Acads don’t define self-worth —UPLB summa cum laude

Academics should not be the measure of a student's worth. Take it from summa cum laude Helbert Paat of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

The achiever who hails from Cagayan said that he already made the long-term goal of graduating with the highest Latin honor on the day he first set foot on the country's premier state university.

Helbert's goal is soon coming to pass as he will march during the upcoming commencement exercises as UPLB Class 2019's valedictorian after successfully finishing the BS Applied Mathematics program.

Like many other college students, Helbert said that he also experienced being pressured whenever he got grades that were below his target.

He was able to shake this off by embracing college life to the fullest, finding a good company from student organizations UPLB Actuarial Science Society and the Lakas Angkan Youth Fellowship, and getting to know his Maker.

"Before, I had all these feelings of insecurity, of lack of self-worth. Whenever I scored low on my exams, sometimes I thought it defined my worth. But when I came to know God, everything changed," Helbert said in an article published by the UPLB.

"Now I always tell people, for me my ‘acads’ is very important, but it’s not my ‘acads’ that defines my worth," he added.

Moreover, the graduating student said that mathematics has taught him to value the process of learning—something he could use in life outside the university.

"[I learned that] if you will just persevere, if you will just do your best, if you will just try and try to solve problems, over and over again, you can excel," Helbert said. — MDM, GMA News