THOMASIAN WELCOMING TRADITIONS RETURN AFTER TWO-YEAR HALT

After a two-year halt, the University of Santo Tomas’ Thomasian Welcome Walk made its comeback for newly admitted freshmen students while a Homecoming Walk was held for sophomore and junior Thomasians, last August 9 and 23, 2022, respectively. The two batches of Thomasians were not able to experience the traditional face-to-face Rite of Passage due to the COVID-19 outbreak last 2020. This paved way for the “Unearthing the Treasure” themed returning walk. This was also the first Thomasian tradition event the two batches experienced on-site, signifying their homecoming. Almost 10,000 freshmen, including 1,286 freshmen from the UST Faculty of Engineering (FoE), entered the Arch of the Centuries. The new UST block letters and tiger statue were also unboxed in the University’s Plaza Mayor later that day.

UST Vice Rector, Fr. Isaias Tiongco, O.P., presided over the Welcome Mass in the Quadricentennial Pavilion (QPav), where he reminded the first-year students to remain authentic as they embark on a new chapter of their lives.

Performances from the University’s pride, UST Yellow Jackets (UST-YJ), Conservatory of Music Singers, Ba Duancen, UST Prime, UST Ronins, UST Galvanize, Sinag Ballroom Dance Company, Symphony Orchestra, UST Singers, and UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe (UST-SDT), were showcased in the ROARientation.

“Nakakatuwa siya dahil maeexperience na namin ‘yung buhay ng isang Thomasian at nakakatuwa na nakita rin namin for the first time yung mga friends namin [in person] rather than online,” Johann Sebastien M. Vizconde, Industrial Engineering (IE) freshman, said in an interview. ing Dance Troupe, followed by a Thomasian life-inspired play by Teatro Tomasino.

Illumina, a band from the UST-FoE, culminated the ROARientation with their live performance. In celebration of the school spirit, the UST-YJ led the iconic Thomasian chants.