Serendipity
Assumption Education - a gift!
(Part 1 of 2)
Ask any dyed-in-the-wool Assumptionista and she or he (we had boys up until Grade 6) would instantly agree to the title of this article today. We've all read that same catchphrase all throughout our grade school and high school days emblazoned all over the bulletin boards and on our classroom blackboards. But more than just the "subliminal" effect that phrase had on us, the reason why we believe it is because we all grew up experiencing it (the Assumption education).
I'm writing this piece today not because the nuns forced me to (as if they could bribe me with an "O" 15 years, Ok, 17 years after graduation) but simply because I want to share with Assumptionistas and non-Assumptionistas alike what my Assumption experience means to me and how I value the education that I got from the school.
This article is also my contribution as an "old girl" to inform other "old girls" and "old boys" that today, February 3 is Old Girls' and Old Boys' Day. The celebration will end on Sunday with mass at 10 am followed by lunch (where else but at the snazzy-looking refectory). There will also be a Grand Velada at 5:30 pm on Saturday at the St. Anne's Hall for non-Jubilarians who want to reminisce and re-experience the Assumption spirit.
Ok, now that the plugging is done, let me just say that I only have fond memories of Assumption. Forget Chemistry and how I got torched both by the Bunsen burner and the scalding tongue of Ms. Bravo, or the fact that I (and almost 95% of the class) absolutely abhorred and dreaded Algebra. But the years I spent in that school equipped me with the right skills and values to be able to survive life and its many challenges.
I was very lucky to have experienced two Assumption campuses. I spent my pre-school and most of my Grade school in the Antique campus (San Jose Academy). My family moved to Iloilo after my father was appointed RTC Judge of La Carlota City in Negros, and so I spent my Grade 6 in Assumption Iloilo until I graduated in High School. I grew up in a household that was like an extension of the school and the convent. My siblings all went to San Jose Academy including all the boys (in Antique, Assumption was co-ed) and my aunt, my father's sister, Sr. Deanna Combong, is an Assumption nun who is currently based in Thailand. She is one of the reasons why we have maintained close ties with the Assumption Religious Community.
The school also played a special role in my love life because my husband and I first met in Assumption. We were classmates in Grade 6 and I never thought (even in my wildest nightmares) that I'd end up marrying him (if I did, I would have thrown him in the Iloilo river at the back of the school just to stop my fate -- oh well, too late).
I was also able to forge deep and lasting friendships in Assumption. My high school barkada, the formidable "Mad 5" (composed of Georginna Jarantilla - Desuasido, Carmela Javellana-Carlos, Maroo Punsalan-Quintero, Dawn Ignacio and moi), was built out of "Try Me" and the yucky "ginamos" with green mango sold outside of the school gate as well as the fact that we were alike in a lot of ways: we were noisy, cocky, funny and smart. Back then, you either liked us or hated us - but of course, nobody dared the latter. We were headstrong but we were never bullies. We spoke our minds (especially when the nuns were not around, of course) but we never broke any rules. In short, in spite of it all and deep down where it mattered, we were just a bunch of good girls. I guess, repeatedly being taught the five core values from pre-school to high school has its rewards.