IN PHOTOS: A system-wide celebration for #VSUGrad2022

Details: Published: 24 August 2022

#VSUGrad2022 may already be over but we at the University Integrated Media Center (UIMC) are still in awe for a successful run of this seven-part celebration that included not just the flagship campus in Baybay City but also our component campuses in Alangalang, Isabel, Tolosa and Villaba.

Surely, just like us at the UIMC, you share our post-event hangover that’s why we’re wrapping the celebration with a special photo story that will capture the highlights of #VSUGrad2022.

Our team is forever grateful to all the working committees who spent many sleepless nights just to make this event truly memorable for our graduates and their accompanying family members and loved ones.

Now let’s count the ways that made #VSUGrad2022 special, making it the biggest system-wide production that we ever had.

A celebration of many firsts

#VSUGrad2022 will go down in history with many firsts.

It is the first in-person and large crowd gathering held during the pandemic—something that we thought would be difficult to realize considering the ongoing threats of COVID-19.

Crowd estimates for the 69th Commencement Exercises was around 5,000 spectators as graduates were allowed to bring two companions in the program venue, which is something that was prohibited in many universities that also conducted their respective face-to-face graduations.

For the Recognition Rites, around 2,500 people were there to witness this special marching ceremony for VSU Classes of 2020 and 2021.

As for the component campuses, VSU Tolosa had the most attendance of more than 2,200 people. They even had to set up a special LED screen for spillover audiences who cannot be accommodated inside the graduation venue.

This LED screen was sponsored by the Provincial Government of Leyte through the efforts of Mr. Danilo D. Lerios, the Head for General Services of VSU Tolosa and the overall coordinator and director of their own graduation program in that campus.

The three other component campuses of Alangalang, Isabel and Villaba had a crowd estimate of 1,800 who were all comfortably accommodated in their newly expanded Multipurpose Gymnasiums.

Talking about the component campuses, this is also the first time that they are using LED screen setups as the main backdrop of the stage. UIMC assisted all the component campuses for the preparation of the graphic designs including the technical setup for the multimedia production.

Meanwhile, the Information and Communication Technology Management Center (ICTMC) provided a fast and stable internet connectivity across all component campuses that made way for the live broadcast of their graduation ceremonies.

With multimedia setup and the presence of a reliable internet, photos of all the graduates were flashed on the LED screens during the distribution of diplomas that featured the newly redesigned academic regalia of the university.

Kin Sopa Studio, the official photo and video partner, with the help of our deputized Graduation Focal Persons (GFPs) edited and arranged more than 3,000 photographs to make this happen.

Local government officials were invited as guest speakers of #VSUGrad2022 in both the flagship and component campuses.

Neophyte Congresswoman Anna Veloso Tuazon of the 3rd Legislative District of Leyte graced the 43rd Commencement Exercises of VSU Villaba while Dr. Maximo C. Aljibe, the Regional Director of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) in Eastern Visayas inspired the graduates of VSU Isabel.

Director Aljibe was also the Guest of Honor for the Recognition Rites of VSU Classes of 2020 and 2021 at the Main Campus in Baybay City.

For VSU Tolosa, Provincial Board Member and local entrepreneur Wilson S. Uy served as their 47th Commencement Speaker while two Guests of Honors spoke at the 48th Commencement Exercises of VSU Alangalang.

Newly elected Mayor Lovell Anne Yu-Castro of Alangalang, Leyte was the first Guest Speaker who inspired the graduates of VSU Alangalang followed by Leyte Vice Governor Leonardo ‘Sandy’ Javier, Jr. who was accompanied by his wife, Congresswoman Lolita ‘Karen’ Javier of the 2nd Legislative District.

Aside from being a public servant, Vice Governor Javier is a well-known business tycoon behind the popular charcoal-roasted chicken brand called Andok’s Manok.

Now with over 300 branches all over the country, the Vice Governor narrated to the graduates his humble beginnings as a small entrepreneur who dreamed of making it big in the national food industry.

On the other hand, the 69th Commencement Exercises of the VSU Main Campus in Baybay City was graced by no less than the Governor of the Province of Leyte and the former Secretary of the Department of Energy, Hon. Jericho Carlos L. Petilla.

The returning Governor delivered a memorable and experience-based speech despite being cut for more than thirty minutes because of an unexpected power interruption.

This is the third time that Governor Petilla was invited as Commencement Speaker of the VSU Main Campus. The first time he spoke at VSU graduation was in 2012 followed by another invitation when he was already sitting as Energy Secretary in 2015.

Since then, the Leyte Governor has been a favorite invitee of VSU on many occasions because of the strong support he provided to the university for many years now.

Governor Petilla was also a former academic as he previously taught in the Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU) during his younger years before putting up his own business, and later on joining public service as the highest official of the Leyte province.

#VSUGrad2022 was surely a memorable experience for everyone as this is the first graduation that attempted to be inclusive of all VSU campuses by replicating the best practices in the Main Campus and bringing them over to the four component campuses of the university system.

While all the component campuses were blessed with strong and heavy rains, the ceremonies at the Main Campus only experienced short drizzles that provided a cold and more comfortable environment for all the attendees.

The power interruption and some technical glitches that lasted for more than thirty minutes did not also diminish the celebration. Rather, these were all valuable learning experiences to prepare for more eventualities in the future major events of the university.

All official photographs of #VSUGrad2022 are courtesy of Kin Sopa Studio, the official photo and video partner of this system-wide celebration.

For inquiries about the release of your official graduation photos, you may contact them in their social media account: https://www.facebook.com/KinSopaStudio.