08/07/2025
OT TIMELESS | โ๐๐จ ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐?โ: ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ก๐จโ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ง
It was not the usual congratulatory fanfare that graced the stage at the University of the Philippines Diliman commencement exercises this past Sunday. Instead, veteran journalist Jessica Soho, with 40 years of experience under her belt, offered a deeply personal, humbling, and resonant challenge to the new batch of graduatesโone that stripped away pretension and spotlighted purpose: โSo what if youโre from UP?โ
A question that might sting if taken at face value. But in the hands of Soho, a product of UP herself and now one of the most respected voices in Philippine journalism, it became a powerful provocationโone that called on the countryโs most celebrated graduates not to lean on prestige, but to lead with empathy, humility, and service.
๐ญ๐๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐ ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โSo what if youโre from UP?โ was the very question thrown at a young Soho four decades ago by a cameraman on one of her first assignments. The field was tough. She was new. The degree she had just earned didn't exempt her from carrying tripods, plugging microphones, or setting up lights.
It was a moment that stayed with her. Because in that question lay a truth: the real world doesnโt always bow to diplomas, but it does recognize those who work hard, stay grounded, and rise by lifting others.
โSo what if youโre from UP?โ she echoed again on stage, not to diminish her fellow Iskolar ng Bayan, but to awaken them. Work is the great equalizer, she said, and UP, as great as it is, is not a free pass to entitlement. It is a responsibilityโan obligationโto think beyond oneself.
๐ผ๐ท ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐พ๐๐๐๐
โUP is not a vacuum,โ Soho reminded. โAnd more importantly, not an ivory tower.โ
In this single line, she dismantled the illusion that higher education exists in isolation from the nation it seeks to serve. At UP, academic excellence is always just steps away from the reality of ordinary livesโthe taho vendor at the corner, the cafeteria staff preparing meals, the security guard pulling a night shift. These people, often invisible in the shine of Latin honors and academic medals, are part of the UP experience. They are the quiet backbone of the university.
Sohoโs call was simple, yet profound: Stay grounded. Stay connected. And do not forget where you came fromโand who youโre meant to serve.
๐จ ๐ต๐๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
In a world where achievement is often measured by titles, salaries, or likes, Jessica Soho offered a different metric. โDonโt be boastful,โ she urged. Instead, use your education to listen harder, serve better, and do the work that truly mattersโnot for applause, but for impact.
UP graduates are often referred to as โiskolar ng bayanโโthe peopleโs scholars. Sohoโs speech was a fierce reminder of what that means: Your tuition may have been subsidized by the taxes of farmers, vendors, and workers. How will you pay it forward?
๐ป๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐จ๐๐๐๐
For this yearโs graduating class, the message was clear. The diploma is not the finish line. Itโs the starting point. Whether one becomes a doctor, lawyer, scientist, artist, or teacher, the real victory lies not in being from UPโbut in being for the people.
In Sohoโs life, the questionโโSo what if youโre from UP?โโdidnโt end with doubt. It lit a fire. It propelled her to work harder, report deeper, and earn every bit of the trust placed in her by the Filipino people.
And now, she throws the same challenge to the new generation of graduates, not to belittle them, but to empower them.
Because if youโre truly from UP, the answer to that question should not be a boastโit should be a mission.
Jessica Sohoโs message reminds us all: prestige fades, but purpose endures. And in a country that needs brave minds and bigger hearts, perhaps the best thing you can say isnโt โIโm from UP,โ but โIโm ready to serve.โ
