EDITORIAL | ASSUMPTA SEPTEMBER 2021

After a hiatus of almost 2 years, ASSUMTPA is back! 

It was on October 2019, during Old Girl’s Day, that we last published and distributed a thousand copies of “Coming Home”, Assumpta 2019 Edition.  Then Covid-19 happened. On March 16, 2020, ECQ closed our doors.  To this day, we have not fully re-emerged.

I remember  our post-ECQ AAA online meetings over Zoom. The Silver Jubilarians  2020 of HS Class 1995 were supposed to present their Velada concept to the Board.  Instead, there was uncertainty on whether there would even be a Velada.  In all the turmoil, I vividly recall the Silvers putting an end to all our equivocation .  Their fearless leader said:  “ The Velada will go on.  It will not stop. Not on our watch!”

That was history in the making.  The first online Velada happened and their theme “AC Strong” spoke volumes of the indomitable Assumption spirit. As you will read through the experiences of the Jubilarian Jewels of 2020, many of them had already ordered their costumes and planned their presentations even before the lockdown happened.  Instead, they had to shift gears, master technology and organize a virtual online presentation in under 2 months. Reading their stories, I could not help but admire their passion, their resourcefulness and their incredible organizational skills.  When Old Girl’s Day dawned on October 18, 2020, the first online Velada was broadcast over Facebook and YouTube with record breaking views of over 30,000 from all over the world.  Truly, the Assumption alumnae are AC Strong.

Outside our campus walls, the situation was dire. Our missions schools lacked funds for scholarships, computers, ongoing education. The AAA needed to raise funds but its tried and tested  face-to-face fundraising activities could not go on.  It was our turn, as Trustees of the  Board, to mobilize and be counted.  We would continue to raise funds.  The business of providing for the Mission Schools  would not stop.  Not on our watch.  And so, MagnificART, AAA’s first online auction and first online fundraiser happened.  That was history in the making too. 

All over the country, many were hungry.  Livelihoods were lost, people were desperate .  There were many cries for help. The Jewels of 2020 answered.  The Diamonds of HS’60  raised a million for Mission Schools nationwide.  The Golds of One Class ‘70  raised Php 1.4 million and with the Malibay nuns, fed thousands through the St. Eugenie Community Pantry. The Pearls of Class ‘90 donated PPEs and food supplies. These alumnae, whose stories are in these digital pages, stood up to be women of faith and action.  They would not leave the hungry and the needy behind.  Not on their watch.

With Old Girls day 2021 peeping around the corner, the Jewels of 2021 are busy preparing for their online Velada.  And it’s not just  a one day show.  They launched VELADATV.COM to showcase the many ongoing miracles, the many heart-wrenching stories of challenges faced and overcome by jubilarians everywhere.  The business of being Assumptionists did not stop.  Not on their watch.

This magazine does not stop either.  And definitely not on our watch.  We’re going digital and you won’t be reading the magazine only once a year.  It will be featured in this website every month.  So visit  us often, always.  Stay connected as we bring you stories of courage, of faith, of generosity and incredible love shown by Assumption alumnae everywhere.

I did not think it was possible to be prouder of Assumption and sister alumnae.  To start with, I was already an avid cheerleader of Assumption.  But after reading these stories , I was not only proud of my alma mater.  I was also filled with incredible strength and optimism.  Yes, this pandemic is big.  It rears its ugly head and weaves in out of the tapestry of our lives.  But big as the pandemic is, the heart of an Assumptionist is bigger.  We were taught, even when we were too young to fully understand, that we have to serve when we are called, that we have to transform lives where we can.  Providing education, feeding the hungry, alleviating the circumstances of the needy, transforming lives is our business.   And it never stops.  Not on our watch.  

Now more than ever, we are called. Now more than ever, we can make a difference. 

We are AC Strong!

Welcome back to ASSUMPTA…now online!

All Hail!