Musings of a St. Mary’s College Grade School Alumnus

The recent SMC alumni homecoming had brought back a lot of fond and bittersweet memories in St. Mary’s College.

From 1975 to 1980, I studied 2^nd to 6^th grade in this academic institution.

For me, those were the good old days. No cell phones, no Play Stations, no laptops, no Internet. I only had my teks, sipa, toy soldiers and comic books. Life was much, much simpler then. People actually went out and most children played in the streets, not with electronic gadgets, not in Internet cafes. EDSA wasn’t congested and you could still breathe fresh air in Quezon City.

My family lived in an old wooden 2-storey house in a compound owned by my grandmother in the San Francisco del Monte. St. Mary’s College in many ways was my second home.

If I sound nostalgic, it’s because I am. I’ve always had a sense of longing for my grade school alma mater. After graduation, we were so excited to see the rest of the world. But in time, I began to miss what I had then. Through the years, I’ve always tried to keep in touch with at least some of the people that made my time in SMC memorable.

STRINGBEANS – That was how iconic teacher Cecile Asejo used to describe me in 3^rd grade when she was my classroom adviser at Busilak section. The moniker kind of stuck through out grade school. But for the most part, to many people I thought I was simply viewed as non-descript.

I was placed at the cream section Pagasa from 4^th grade to 6^th but at best was middle of the pack – grade wise. I played basketball for the class during Intramurals and chess for the school but wasn’t a star player for both sports. Neither was I a head turner among girls unless I can imagine doing something stupid. Just your average run of the mill Joe. Non-descript.

Still, my years at St. Mary’s College were some of the best of my life. I often share with people that much of what I am right now – the values, religious beliefs, discipline, attitudes, temperament and modest outlook in life I owed it to my stay and education at SMC.

Most people didn’t know that my father used to smoke heavily when he was young. But the anti-smoking campaign talks I attended at the audio-visual room (or simply AVR to many) made a strong and lasting impression on me. I didn’t take up the habit from my father. Not a single stick. Not even a single puff. Why should I?

I remember the glass vial where the inside you find a piece of cotton ball dirtied from the fumes siphoned from a single cigarette. Or how that single stick snuffed no less than 4 minutes of one’s precious life.

One can just surmise how that would translate into reducing a smoker’s lifespan if that person had been smoking for say, 10 years. That loss was something I didn’t want to do to myself nor for my future wife and children. That decision not to smoke I felt brought further positive consequences – none of my three younger siblings took up the habit as well.

In 1995 as an SMC alumnus, I was given the opportunity to go with the SMC school contingent as a facilitator during the World Youth Day. “Tell the World of His Love” was the WYD theme song and for a few extra ordinary days, the earth seemed to have stood still for this momentous event. The SMC contingent saw the Pope John Paul II from quite a distance at the Quirino grandstand. But it was close enough. More importantly was God’s love that consumed the whole nation. No event has yet exceeded the estimated more than four million people that converged in the Luneta Park area for the WYD. Crime dramatically went down during that week of love and oneness with the Lord. Other than Holy Week and days when Manny Pacquiao went into a boxing match did the country experience such widespread peace.

In the decade to follow, I continued to serve my alma mater primarily through the Alumni Foundation, supporting the apostolate to visit the sick RVM sisters, reach out to the poor through our outreach medical/dental missions and supporting fundraising events for our scholarship fund.

I’ve focused on other endeavors since then but I have never forgotten my alma mater. The recent homecoming simply reminded me of something that I knew all along.

SMC has always been a part of me. Wherever I go, whatever I do, my SMC formation will always be there around. Based on experience, that formation has made me a better person.

For this reason, many alumni like me have really put to heart the words of our alma mater song.

Without a doubt, SMC is truly the school we love.