Skip to main content

has it really been ten years already?

It was in 2002. I was roasting under the harsh April sun in black academic garb along with fellow graduates. We were seated right there on the greenest portion of Freedom Park, listening (supposedly) to the message being delivered by then Education Secretary Raul Roco. Thanks to the bright glare of the afternoon sun, I couldn't help but wear sunglasses even though we discouraged to do so by the marshals.

DSC_9194


Today, I went back to the same green field where I had received the "diploma" (it, instead, contained instructions on returning the academic robes). Just like clockwork, the people who take care of the grass had cordoned off the graduates' sitting area and set up sprinklers to keep the grass continuously watered in the morning.  In a week, the backdrop for the next commencement exercises will be set up; then it would look like a fresh start for those leaving the hallowed halls of the University of the Philippines Los Banos.

DSC_9196
As I walked under the shade of a nearby acacia tree, I marveled at how far the people from the Microbiology Majors of Class of 2002 have gone in the span of ten years. We've got people in the medical field, in the food industry, in sales and marketing, in research, in academia. Many have gone to work overseas. A number have even left the field of Microbiology altogether. Some have started their own families; others, due to the circumstances they're in, are still single.

That day, April 20th, 2002, the Microbiology students in the same Class were all together one last time. And I can't believe that it's been a decade since!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '