A BS Food Technology student graduated summa cum laude during the University of the Philippines Mindanao’s 24th Commencement Exercises held on Tuesday morning, 19 July, at its campus in Mintal. Klarisse Cruzado is UPMin’s second summa cum laude from the BS Food Technology program. She scored a cumulative weighted average grade of 1.0612, the highest record in UP Mindanao, topping the previous summa cum laude.

Three years earlier, Pete Maverick Nicole Estudillo, who was from the same program, was UPMin’s first summa cum laude.

With these achievements, Cruzado shared the pressures and expectations they entail. Amid a global pandemic, Cruzado said the biggest challenge was the loss of boundaries, routines, and privacy as she was studying her courses. The pressure from expectations also affected her greatly.

“If I focus too much on those expectations and try to mold myself into what others think of me, mapapagod lang ako,” she said.

She talked about her struggles with online classes, including deadlines, unstable internet connectivity, and the blurring of boundaries between school work and domestic situations. These contributed to the anxiety she was already experiencing. Fortunately, she was able to overcome these struggles with the support of her friends and family, by remembering her motivations, and by staying disciplined.