OLYMPIAN weightlifters Elreen Ann Ando and John Febuar Ceniza received additional financial rewards from the University of Cebu (UC) on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, at the UC Main Campus quadrangle in downtown Cebu City.
University of Cebu president Candice Gotianuy personally handed out the additional incentives to Ando and Ceniza during a Heroes’ Welcome ceremony.
Gotianuy said Ando and Ceniza deserve the additional rewards even though they did not win medals in the 2024 Paris Olympics. The two Olympians received additional P200,000 each, while their coaches Ramon Solis and Christopher Bureros got P100,000 apiece.
In total, University of Cebu (UC) awarded a financial incentive of P1.4 million to the two Olympians and their coaches.
It’s worth noting that when Ando and Ceniza qualified for the Paris Olympics, UC already congratulated them with P200,000 each, as well as P100,000 each for coaches Solis and Bureros.
Gotianuy emphasized that their qualification for the Olympics every four years is already a significant achievement and brings great pride to the university.
In response, Ando expressed her immense gratitude for the support UC has provided.
“Grabe ang support sa UC. Kung ganahan mo mag-athlete, sa UC gyud mo (The support from UC is incredible. If you want to be an athlete, UC is the place to be),” Ando said.
Apart from the Olympians, UC also honored their board topnotchers, John Philip Minancillo and Roshen Novian Mapang.
Minancillo received P70,000 and a car for securing the first place in the August 2024 Mechanical Engineers Licensure Examination, while Mapang received P50,000 for achieving fourth place in the July 2024 Licensure Examination for Criminologists.
Gotianuy also encouraged the students who attended the awarding ceremony to strive for success and reach their goals.
“Who wants to be the next Olympian and board topnotcher here?” Gotianuy asked the students, whose enthusiastic response indicated their genuine desire to follow in the footsteps of the honored athletes and board topnotchers.
Gotianuy then gave the students a simple yet powerful advice: “Work hard, study hard, dream big!” / ESL with LBG