December 13, 2025
Amid the gentle chill of the Baguio December air and the warm glow of handcrafted parols and Belen, the Graduate School (GS) of Baguio Central University (BCU) gathered in joyful fellowship to mark one of the most meaningful celebrations of the academic year. “A Celebration of Light, Learning, and Service,” the theme of the GS’s Christmas Thanksgiving 2025. It brought together faculty and students in a spirit of gratitude, creativity, and community as BCU simultaneously ushered in its historic 80th Founding Anniversary.
The celebration, held at the MF Hall, was a convergence of two momentous occasions: the observance of the Advent and Christmas season throughout the month of December, and BCU’s milestone 80th anniversary, themed “Otsenta na po kami” — a warm, proud proclamation that resonated throughout every corridor, every classroom, and every corner of the university community. Together, these events formed a tapestry of memory, mission, and merry-making that the Graduate School was proud to be part of.
Crafting Light Together: The Decorations That Told a Story
Weeks before the celebration, the hallways of the Graduate School buzzed with an industry seldom associated with academic life–the hammering of frames, the weaving of lights, the careful shaping of stars, the delicate painting of Belén figures. Students and faculty alike rolled up their sleeves and contributed not only their time and talents but also their own materials and resources to bring the Graduate School’s Christmas decorations to life.
The result was nothing short of breathtaking. Three competitions marked the occasion: the Christmas office decoration contest, the lantern decoration contest, and the Belén decoration contest. The Graduate School entered all three with entries that spoke of collective craftsmanship and shared purpose. Each lantern was a constellation of individual contributions — a strip of bamboo donated by one student, a string of lights provided by a faculty member, golden foil brought by another — woven together into a unified glow. The Belén, a sacred centerpiece of every Filipino Christmas, was assembled with reverence, each figure placed with care to honor the nativity that gives the season its deepest meaning.
More than prizes or rankings, the decorations were a testament to pakikipag-kapwa — that uniquely Filipino virtue of genuine solidarity with others. Each individual contribution, however small, became part of something luminous and whole. As Dean Kupang would later affirm: “We have already won. We have won because we embodied the spirit of pakikipag-kapwa, of pakiki-isa, of pagtutulungan — that beautiful Filipino tradition of working together, of celebrating together, of becoming better together.”
The Gathering at MF Hall: A Community Alive with Gratitude
When the Graduate School family gathered at the MF Hall for the Christmas celebration, the atmosphere was electric with warmth and gratitude. Students who are office workers by day and scholars by night, faculty members who balance teaching with research and service — all found themselves united in a single moment of rest and rejoicing. The hall, decorated by many loving hands, became a sanctuary of shared light.
It was in this setting that Dr. Genevieve Balance Kupang, Dean of the Graduate School and BCU’s International Relations Officer, delivered her heartfelt Christmas message — a reflection that moved seamlessly from the sacred to the personal, from global achievement to grassroots community.
A Message That Illuminated More Than the Season
Opening with the Advent invocation “Halina, Hesus, Halina! — Come, Lord Jesus, Come!” Dr. Kupang anchored the celebration in the third week of Advent, the week of the Gaudete candle — the candle of joy. “Even as we wait, we rejoice,” she declared. “Even as we prepare, we give thanks.” It was a reminder that the Graduate School’s journey of learning is itself a form of joyful preparation.
Dr. Kupang shared remarkable institutional news that added a layer of national pride to the celebration. BCU had recently received the prestigious ICONS Awards 2025 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, and the Cordillera Administrative Region was recognized as the ICONS IZN Most Promising International Relations Officers Community in the Philippines. “This is not just BCU’s triumph — this is our region’s collective light shining before the nation,” she told the assembled community, reminding each person in the room that they are part of something far greater than themselves.
With characteristic depth, Dr. Kupang turned to the students themselves — professionals who had chosen to return to the classroom despite full careers and demanding lives. Invoking Albert Einstein’s observation that “once you stop learning, you start dying,” she celebrated their courage to keep growing. Whether DENR officers, DepEd educators, PRC employees, guidance counselors, or private sector professionals, she reminded them that pursuing education at this stage of life was not merely an academic act — it was a moral and spiritual one. “You come here not merely to acquire degrees,” she said, “but to become better versions of yourselves: more ethical, more compassionate, more effective, more dignified.”
Weaving together the wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr., the philosophy of Teilhard de Chardin, and the words of the Gospel — particularly Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others” — the Dean painted a vision of education as a sacred calling, one that finds its fullest expression not in diplomas hung on walls but in communities transformed, families uplifted, and a world made a little more just and a little more kind.
Eighty Years and Still Shining: The Significance of “Otsenta na po kami”
The theme “Otsenta na po kami” (“We are now eighty”) carried a quiet dignity that permeated every aspect of the celebration. For an institution that has weathered decades of change, shaped generations of professionals, and continued to evolve in pursuit of innovation and excellence, the 80th anniversary is not merely a number. It is a living record of a community that has consistently chosen to light candles rather than curse the darkness.
The Graduate School’s participation in the anniversary celebrations, through its decorations, its community spirit, and its collective voice, embodied the institution’s deepest values. BCU’s Graduate School is more than an academic unit. It is a family, as Dr. Kupang reminded everyone, a community of seekers and servants gathered under grace and galvanized by purpose.
A Season to Remember
As the celebration drew to a close at the MF Hall, with lanterns still glowing and the nativity scene standing quietly at the center of it all, what lingered was not the anticipation of contest results, but the felt reality of community. The dean, faculty and students had created something together. They had offered their time, their creativity, and their shared joy as a gift, to each other, to BCU, and to the season itself.
Dr. Kupang closed with a benediction that captured the spirit of everything the evening represented: “May the joy of the Holy Family bless your homes. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ renew your spirits. May the love of God the Father guide your paths.” And then, with characteristic warmth, she added words that will echo long beyond December: “Let us continue to make our Graduate School, and our world, great and better, together.”
#Maligayang Pasko. #Mabuhay ang BCU Graduate School.
#Otsensanapokami
