Patti Euenyce Tan Diño, top graduate of UP Manila’s College of Pharmacy and its 11th summa cum laude after 68 years, exhorted fellow graduates to live out UP’s commitment of honor and excellence each day by giving back and paying it forward to the people.
Patti believes that nationalism and service for the country are interrelated. For her, this spells selflessness whenever and wherever needed. Nationalism and service means pouring themselves to improve the healthcare system and giving back to the people. It spells courage in taking a step forward despite a finish line yet to be seen. It dictates discipline to persevere in menial tasks. It embodies integrity in living out one’s morality, doing the right thing even when no one is around. Most importantly, regardless of recognition, it needs people who take pride in themselves as “future pharmacists of service to our beloved nation”.
“This honor deserves to be shared with my family, friends, batchmates, professors, and mentors. This life milestone is a testament of God’s faithfulness, grace, and sovereignty in my life”
Constantly striving for character molding and excellence, Patti prevailed against sleepless nights, self-doubts, and setbacks that come with a Pharmacy education. She shared that Pharmacy is “not for the faint of heart”; it molded her endurance and tolerance in life. During the pandemic, Patti built habits and worked on a schedule like in her pre-pandemic routine, something that helped solve the unique problems of their learning conditions. Patti used her time wisely in building holistic health and wellness and tripled efforts to reach out to their professors during consultation hours. Resisting digital fatigue along with uncontrolled internet problems that occur in remote learning became a skill honed in their lives.
Patti shared three key lessons for students: 1) Life has its phases, the highest and the lowest valleys. Learn how to enjoy every part of it and be present in every season; 2) Be a wise risk-taker and challenge the status quo; and 3) No matter how difficult, just trust the process. Grind your way through, but learn to also rest and breathe.
Patti remains humble amidst the honor, acknowledging the community that brought her where she is today. “This honor deserves to be shared with my family, friends, batchmates, professors, and mentors. This life milestone is a testament of God’s faithfulness, grace, and sovereignty in my life,” she said.
Haziel May C. Natorilla
