MANAGEMENT ENGINEERING senior Ryan Yu was recognized as Most Outstanding out of the 10 Outstanding José Rizal Model Student of the Philippines finalists during a ceremony at the Knights of Rizal International Headquarters, Manila on December 30, 2014.

Yu was selected as Most Outstanding by the Order of the Knights of Rizal, a civil and patriotic organization, for embodying national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s achievements, leadership and nationalism through academic excellence, extracurricular activities and community involvement.

During the awarding, Yu delivered a speech titled, “The Call of Rizal,” in which he spoke about the achievements of the national hero and emphasized how the youth today can live up to Rizal’s values in their own lives.

In an interview with The GUIDON, Yu said, “I received the award not only for myself but rather for the whole Ateneo community, in the hope that we will all continue our commitment to excellence and service by following the example of Rizal.”

Yu was lauded with two medals—one for being a finalist to the Top 10 and the other for making it as an Outstanding model student—a trophy and a P10,000 cash prize.

During the ceremony, Yu also took part in the reenactment of Rizal’s march to Bagumbayan in commemoration of the hero’s 118th anniversary of martyrdom.

Assistant to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs for Services Cholo Mallillin said that Yu is one of the most dedicated and most focused students he has ever known.

Yu has served as the Sanggunian’s vice president from SY 2013-2014 to the present and involves himself in school organizations such as the Ateneo Management Engineering Association and the Ateneo Christian Life Community.

He currently has a cumulative Quality Point Index of 3.98 and is running for summa cum laude.

“To be able to balance a summa cum laude-level type of academic standing with a full plate of responsibilities as [Sanggunian] vice president, while still retaining a very approachable and passionate engagement with the students, is very note-worthy indeed [for] a student,” said Mallillin.

The Office of the Associate Dean for Student Affairs assisted in the selection process of nominees from each of the Loyola Schools.

This year, the Most Outstanding awardee was determined from the Top 10 that were directly selected from a nationwide pool of nominees of university and college seniors in the country.

This is contrary to previous years’ selection process, wherein nominees were trimmed down to 20 national finalists until the Top 10 Outstanding students were determined.

Another Atenean, Gabriel Asuncion from Ateneo de Naga University, was also recognized as an Outstanding José Rizal Model Student of the Philippines.

Towards nation-building

“Each of us had a very interesting story to tell, but despite the differences in the work that each of us did, we shared the desire to move the Philippines forward,” Yu said, referring to his fellow awardees.

In his speech, he said, “[Rizal] might have been the spark, but it was the fire in our people’s hearts that burned through the binding ropes of oppression. Just as Rizal did not achieve change on his own, we are also being called to work with one another so that together, we may be the change that this country needs.”

Yu said that being a model student does not mean that nation-building is a challenge he has to face alone.

Instead, it is a challenge that requires the collaborative effort of all passionate Filipinos in the midst of the problems plaguing the country.

“[I’ve realized that] Ateneans are not alone, for we are part of an even greater network of schools nationwide whose students continue to fight poverty, improve the state of Philippine education, eradicate corruption and so forth,” he said.

Recognizing these difficulties, Yu encourages other Ateneans, as future leaders, to remain undaunted.

“This achievement should be viewed as an avenue to motivate and inspire all Ateneans to continue living out the values of Rizal in their own lives,” said Yu.

In his speech, Yu also urged the youth to imitate Rizal’s example by ensuring that at the end of their career paths is still the willingness to help the nation. “Rizal has shown us that no matter what our field of interest may be, each and every one of us can contribute to nation-building.”

Living up to Rizal’s values

Yu shared how the life of Rizal and the stories of his fellow awardees motivate him as an Atenean student-leader.

Yu emphasized the importance of living up to the values exhibited by Rizal by the current generation. He said that the most elusive of Rizal’s values in modern society is a passion for learning. For Yu, learning should not end in the classroom because it only gives a sense of settling with one’s limited knowledge of the world.

“I believe that the youth of today are already beginning to have a healthy sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, and if they channel this into a desire to find solutions to the problems of our country through an insatiable thirst for knowledge, then there will be much hope for the future of our country,” said Yu.

Impact to Atenean community

For Mallillin, Ateneo is an ideal ground to produce model students because of the quality of education and holistic formation it offers, and its very intentional push to students to be servant leaders while engaging in socio-civic action and efforts for national development.

“Given that Rizal is an Ateneo alumnus and that his struggles for freedom from tyranny was attained through the elevation of learning, mastery of his discipline and a strong moral core, I believe these are qualities not limited to persons like Rizal, but of every Atenean today,” he said.

More over, last year’s Most Outstanding José Rizal Model Student of the Philippines, Billie Dumaliang (BS MGT-H ‘14), hopes that Yu’s achievement will inspire Ateneans to make things happen and that the award will be a reminder for the community to realize its “inner hero,” and use its skills and talents for the welfare of the country.

She said that being a hero does not require joining the government or affiliating with various organizations; rather, it is remembering the country in each one’s dreams and aspirations and fulfilling them.

For Yu, Rizal’s life is not an unattainable and abstract ideal, but a model, which everyone is enjoined to follow in their own capacities.

“Let us all work together to transform this great nation that Rizal sacrificed his life for,” said Yu.