The following is the speech delivered by Yumi L. Briones (BS CH ‘20), summa cum laude and valedictorian of the Ateneo de Manila University Class of 2020, during the LS Pabaon.

Hey everyone, I’m Yumi. I’m a little nervous to talk to you right now—it’s hard to think of what to say in the middle of a pandemic.

So I’ll start with a short story. Many of you think I’m a model student, but even I’ve cut classes before. Back in my second year, in the middle of the semester, I was one cut away from withdrawing from PE. My class right before PE had just ended, and in that 10-minute break, I was talking to a friend. We’ve never talked deeply before, but she had just gone through something. She was laying herself open to me. So I put my phone face down, we sat together, and I listened until she needed to go home. When I checked the time, I was 30 minutes late to PE—officially overcut. But as I ran towards the PE venue, I saw my classmates leave the room. Our teacher hadn’t shown up.

Now it’s not that I’m a hero, and it’s not that things magically work out in the end. That’s not the point of the story. I guess the point is I did what I could. At that moment, I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I knew I could do something by staying and listening to my friend. So I did what I could.

When it comes to uncertainty over the future, I’m in the same boat as you. I can’t avoid talking about this pandemic. But if you’re hoping for long-term advice, I say ask your parents, or listen to the speakers after me. As a fellow graduating student, all I can say is—we do what we can right now.

First to my fellow scientists, what we can do is educate ourselves on the virus and every so-called treatment that makes headlines. You know this—it’s tempting to twist data in a lab report to make your results look nice, but I hope Ateneo has taught us better. Maybe your mom got a questionable message on WhatsApp the other day. Be her reliable source of information, or maybe connect with a professor to do research and get published. You’re not too young for that. I’ve published something already.

Social science majors, a couple of weeks ago the Department of Finance held a conference where young people like you contributed recommendations to help rebuild the economy. I know students who helped organize it, who participated and came up with great points. Online forums are everywhere. Humane young leaders who understand society are valuable right now, so find your opportunity and participate.

Artists, writers, and creatives, this is a historical time. We learn the facts of history in the classroom, but we really understand history through art. I took Theology 151 with Ray—many of you know him. He said that when something terrible happens, two things could come out of it: A news article, or an artwork. Neither of them are lies, but sometimes the artwork is more true. In response to the horrors of war, Picasso painted the Guernica. In response to the oppression of his people, Rizal wrote the Noli. While the rest of us get lost in statistics and trends, this reminds us of the humanity underlying it all.

For donations, there are links everywhere online. But remember to look around you too, to your immediate community. Maybe you live in a condominium like me, with elevator operators, cleaners, guards, and receptionists. In Sir Lib’s Theology 141 class he once told us, “When we think of the poor and oppressed, we think of people far away from us. But maybe they’re right here, and we see them every day.” Something to think about. Anyway, Fr. Bobby Guev will be speaking later so I won’t need to talk about Theology again.

There are many things I haven’t covered because even I only know so much. You guys are experts in your own fields. Lots of things that are basic to you will be amazing to someone else. One of our batchmates recently started a YouTube channel teaching young Filipinos how to invest. Maybe to the management majors, that’s basic. To me, that’s magical stuff. Your knowledge is important—share it.

Stay connected to each other, to your families, and to the people who mean something to you. We spend time worrying about a future that isn’t even here yet, but your relationships, those are here. Do what you can for them right now.

One last thing I want to share: Magis. We all know the word. I lived by magis most of my college life thinking it meant working harder and longer just for the sake of doing more, but I’ve learned another side of magis is realizing your responsibility. A mother does more for her own child because she feels specially responsible for it. Fr. Jett won his Nobel Prize by taking responsibility for nature, and doing more to protect it. This sense of responsibility is tied to “seeing God in all things.” It means having the same respect for creation as its Creator, to stop challenging nature to show you something great, but to see what is already there. Have we been respecting nature, or have we been challenging it?

Remember to go back to love. Maybe you define love as solidarity. A choice. Patient. Kind. Union and procreation. Whatever it means to you, it’s the most powerful driving force in life. Out of love, continue to do what you can. Continue to do more.Thank you, Ateneo. To my teachers, to my ates and kuyas, department secretaries and chairs, laboratory technicians, librarians, and to all the offices. To Dr. Marlu Vilches and Fr. Jett. To my family and to all of yours. To Batch 2020. May God go with us.