The Office of Student Activities (OSA) of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (OVCSA), in collaboration with the Office of the Chancellor, awarded five outstanding students and five student organizations during the celebration of its 64th Founding Anniversary last June 28, 2024.
OVCSA was initially established in June 1960 as the Office of Student Affairs through the initiative of the late Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, the dean of the College of Agriculture at that time, to look after the welfare of the rapidly increasing student population. It was elevated into OVCSA at the 1350th meeting of the UP Board of Regents on February 3, 2020.
In his inspirational speech, UPLB Chancellor Jose V. Camacho Jr. emphasized the three principles of the university—honor, excellence, and service—as he recognized the award recipients who he said upheld and exemplified these values.
“Let this award inspire you and strengthen your commitment as an active and valued member of the UPLB community,” Camacho enjoined them, encouraging awardees to inspire their peers continuously.
UPLB UNO 2024 Award recipient
Academic organizations dominated this year’s UPLB Natatanging Organisasyon (UNO) Award recipients.
The UP Society of Agricultural Engineering Students (UP SAGES) bested 29 other student organizations. UP SAGES representatives and their adviser received the award on behalf of the organization.
“The UPLB Natatanging Organisasyon Award is not just a recognition for us, but a testament to the dedication of the Wisemen to serving the organization and fulfilling its ideals,” said UP SAGES representative Brixter Sacil in his acceptance speech on behalf of all student organizations.
“This award is not the end but only a reminder of how far we’ve come and how far we’ll go… Let us start being ‘natatangi’ in our own ways by doing what we can with honor and excellence in the service of the nation, all the time and every time.”
Sacil further pointed out that the award is an inspiration for UP SAGES to continue excelling in their field and amplifying the call for an inclusive Philippine society and a sustainable and progressive agricultural sector.
UPLB UNIK 2024 Award recipient
King Joshua B. Nalupa, BS Agribusiness Management and Entrepreneurship from the College of Economics and Management emerged as the UPLB Natatanging IsKolar ng Bayan (UNIK) awardee among 19 nominees.
A member of Umalohokan Inc. and outgoing head of its culture and the arts cluster, Nalupa gave the acceptance speech on behalf of the student leader award recipients. In his speech, he emphasized that service to the nation, beyond the university and to the studentry, must go hand in hand with the strategic fulfillment of constituents’ needs.
“Hamon ang mapatagos ang paglilingkod patungo sa mga karatig na komunidad at sa kabuuan ng rehiyon ng Timog Katagalugan,” Nalupa said. “Ngunit kaakibat nito ay ang hindi rin pagbitaw sa kung ano bang dapat pang tugunan sa loob ng pamantasan mula sa pagpapanawagan sa dagdag na mga espasyo para sa mga mag-aaral hanggang sa pagpapanatiling ligtas ng kalagayan ng mga estudyante nito (But this comes with the unrelenting clamor for students’ needs to be met within the university, from the call for more student spaces to the call to ensure that the UPLB students’ safety is maintained inside and outside the campus.).”
In the statement essay he submitted, Nalupa asserted that the times have shaped capabilities to answer the call to serve. In reference to his learnings during the Pagtalima Leadership Summit last May, he said in his essay, “Isa ngang ‘di malilimutang aral ang nagsasabing ang pagtalima sa hamon ng paglilingkod ay sangandaan ng mga kontradiksyon at pag-igpaw na sa tuwina’y pinagtatagumpayan ng nagsusumigaw na linya, kapasyahan bago kahandaan (Truly, one of my unforgettable lessons [as a student leader] is that to boldly rise to the challenge of service is to stand at the intersection of contradictions and to take the leap victoriously, an absolute decision in order to be ready to heed that call).”
UPLB UNO and UNIK Seals of Excellence awards
Four other student organizations were awarded Seals of Excellence as UNO nominees.
The UP Mathematical Sciences Society and two-time UNO awardee, UPLB Economics Society, were awarded the Seal of Excellence for Leadership.
The UP Cell Biological Society received the Seal of Excellence for Public Service inside and outside of the university, and Umalohokan, Inc. received the Seal of Excellence for Culture and the Arts for its contributions to the culture and arts scene.
All awardees, except for Umalohokan, Inc., had been nominees during the previous year.
The following four student leaders were given Seals of Excellence in various categories. Mark Gio J. Olivar, UPLB University Student Council chairperson and Sociology student, was awarded the Seal of Excellence in Leadership. Geraldine Balingit, chairperson of the 44th UP College of Agriculture and Food Science Student Council and a BS Agricultural Biotechnology student, was awarded the Seal of Excellence in Culture and the Arts.
Finally, the Seal of Excellence in Public Service was awarded to two BS Development Communication students and members of the UP Community Broadcasters’ Society, Inc., Jan Paolo S. Pasco and Leo Verdad.
The UNO and UNIK Awards recognize exemplary individual and organizational performance in leadership, public service, and culture and the arts in UPLB annually. These awards are aligned with OSA’s goal to promote the Iskolar ng Bayan as marangal, mahusay, maka-masa, at makabayan. (Carmel J. Cayaon)