Another editor of Candle Pen, the official student publication of Makati Hope Christian School, has been awarded as the class valedictorian for the first online distance learning system conducted due to the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic.
Carl Gabriel Yap, the publication’s associate editor for S.Y. 2020-2021, followed in the footsteps of former editor-in-chief Patrick Gabriel Lo who was also his class valedictorian for S.Y. 2019-2020.
Yap was a student of MHCS since 2007 and finished under the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) strand. He also graduated in elementary as his class valedictorian.
Another member of the school’s newspaper Sophia Nicole Chua, literary editor, graduated as the class’s first honorable mention.
Carl had a relatively balanced life in MHCS and said that there “was enough time to review and do homework, as there was enough time for leisure and extracurriculars.”
However, that balance was disrupted by the pandemic and explained that there was less time at school and more at home.
Carl also expressed that the key to turning back to that balance is through time management, by accomplishing your activities one at a time to make it easier to push through with everything else.
Keeping Motivated
Motivation was something that dwindled for many during the pandemic. Carl states that his motivation to excel used to be validation from people—that nobody would call him “dumb” or “a waste of space”. However, after some time, he concluded that grades did not matter after graduation.
He claims that he was not born smart, but was hard-working and “simply good at analyzing and synthesizing information”.
The ODL Valedictorian
With the new variant on the loose and a surging number of cases in the country, having a face to face setting was not possible. Graduating on top of his class during online distance learning (ODL), he said that it felt underwhelming.
“As junior high students, we were all hoping that our last year as seniors would end in a bang. We’d cry, laugh, and stand together for the first time—but no, we didn’t get that.”
On the other hand, he added that ODL allowed him to include creative elements in his valedictory speech that would not be possible in face-to-face classes.
Perfection in Question
Carl dedicated the topic of his graduation speech to perfection. He explained that as a student, his batch used to dislike him because of how “grade-conscious” he was, but later on, he learned to care less about scores.
He reasoned that he wanted to represent that even the most seemingly flawless student was far from what they seemed, and that there was no such thing as perfect.
Advice For The Graduating Batch
As the Crusaders move on from basic education, Carl offers a final word of advice.
“To the graduating batch, your mental and physical health is much more important than a score. Just take the tasks one step at a time, you don’t have to finish them ASAP.”
He stated that most teachers are understanding, and while studying at home may bring mental breakdowns, we should always value our health.
Story by Tara Mohammad and Faith Ongaria