๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ | ๐๐๐-๐๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ง๐ข ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ฌ โ๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌโ
The Tarlac Agricultural University (TAU) Laboratory School (LS) celebrated the end of another academic year as graduates, awardees, and alumni pledged to become advocates of national progress during the Recognition Rites held at the Gilberto O. Teodoro Multipurpose Center in the morning followed by the Moving-Up and Commencement Ceremony at the Student and Alumni Center Amphitheater in the afternoon, 23 May.
Anchored on the theme โGeneration of Unity: Partners for the New Philippines,โ the recognition program highlighted TAU-LS alumna Atty. Suzanne P. Cruz who urged the students to look for avenues to stand out where others see obstacles because landing a job is โnot a walk in the park.โย
Atty. Cruz also encouraged the 363 awardees from Grades 1-10, to challenge stagnant systems and become the โcream of the cropโ in their respective classes. โStudying is never a waste of time,โ she stated while sharing her humble journey from becoming the President of then Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA) - LS Student Council to eventually becoming a University of the Philippines (UP) Baguio student, researcher, University lecturer, Gender and Development advocate, mother, and a lawyer.
The afternoon event featured another guest speaker. An alumnus of TAU-LS Batch 2012, First Honorable Mention, and Writer of the Year, Mr. James Carl L. Osorio, who is now a historian specializing in Modern Europe, with a particular focus on genocide, incarceration, and war, inspired the graduates with a moving speech.ย
In 2024, TAU cheered silently as Mr. Osorio made history when he represented the Philippines as a Filipino visiting research fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and worked on a project involving the accounts of survivors of concentration camps in Germany and Austria. He was recognized with a number of awards from prestigious institutions for his international research on the sensory history of Jewish refugees in the Philippines during World War II, that includes the prestigious Research Seed Grant from the Watson Instituteโs Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies.ย
A professional pianist and a former orchestra conductor, Mr. Osorio pursued his Bachelor of Music at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. He also finished three masterโs degrees: Master of Arts in Musicology-Ethnomusicology; Master of Music in Piano from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Master of Arts in History.ย
During his keynote speech, Mr. Osorio spoke about empathy, dangers of blind unity, and principled action to 80 candidates, all Junior High School completers under the Special Agriculture and Science Curriculum, and another 80 candidates who finished the K-12 Basic Curriculum under the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) strand, the only academic track offered at the TAU-LS Senior High School (SHS) program.
โIn a world that often confuses loud noise with truth and mindless compliance with unity, I hope all of you chose the more courageous path. The path of listening, of questioning, of standing beside others not in sameness but in shared humanity,โ he stated.
Last year, Atty. Cruz had already established her own Law Office located in Poblacion Norte, Mayantoc, Tarlac, while Mr. Osorio is currently pursuing his PhD in Modern European History at Brown University, an Ivy League institution located in Providence, Rhode Island.ย
These alumni testimonies affirm the enduring legacy of TAU-LS as a distinguished institution committed to developing accomplished professionals. Since its establishment, TAU-LS has consistently produced graduates who continue to make meaningful contributions to the development of their respective sectors inย the Philippines and overseas.
#SmartTAU #GreenandGlobal #LS #SDG4 #SDG8 #SDG17
Article | Information Unit
Photos | Planning and Development Office