Regret Troyard

Perks of being a Thomasian

Being a Thomasian has perks on its own. Coming from a far-flung province from
the north, I have been experiencing many things here in UST. From the everyday school
life, extracurricular activities to the events held here in UST, these are the things I like to
share with you that may give you some knowledge in your upcoming stay here in
University of Santo Tomas.

First of all, UST is a university who promotes good education while teaching
good values to the students currently enrolled. Studying here in can be pretty
challenging depending on your approach. Most of the seniors here say that entering is
pretty easy but staying is hard. From jolly to nerve-racking professors, we have it. They
may take easy on you depending on how well will you cooperate with them or give you
a higher mark because they give incentives on how well you are in performing in their
classes. In your stay here, you will experience cramming for the deadline submissions,
late night reviews for your upcoming exams and procrastinating in your long hour
breaks. You may also experience knee-deep floods when the monsoon comes so be
ready walking barefoot if you have no flood boots to wear.

Second; Aside from the academics, UST also promotes the physical fitness of
the students. There is wide array of PE courses that you may join into. There are sports
courses such as basketball, volleyball and football to dancing courses such as folk
dance and social dance. We also have course and university-wide organizations. There
are a lot to join depending from your taste from the array of university-wide
organizations such as University of Santo Tomas Central Student Council, Nihon
Kyokai, Musikat and UST Mountaineering; to your respective mother organizations such
as the ISyS for Information Systems. Here in UST, you will also develop the four core
values. These values will guide you in your success in the corporate world.

Third; there are a lot of events that you may attend during your stay here in UST.
During your first months in your first year, you will be attending the Freshmen Walk. You
will be entering the Arch of the Centuries as a symbol of you joining us as a Thomasian.
After the ceremony, there will be a night party dedicated for the newly announced
Thomasians. There will be bands that will be performing at that night. In your respective
colleges and faculties, there will be a general assembly that will be held so that you will
be acquainted with the people form the other courses within your college or faculty.

Annually, the Goodwill Games and Faculty/College week is held. The Goodwill Games
is a series of events where students from different faculties and colleges battle for
supremacy in the line of sports while the Faculty/College week is celebrated where
colleges and faculties within the university showcases what their students are capable
of. The most awaited events are usually in the month of December. These are the
lighting of the UST Lights and the Paskuhan which happens mostly on the first and
second week of December. Paskuhan is an event where the giant Christmas tree and
the grandiose fireworks are showcased. There will also have a mass held and live
bands performing within that event.

To sum it up, being a Thomasian will give you perks of its own. Even though you
will experience many things, even though how good or bad it is, you may gain wisdom
in it. Just remember to enjoy your stay here and dont fret even though how hard your
course will be.