A distinguished banking executive and La Consolacion College Bacolod alumna called on the school’s newest graduates Friday to pursue lives of purpose, integrity, and service, drawing from her own journey from a remote Cebu hometown to the halls of one of the country’s leading development banks.
Mary Ruth Abigail O. Ong, Assistant Vice President and Regional Head for the Negros Island Region of the Development Bank of the Philippines, delivered the commencement address at LCC Bacolod’s 79th Baccalaureate Commencement Exercises at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City. The ceremony, held under the theme “LCC 107 Years of Faithful Journey Towards Integral Transformation,” marked the graduation of the college’s Class of 2026.
“Today, I see in you the very warriors that humble beginnings never stop from charging toward their destinies,” Ong told the graduates. “And if borders could not stop my dream, I know nothing will stop yours.”
Ong, a Batch 2006 Cum Laude graduate of LCC Bacolod, recounted arriving at the institution in 2002 from a remote community in Sibonga, Cebu, where home was roughly 14 kilometers from the town center. She said she traveled on foot or by habal-habal just to reach the highway, and came to Bacolod with little money but a firm resolve to change her family’s circumstances.
She attended LCC Bacolod on a full scholarship, which she said carried the constant pressure of maintaining high academic standing. The experience, she said, taught her the discipline and resilience that would define her career.
“Sometimes courage is not loud,” she said. “Sometimes courage is simply refusing to quit, despite being afraid every single day.”
Ong acknowledged that her path to success was neither smooth nor straightforward. She described seasons of self-doubt, closed doors, and near surrender — both during her college years and throughout her professional career.
“Failure did not destroy me. It refined me,” she said. “Every rejection, every setback, every disappointment strengthened my resolve.”
She urged graduates to carry five core values into the world beyond the campus: Christ-centeredness, community, stewardship, excellence, and openness to diversity.
On excellence, she cautioned against pursuing achievement for external validation. “Excellence is not about being perfect. It is about refusing to settle for less when you know you are capable of so much more,” she said.
She also stressed the importance of consistent action over intention alone, citing the Book of James. “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead,” she said, urging graduates to let discipline sustain them when motivation falters.
Ong closed her address with a direct appeal to the graduates to use their education as a foundation for service rather than personal gain.
“May you become leaders who serve, professionals with integrity, good citizens who build a better nation, and human beings who never lose their capacity for joy despite life’s hardships,” she said.
LCC Bacolod, operated by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, has been serving the educational mission of the Church in Negros Occidental for 107 years. The institution has produced graduates across various fields of public service, business, education, and the professions.
The commencement exercises were held at the SMX Convention Center, Bacolod City, on May 29, 2026.