Defining the World Beyond Form: CASS Inducts New Bantogen Awardees in IIT’s Annual Student Honors Convocation

by Kyle Pontillo


The College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS) has yet birthed another batch of achievers as it produced 16 of the 46 inductees for the Bantogen Honors Society as part of the annual Student Honors Convocation held last Wednesday, August 13, 2025.


These prestigious recognitions include the Gawad Serbisyo Awards for organizations within IIT, the Gawad Alampat Awards for outstanding artists from the school’s resident cultural groups, the Outstanding MSU-IIT Athletes Recognition (OMAR) Awards for remarkable student athletes, and the induction of a new batch into the Bantogen Honors Society, honoring students with exemplary academic records.


Vice Chancellor for Student Services Dr. Rohane Derogongan opened the program, welcoming attendees in the event to formalize their distinction.


“Each of you being honored today embodies the six core values that define our university: honor and excellence, resilience and innovation, and service and compassion,” the Vice Chancellor weighed in glee as she noted the warranted merit the attendees deserved.


The ceremony proceeded with an inspirational speech by Sean Sajonia Dela Cruz, award-winning social media influencer, host, and entrepreneur, graduated from the College of Economics, Business, and Accountancy (CEBA) in 2018 with multiple academic and student leadership distinctions.


“Poverty is a situation, not a sentence,” Dela Cruz expressed as he detailed his experience as a child from an impoverished family and how this perspective allowed him to push through the confines of poverty’s deprivation of opportunities, making the most of what he had. He imparted his experience and the importance of your family’s love, God, and social life, even noting his experience as a student leader to be of great joy despite the responsibility before saying his final sentiments and concluding his time on the podium.


With the whole venue inspired, the Gawad Serbisyo Awards commenced, recognizing the top ten student organizations/publications: College of Education - Executive Council (CED-EC), MSU-IIT DOST Scholars Association (MIDSA), College of Science and Mathematics - Executive Council (CSM-EC), Ad Infinitum College Publication, MSU-IIT Youth Chain of Peace (MYCoP), Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants (JPIA), Psychology Society (PsychSoc), College of Computer Studies - Executive Council (CCS-EC), MSU-IIT SafeStay Connect, and MSU-IIT Red Cross Youth Council (RCYC).


The Council of Organizations (COO) also recognized partner organizations including the Kataas-taasang Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral (KASAMA), Silahis Publication, MSU-IIT Orions, MSU-IIT Wildcats, Octava Chorale Society, MSU-IIT Debate Varsity (MIDV), MSU-IIT Integrated Performing Arts Guild (IPAG), Kalimulan Cultural Dance Troupe, Kalilang Traditional Music Ensemble, and Echoes for their contributions.


Gawad Alampat took over and recognized students from the resident cultural groups in the university including the Echoes, Kalimulan Cultural Dance Troupe, Octava Chorale Society, MSU-IIT IPAG, and the Kalilang Traditional Music Ensemble. Gawad Alampat also offered the distinction to Princess Lucille Mutya and Adrian Ray Agosti for their triumph in the National Dance Championship under the Contemporary Dance College Mixed Pair category.


After Gawad Alampat, the OMAR Awards assumed the stage, awarding student athletes from Arnis, Volleyball, Table Tennis, Football, and E-Sports for their excellence in their respective disciplines.


With the ceremony coming to a close, the induction ceremony for the Bantogen Honors Society began, welcoming Sarah Jane Navia, a Bantogen Awardee studying BS Philosophy Major in Applied Ethics in CASS who spoke on the microphone as a response to the award.


“Perhaps, it is the Philosophy student in me that prompts me to begin with a philosophical question we often tackled in class—one you may not expect on a day like this: what is a chair?”


Navia began her speech with the question, progressing her thoughts to divulge the idea of purpose and how a chair can be defined beyond its shape; a chair offers a place to rest. Extending this analogy, she asked about the essence of being an awardee.


“...each of us stands here for the same reason. We have, in our own ways, strived to live with purpose,” Navia stated, continuing how if a chair stays unseated, it is simply furniture collecting dust, just like the talents and potential of attendees if not mobilized with great purpose.


The Bantogen awardee expressed her gratitude to the village that helped everyone in the room hone their potential, from families, mentors, professors, and the Filipino people, for allowing them to excel, free from tuition.


“In the end, the real question is not, ‘What is the essence of being an awardee?’ But, ‘What will we do with what has been bestowed upon us?” Navia concluded her speech, urging fellow awardees to move forward with a deep sense of purpose with the recognition they just received.


As the annual event comes to an end, it serves not only as an avenue of separating the cream of the crop from the harvest, but also to properly inform these individuals of the depth of their responsibility as the best of their generation. Just like Navia said, “Let us not be a chair that no one sits on.”