New York PCG Honors Filipino Harvard Graduates for Excellence and Academic Milestones
NEW YORK CITY, 28 May 2025 — The Philippine Consulate General in New York honored 46 Filipino and Filipino-American graduates of the prestigious Harvard University during the 8th Annual Harvard Club of the Philippines Pinoy Graduation, held on 27 May 2025 at Harvest Restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This marks the third consecutive year of the Consulate’s participation, which began in 2023.
The ceremony celebrated the achievements of Filipino and Filipino-American students from Harvard’s undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. This year’s cohort completed degrees in fields including education, law, business, neuroscience, public health, public administration, and the sciences. It is the largest group since the gathering was first held.
Ms. Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, Vice Chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers and a long-time advocate for Filipino students at Harvard, opened the program with a message of warmth and high regard. “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.”
In his keynote message, Consul General Senen T. Mangalile reminded the graduates that their achievements are rooted not only in personal perseverance, but also in many stories shaped by sacrifice. “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 the enduring values of Filipino heritage such as kapwa, bayanihan, and the belief in human dignity as they move into their chosen fields.
Consul General Mangalile acknowledged the shifting realities in higher education in the US, and reaffirmed the Philippine Consulate’s continuing support for Filipino students navigating those uncertainties. He also recognized the contributions of Ms. Acuña-Sunshine and Ms. Myrish Cadapan Antonio, whose leadership and mentorship have supported generations of Filipino and Filipino American students at Harvard.
Representatives from various Harvard schools and fields of study shared brief messages during the program. Among them was Marc A. Mapalo, the first Filipino to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, who received a Doctor of Philosophy in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology. He spoke about the value of public engagement and the importance of representing the Philippines in global academic spaces.
“Over the course of my PhD, I learned how enriching it is to share science with the public,” he said. “It made me more empathetic, more grounded.” He recalled being the only Filipino in many rooms and using each 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,” he added.
The Philippine Graduation at Harvard is part of the Philippine Consulate’s broader efforts to support Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in their academic and professional journeys, and to foster a strong, connected community beyond the university.
A separate ceremony will be held on 31 May 2025 at the Philippine Center in New York to honor other Filipino and Filipino-American graduates from universities across the US Northeast. END
