue my journey and as I enter the gates of this new life, the life which will define me as a national University student or an alumnus rather.

I love you all, I never regret that I had met each one of you. To National University, I know that you will be soaring high soon, I know that you will continue helping people that has the capability to be future leaders and contributors in making this country successful. God bless you all and DREAM BIG!