TO CELEBRATE the graduating Class of 2023, the annual seniors’ culminating event Blue Rose returned onsite after a three-year hiatus last June 26 at the Bellarmine Field.
The Blue Rose Core Team organized the event, rebranding the formerly-named Blue Roast. This year’s theme, Revenir, is a French word meaning “to come back,” marking the return of the event.
Cheerful sights and lights
Upon entry, graduating attendees were greeted with a blue rose and a pabaon card, both to be given to anyone who has greatly impacted the senior’s college life.
Seen around the field was a wide range of concession stands and sponsor booths, providing diverse food and various activities for attendees. Also featured was a “gratitude wall” for attendees to express their appreciation towards their stay in the Ateneo.
As the program started, the organizing team and audience members laid down picnic mats close to the stage, filling the area with laughter while bands prepared for their rousing numbers.
Concerts under the stars
To kick off the night, the Ateneo-based Condo ni Ziggy serenaded the audience with their renditions of popular songs such as Michael Jackson’s “Love Never Felt So Good.” The band later revealed the sentimental value of the song, citing their first performance as freshies and last as seniors.
Following them, the award-winning Nameless Kids also featured their original songs, among them being “Sa ’yo (Ang Mundo)” and “Midnight Sun.” The band also covered the familiar “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears.
Next to the stage was Better than Prose or BTP, a homegrown Ateneo band staging their iterations of hit songs such as Taylor Swift’s “Red (Taylor’s Version)” and The Strike’s “Do You Wanna Dance.”
Carrying the same energy from the last set, Over October—mostly comprised of alumni—performed some of their original compositions such as “Arbitrary,” “Ating Dalawa,” and “Wait.”
Ending the lineup and program for the night is Munimuni, referred by the hosts as an “Atenean staple.” The band played seven of their original songs with themes ranging from love and peace to mental issues and hardship, all relative to the college journey.
A chapter to remember
Throughout the event, graduating seniors were asked about the culmination of their stay in the Ateneo. Among these was Yani Lopez (4 AB COM) who shared what her stay at the University meant to her.
“Ateneo was honestly not my dream school. But now that I’m actually graduating in Ateneo, it became more than a dream school, but an avenue for my dreams to come true,” Lopez said.
Similarly, Joachim Melo (4 AB POS) reflected on his childhood as he spent 16 years of it in the Ateneo. He said that the institution has shaped his identity today—a mark of it will always remain wherever he goes.
Venturing out into the world, Kiana Abiva (4 AB COM) cited the values of choosing the more loving option and being a person-for-others as central to her future approaches in life.
“Those are just really simple rules to live by and I don’t need anything else,” Abiva added.
