Applause echoed and emotions ran high as the DMMA College of Southern Philippines staged its 32nd Commencement and 25th Recognition Exercises at the SMX Convention Center Davao on June 27, 2026.
The ceremony gathered graduates, parents, faculty, and industry leaders in a milestone event that celebrated not only academic achievement but the deeply personal journeys behind every diploma awarded.
From the opening moments, the tone of the program framed graduation not only as the end of an academic chapter but as the beginning of a larger life journey defined by character, courage, and commitment to excellence.
Commencement speaker Captain Allan Falkenberg reminded the Class of 2026 of the global path ahead.
“This is the start of a long and promising maritime career in which you will never stop learning and growing,” he said. “Approximately 90 percent of global trade moves by sea. You are here to move it by sea and support it at the sea.”
But amid the formal speeches, it was the heartfelt tributes that resonated most.
Speaking on behalf of the graduates, Princess Kelly S. Adaya reflected on the quiet yet lasting impact of mentors. “This institution is more than classrooms, grades, and requirements. It is the people who make every student’s journey meaningful,” she said, drawing applause from faculty members seated across the hall.
She added, “For many of us, you became our second parents whenever we were away from home… you believed in us when we doubted ourselves.”
The recognition of parents and families brought some of the most emotional moments of the ceremony.
Magna Cum Laude graduate Mark Adrian R. Rances addressed the audience with a question that lingered in the room: “Para kanino ka lumalaban?” He answered it by turning the spotlight toward the families seated behind the graduates.
“Every medal placed around our neck carries the weight of someone else’s sacrifice,” Rances said. “Every graduate standing here is proof that somewhere along the way, someone refused to give up on us.”
He described parents as “anchors,” steady forces who allowed their children to dream while holding them firm through life’s uncertainties. “We are your medals. We are your certificates. We are the living proof that your sacrifices were not wasted,” he added.
As parents stood in recognition, many wiping away tears, graduates turned to face them in a moment that shifted the ceremony from celebration to gratitude.
Beyond the emotional tributes, the event also underscored the institution’s strong ties to the global maritime industry, with international partners present to witness the next generation of Filipino professionals.
For graduates, the ceremony marked both an ending and a beginning. Years of training, sacrifice, and perseverance have prepared them for careers that may take them across oceans and into unfamiliar territories.
For their families, it was a moment of arrival.
And for one day, the focus remained not just on the futures ahead, but on the people who made those futures possible. RGL