Speaking on behalf of his graduating class Friday, a Library and Information Science graduate acknowledged the uneven playing field his batch navigated through college, honoring both those who crossed the finish line and those who did not.
Rand Ayan D. Norbe, who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Library and Information Science, delivered the Voice of the Graduates address at La Consolacion College Bacolod’s 79th Baccalaureate Commencement Exercises at the SMX Convention Center. The ceremony was held under the theme “LCC 107 Years of Faithful Journey Towards Integral Transformation.”
Norbe opened by acknowledging the weight of representation. “To be put in this position is more of a responsibility than it is an honor,” he said. “When I hear the phrase voice of the graduates, the first thing that comes to mind is representation.”
He described his batch as the “product of the pandemic” — a generation whose college journey began in the shadow of a global health crisis that reshaped how students learned, lived, and endured.
“Everyone can attest how challenging it was back then — students, teachers, and even parents,” he said, recalling the widespread struggles of online learning before the return of face-to-face classes.
But Norbe was careful to draw a distinction within his batch. Some students, he said, began college with financial security intact, giving them a head start when campuses reopened. Others were not as fortunate.
“There you’ll find the students who had to work twice as hard in order to make up for their unprivileged roots,” he said. “Some of which lost their families’ livelihood during the pandemic.”
He paid tribute to classmates who took on part-time jobs, worked as student assistants, and relied on scholarships simply to stay enrolled. “The harsh reality is that without our scholarships, without our part-time jobs and gigs, we would probably be out of school — not because we want to, but because what other choice do we have?”
Norbe also acknowledged those who did not complete the journey alongside them — classmates who shifted programs, transferred schools, or dropped out entirely to find work.
“Although they may not be here with us, sitting beside you as a fellow graduate, they are still part of our stories,” he said. “They were the characters in our stories that got a rather different ending.”
He paused to honor batchmates who passed away before graduation day. “As they look down on us from the clouds, despite the grief, we carry with us the love that they left,” he said. “As the saying goes, what is grief, if not love persevering?”
Turning to the question of what lies ahead, Norbe said he offered no easy answers. “I wish there was a singular answer I can offer, but I don’t have any,” he admitted. “Even I am not sure if I made the right decisions, and like everyone else, I am still figuring things out as we go.”
What he was certain of, he said, was that every high and low of their college years had led them to that exact moment — and that they owed it to themselves and to everyone who stood by them to keep moving forward.
He closed by invoking the words of St. Augustine: “Semper adde, semper ambula, semper profice” — always add, always walk, always advance.
“To my fellow graduates, the past four years have been a riptide of trials and tribulations,” he said. “Today, we stand at the edge of our college journey about to take a leap of faith — faith for a future that no one really knows what it holds, faith for the people that remind us why we began this journey in the first place, and most importantly, faith in ourselves that we will survive and we will make it through.”
Norbe also extended gratitude to LCC Bacolod, acknowledging that the institution was not without its imperfections but recognizing its commitment to its mission of serving the last, the least, and the lost.
“LCC Bacolod may not be a perfect school,” he said. “But we acknowledge the school tries its best to stay steadfast and true to its mission.”
He concluded with a message of solidarity to his fellow graduates. “To my fellow graduates, may the odds be ever in our favor.”
LCC Bacolod, operated by the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, held its 79th commencement exercises on May 29, 2026, at the SMX Convention Center in Bacolod City.