Empowered to Lead: 46 Filipino Harvard Graduates Honored in Uplifting Ceremony

The Philippine Consulate General in New York honored 46 Filipino and Filipino-American graduates of Harvard University during the 8th Annual Harvard Club of the Philippines Pinoy Graduation, held at Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This year’s event marked the Consulate’s third consecutive year of participation since 2023.

The ceremony recognized the achievements of graduates across Harvard’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. This year’s group— the largest since the tradition began—completed degrees in diverse fields such as education, law, business, neuroscience, public health, public administration, and the sciences.

Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, Vice Chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers and a staunch advocate for Filipino students at Harvard, opened the event with a message of pride and encouragement.“Just as we gather in the fall to welcome new Filipino students,” she said, “we gather in the spring to send off our graduates with pride, with hope, and with a strong sense of community that will travel with you wherever life takes you.”

Consul General Senen T. Mangalile, who served as keynote speaker, emphasized the significance of each graduate’s journey.“Your success is not separate from your story. It is shaped by it,” he said. “Sometime, somewhere in the Philippines, somebody sacrificed something so that you could be here today.”He urged the graduates to carry forward enduring Filipino values such as kapwa (shared identity), bayanihan(community spirit), and respect for human dignity as they pursue their careers.

Mangalile also addressed the evolving challenges in U.S. higher education, affirming the Consulate’s continued support for Filipino students navigating those changes. He praised the leadership and mentorship of Ms. Acuña-Sunshine and Ms. Myrish Cadapan Antonio, both of whom have played pivotal roles in guiding generations of Filipino scholars at Harvard.

Among the speakers was Marc A. Mapalo, who made history as the first Filipino to receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University.“Over the course of my PhD, I learned how enriching it is to share science with the public,” said Mapalo. “It made me more empathetic, more grounded.”He spoke of the importance of representation and of using every opportunity to speak about the Philippines—its biodiversity, its languages, and its people.“I hope that by sharing our stories and our science, more people will be inspired to support research, value knowledge, and believe in what Filipinos can contribute.”

The annual Philippine Graduation at Harvard is part of the Consulate’s broader initiative to support the academic and professional journeys of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans and to strengthen community bonds beyond university walls.

A separate recognition ceremony is scheduled for May 31, 2025, at the Philippine Center in New York to honor other Filipino and Filipino-American graduates from universities across the U.S. Northeast.